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Every job you do is important," says Tom Frederickson, president of Superior Striping. "You might be striping only a 10-stall convenient store, but first of all that's the job you're doing and it's the job you're getting paid for, so that makes it important.

"But it's also important because the owner or manager of that convenient store might own other properties that need striping, or he might know someone who owns a larger property. When you look at it that way each job becomes very important to us."

That's a pretty good philosophy, though not an uncommon one. What is uncommon is how Superior Striping weaves that approach through its organizational structure, planning, bidding, marketing, and, most impressively, in its day-to-day operation of its "crews" out on the job. The results are, well, superior.

"I tell our guys that every year we have to go out and prove ourselves," he says. "We're only one job away from getting a bad reputation."

Started in 1991 by Frederickson and Jeff Gustafson, vice president, the Ramsey, MN, pavement marking specialist has focused its efforts on becoming an innovative and successful striping contractor, so they have structured their company and approach parts of the business at least a little differently than most stripers. In its first year Gustafson and Frederickson, both of whom had previous striping experience, striped 610 parking lots using two pickup trucks, two trailers, and four Kelly Creswell stripers. They got some unexpected help because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect that year, and Superior Striping positioned itself as the ADA expert.