ForConstructionPros.com

When you've been in the paving business for more than 30 years, it stands to reason that you know how you want to approach it. That's certainly the case with Charlie Austin, owner of Austin Paving & Sealcoating Co., White Plains, MD, which has made its name working as a subcontractor for area general contractors in southern Maryland.

"We're a service company that provides quality work to a lot of the generals around here," Austin says. "We've been doing business that way for more than 20 years and I've been doing it all my life, so I guess I know a little bit about it." In fact, Austin says he'd love to get a degree in paving and sealcoating. "But I haven't found anyone qualified to give me the test," he says, laughing.

Austin Paving & Sealcoating has always been a family-owned business, started in 1966 as Austin Paving by Charlie's father, Charles Sr., who paved primarily driveways. Upon his death his wife, Patsy, took over and ran the company from 1974 until she died in 1996, which is when Charlie Jr. took over. He added sealcoating, and today the 14-person firm uses six pavers and seven rollers to place more than 50,000 tons of asphalt a year: 60% on parking lots, 20% on roads, and 20% on driveways. About 90% of their work is paving (80% new construction including fine grading and installing subbase, 20% overlays).

Sealcoating accounts for 10% of the work, with much of it being subbed out to area sealcoaters, but Austin still does its share with a 550-gallon spray rig he built himself.

He says it's the "service" aspect that keeps GCs calling him for work.

"We take our time and do it right," Austin says. "We're very cautious about how we do the job and we just make sure the job is very presentable when we're done."