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There are three critical phases to the hot mix asphalt business: getting the customers, doing quality work, and getting paid for doing it. That is what we do from beginning to end," says Peter Kramer, vice president of Asphalt Paving & Maintenance Inc. (APM).

"We first must market our company successfully to get the customers. This includes proper estimating and bidding. Second, our crews must be able to economically do the work to the standards of quality and productivity that we have set. And, finally, we must get paid for the work that we do in a reasonable amount of time.

"These three items are all somewhat interrelated. If we fail on any one phase of these, we are not going to be in business very long," he says.

"The parking lot specialists"

APM must then be on the right track. The company was started in 1981 as a part-time sealcoating business, and through savvy equipment purchases, a willingness to learn, and a good grasp of the industry's "business basics" APM has grown into the successful paving and pavement maintenance company it is today. The company offers a broad variety of services, including paving, sealcoating, striping, cracksealing, and pavement repair.

The principal owners of APM are Bill Shaw, the founder and president, along with son-in-law Peter Kramer, and daughter Traci Kramer, who is the financial manager.