Construction Equipment Owner

Come on, Spring, let’s get a move on! It snowed today in Madison – more white when I’m looking for a little green on the ground and in the trees. So I spent some time looking at the website for Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island in Canada for a little Spring fix. But I wouldn’t blog about the pictures of the colorful flowers in bloom all year round if it didn’t have a concrete connection. The gardens are housed on the grounds that once belonged to Robert Butchart, who manufactured portland cement near his home in the early 1990s. His wife, Jennie, started the gardens in an exhausted limestone quarry. A little ingenuity in turning an empty pit in the earth into a beautiful floral garden — I’m feeling a little better!

Probably not too early to start paying attention to what you’re going to pay for sealer — and what you’re going to charge your customers. Word from a number of sealer producers is that prices of raw materials have already increased, and in some instances increased substantially, so there’s a good chance you’re going to be experiencing price increases — if you haven’t already.

And as much as you might not want to read it, that’s a good thing.

For years this industry, at both the producer and contractor levels, has absorbed price increases, afraid that even a modest increase will scare buyers away. Then came 2006 when a perfect storm of events drove prices of a variety of materials — sealer and hot mix asphalt included — sky high. Contractors and producers both were forced to raise their prices — or succumb to the Small Business Grim Reaper, so raise prices they did.

And what happened? Not much. That’s because customers, even in situations where low-bid dominates, understand rising prices. They do it to their customers and they understand when someone has to do it to them. (I didn’t say they like it, I said they understand it.)

So as this season gets under way make sure to stay on top of your sealer pricing. Unless you’re running a not-for-profit organization you need to pass cost increases along, not let them eat into your profit margin. If you have a few minutes let me (and other readers) know how it’s going.

On the same day that New York City came out with a requirement that contractors may no longer raise or lower large cranes on construction sites unless a buildings inspector is present another crane collapsed in Miami.

Two workers where killed and several others where injured when the 14,000 pound crane plummeted to the ground. As of now, there is no known cause for why the crane failed. Winds where said to have been gusty but it is not known what, if any, cause this may have had.

Add this crane accident with the New York crane crash and several deaths in 2006 and this segment of the industry will most likely be put under an immense magnifying glass.

The Chicago Tribune recently ran a fun article on using concrete in your garden. It touts decorative concrete for use in large or small garden projects, and talks about concrete’s versatility and longevity. Have you seen an increase in customer requests for outdoor decorative concrete applications in gardens, outdoor kitchens and the like?

Housing starts, interest rates, inflation rates, stock market jumbles, unemployment rates…these are the traditional barometers of the the state of the U.S. economy. But that’s all old school hokum!

For a real peak into the state of the U.S. economy take a look at families’ plans for their spring break vacations. According to a survey by Access America, a whopping 63% of families with children said they’re staying home — they aren’t going anywhere at all over spring break. Another 19% said they aren’t sure whether they’ll take any vacation at all this year.

My family never took spring break vacations, preferring instead to bunch my Dad’s two weeks together visiting relatives in July. And years ago (I mean years ago) I didn’t take vacations over college spring break, instead heading home to work for a week or so to fund my, uh, books for the stretch run each year.

So maybe we’re in a recession, maybe we’re not; maybe recent moves by the Federal Reserve Board will prevent, shorten, or soften any recession. But whatever the real situation is, and regardless of what the economists tell us, U.S. families are perceiving some extent of economic pressure. And it’s easy to tell — they’re staying home for spring break!

