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250,000 Square Feet a Day

"It's tough to keep equipment clean in this business but we try our hardest," says Al Harris. "It's nice when you're running down the road to a job; it looks like a military convoy. I see that sometimes and I remember what I had when I started and it makes you feel pretty good."

"We figure out our overhead, our labor, and our material costs and we bid accordingly, but I don't try to over-analyze a job. As long as we make a good profit every year then we're okay. The more complex it gets the more you start second-guessing yourself. Keep it simple, keep it manageable, and keep it profitable then there's nothing more to do."

The North Suburban Asphalt 2009 field crew, with Al Harris, left.

"Our repeat business, both customers and from other contractors, is just unbelievable," Al Harris says.

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"I keep an eye on what's going on in my market, and I realized that a lot of companies always seemed to be having problems keeping guys busy," Harris says. "I'd talk with them and they'd always be looking for work, always saying they're not that busy.

"I keep my guys busy and I have a great working relationship with them."

Harris says most of his workers have been with him more than six years.

"But it's hard finding labor willing to make the commitment. I'm willing to pay them. In fact, I probably pay $2-plus more than my competition, plus bonuses and these are real bonuses I pay. We're not just one big happy family here. We're in business and we're working hard so they earn it and they should be paid for it."

Harris says North Suburban Asphalt Maintenance operates every non-rainy day from early May through October, working 70 to 80-hour weeks regularly without complaint.

"These guys want the hours and as long as the quality stays the same, as long as the quality stays very high, which it does, we can do it this way," Harris says.

"We have 100% commitment, which is partly what enables us to be as productive and efficient as we are," he says.

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