ForConstructionPros.com

A good business plan and a strong line-up of services can go a long way in a good economy, but when times are tough it might not be enough. Mark Bottorff says it's an emphasis on quality and customer relations that keeps his company successful. It also helped Bottorff Construction win Commercial Concrete Flatwork Project of the Year in 2008 from the Concrete Promotional Group of Kansas City.

Bottorff Construction is a commercial concrete contractor in Atchison, Kan., focusing on wall forming systems and complete flatwork packages including curb and gutter, laser grading, laser screeding and concrete placement. The company averages 60 employees and performs jobs of all sizes.

Mark Bottorff says the company hasn't seen its sales dip in the current economy, something he attributes to its focus on customer service. "We're very service oriented," Bottorff says. "We take exceptional care of our general contractors so they can feel confident going into a job with Bottorff Construction. Exceptional service is probably our niche in the market - something we do better than other people."

That doesn't mean the company hasn't had to make changes to maintain its sales in the current economy. Bottorff says they're placing more emphasis on customer relations by visiting the general contractors they work for and asking them what Bottorff Construction can do for them.

They've also been expanding. "Rather than pull in our wings and hunker down like a lot of people are doing, we hired another estimator and are hard-bidding a lot of projects and expanding our market and geographical area so we can get more work," Bottorff explains.