Skin safety should be on the minds of all concrete contractors. When you don’t properly use gloves, boots, eye protection, and long-sleeve shirts and pants when working with concrete, you risk cement burns or other skin problems brought on by cement exposure. And if your employees aren’t following proper procedures to protect themselves from cement exposure, you risk worker’s comp claims and increased insurance costs. Take a look at this new guidance document from OSHA, “Preventing Skin Problems from Working with Portland Cement.” Do yourself and your employees a favor by jeu de poker francaisjeu flash poker gratuitesjouez au poker gratuitementlogiciel texas holdempro poker tourpoker tour,jeux poker tour en ligne,poker tour compoker descargade juegos de pokerplay poker omaha freepoker para jugarjugar poker omaha en lineacaribbean poker portal webpoquer webpoker on line gratisreglas poker omahaworld series of pokerjugar poker en internetjuego de poker online gratis,poker online gratis,juegos online gratis pokercartas onlinedescargar pokerjuego poker eroticojuego de poker para pcjugar poquer onlinejuego omaha pokerset pokerdados poquerdescarga gratis juegos pokertexas holdem descargapoker flashholdem poker gratispoker descarga gratisprobabilidades texas holdemjugar poker online gratisjuego seguro portales internetpremios pagina internetjuego casino internetcasino pagina internetjuegos apuestas pagina webcasinos virtuales lineapremios dinero portales webjugar keno en lineajugar al instante webjuego lineavideo poker portal webganar dinero verdadero portales internetjuegos azar portal internetjuego gratis lineacasinos descargas pagina webadvanced video pokerblackjack online printing it out, making everyone a copy and taking the time to read it together. Make sure everyone is following proper procedures to avoid skin safety problems around cement-based materials.

At least one blog reader, a caller, and a contractor who dropped me an e-mail agree with the previous post that the way to deal with a tough economy is to increase your marketing efforts — so I’m not alone on this!

The most-common “reason” contractors give for cutting back on marketing efforts is to save money, and the first thing we need to do is get over that. Marketing is an investment in your company and your future, and when looked at that way it might be a little easier to release those dollars from a tight fist.

But even if you’re still hesitant to spend more marketing money, check out “Promoting your business need not be a pricey proposition,” from the Chicago Tribune. The article covers 11 low-cost marketing ideas, some of which I know Pavement readers already use successfully.

And once you read it, feel free to let us know what’s been working for you.

If you’re concerned about the economy and how it’s going to impact your business, I have two suggestions. First, check out the Editorial in the February issue of Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction.

Then, amp up your marketing efforts. Businesses, large and small, are notorious for slashing marketing budgets in times when the economy might be — or is — heading south. But PR and marketing firms - who, granted, have a vested interest in your marketing expenses — say that’s the time to ratchet up your marketing efforts, not cut them back.

In the Chicago Tribune’s recent Small Talk column, Jennifer Miller, owner of Printing & Promotional Partners, Jacksonville, FL, says orders of stationary, promotional pens, and related items are the first to get cut back.

But formal and informal networking, “sign now” discounts, and offers of special service can do a lot to keep jobs in your production pipeline. Miller, while encouraging her customers not to cut back on their promotional pieces, also encourages them to extend relationships with existing customers, adding that stopping promotion isn’t the way to work through an economic slowdown.

“They need to start pushing marketing to get their names out there more,” Miller says.

Updating the Illinois Wesleyan University D3 women’s basketball team, they won their first-round game over Maryville St. Louis 111-77 on Friday before the largest crowd ever (1,700) to watch a women’s game on the IWU campus. Unfortunately as hot as IWU was against Maryville it was ice cold the next night when IWU was eliminated from the tournament, again before a huge crowd, losing to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 87-63 in a game where the UWW Warhawks dominated, shooting better than 70% in the second half.

Still, a great year for IWU as it made its second consecutive appearance in the NCAAs, won the conference and the conference tournament for the first time since 2003, and set numerous conference and season records.

A long offseason — starting a bit too soon — awaits. But until then, good luck to UWW, which hosts games this weekend. If IWU has to lose it might as well be against the team that wins it all!

Green building, sustainable design, carbon footprint … buzz words you’ve undoubtedly heard a lot of in the last year or so. Concrete’s contribution to energy efficiency in building and a host of other “green building” benefits are being recognized more and more by the architectural community and building owners. That’s why I’m looking forward to attending the Concrete Technology Forum in Denver in May. Sponsored by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the 3-day event offers educational sessions on topics such as pervious concrete systems, concrete’s impact on urban heat islands, the carbon footprint of concrete, sustainable development initiatives, and optimizing recycled content. In addition, a product expo will be open during the event. To learn more about the Concrete Technology Forum and registration, visit www.ConcreteTechnologyForum.org or call (240) 485-1152.