Top Gun Sealcoating Takes Off!

Military vets start Top Gun Sealcoating

From left Thorne McIntosh (partner), Kara McIntosh (head administrator), Shea Larose (partner), Kendon Spering (head administrator), and Jake Jenkins (partner).
From left Thorne McIntosh (partner), Kara McIntosh (head administrator), Shea Larose (partner), Kendon Spering (head administrator), and Jake Jenkins (partner).

A vending machine business that started because three “best buds” enjoyed working together has become Top Gun Sealcoating, a Martinsburg, WV, pavement maintenance company that made its mark by extending lessons learned in the military to the operation of a business.

Nearing the end of its second season, Top Gun Sealcoating generates 75% of its work from sealcoating, 10% from striping, 10% from crack filling and 5% from small patching. Co-owned by Jake Jenkins, Shea Larose and Thorne McIntosh, the contractor employs 10 people and runs one full-time crew and a part-time crew. One crew specializes in commercial work (60% of business and growing by 50% each year); the other specializes in residential work (up to 20 driveways a day).

After four years in the vending machine business, they realized they wanted something more. “We worked really well together, and we really enjoyed the business side of things,” Jenkins says. “But we wanted more of a challenge. We wanted something that would bring in more money, and we wanted something that would provide a needed service to the community.”

They stumbled onto pavement maintenance when a contractor offered to sealcoat their driveway for four times the price the previous year. “That just wasn’t lining up for us,” Jenkins says. “He had this beat-up old pickup truck, he wasn’t very presentable, and it got us thinking.”

NPE Aids Sealcoating Start-up

That was 2017. Research told them their market had an opportunity for a sealcoating and striping contractor because no company was dominant and because other companies lacked professionalism. So, the very next week they sold their vending machine business and used the proceeds to buy used equipment: a sealcoating tank, two crack fillers, a truck and tools.

They attended National Pavement Expo, each taking a different class (management, job costing and striping layout) and then teaching one another what they’d learned. They also made it a point to talk with as many other contractors as they could, collecting names and phone numbers.

“We took back so many phone numbers from that show it was amazing,” Jenkins says. “We figured that if we could reach out to 20 of those people and find out what’s working for each of them and then bring that one thing back to our business then we couldn’t be stopped. And that’s exactly what we did.”

Top Gun is More than a Movie

Jenkins recently completed six years as a crew chief of a Black Hawk helicopter, Larose served as a military policeman and currently serves in the Army National Guard, and McIntosh recently joined the Army National Guard as a Black Hawk crew chief. They picked the name Top Gun Sealcoating because of their association with military aviation and because of what the name implies.

“It was obviously an aviation movie, but there’s more to it than that,” Jenkins says. “Aviation is not a very forgiving profession. The attention to detail that’s required can literally be the difference between life and death, and so we tied all that together into our business. It’s attention to detail, being on time, looking and acting professional -- a lot of the same characteristics we experience as aviators.”

Creating Separation from Competitors

Jenkins says they knew their military background would help them differentiate themselves from any competitors. He says every person employed by the company is either a veteran or still in the service. “That means they carry what they learned in the military to our business. They are clean cut, well spoken, respectful, and they understand the chain of command – they take direction very well,” he says. “They look sharp in their uniform and they act sharp.”

Jenkins says Top Gun’s attention to detail means taking a little extra time on each job.

“We tell everyone that we’re going to sealcoat your driveway or parking lot like it was our parking lot. It’s as simple as that,” he says. “We cut in everything. We take care around mailboxes and curbs and gardens. Yes, it takes a little longer but it’s a better job because we take the time to pay attention to detail.”

He says possibly the most-important aspect of their business is their approach to customer service. “You would not believe the number of people who call and when we answer the phone the first thing out of their mouth is, ‘I can’t believe you answered the phone.’ That’s the reputation this industry has and that’s an easy service to provide our customers. If you call, we’re going to answer.

“Then we also ask them how they want to stay in touch – because we will stay in touch with them. So, do they want phone calls, emails, text? Whatever they want, that’s how we communicate with them.”

He says part of customer service is follow-up – whether it’s with customers or people who aren’t customers. “People took the time to call us because they needed something so it’s our job to respond to them promptly,” Jenkins says. “If we aren’t the people who can help them, we’ll try to direct them to someone who can. That’s customer service. Communication is the key and customer service starts with that.” 


 

Latest