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The Lincoln, NE, contractor stripes between 11 and 15 airports a year, though they have done as many as 18 airports in one year. Rottinghaus says most airport marking involves new construction, such as extending or widening a runway, so most airport work involves layout. She says bidding airport work is quite a bit different than bidding parking lot work. There's more bidding based on square feet of paint applied versus lineal feet, the paint product is usually different, glass beads are included in the bid, larger quantities of paint are used so the transportation of material has to be factored in, and how Arrow is going to get equipment to the job and where they are going to store it also must be considered. Plus, airports are out of town, so travel and per diem costs for employees must be considered along with the impact on local work of removing a crew for several days. Low bid gets the job, and Arrow Striping is awarded more than half the airport marking jobs they bid.

"Our position on an airport project is a very small portion of the entire project, but contractors know our work and the engineers know our work, so that really helps," Rottinghaus says. "They know we can come out on an airport and know what we're doing and get the job done and get off."

To read more about Arrow Striping and the company's focus on employee retention see the Pavement online exclusive "How Arrow Striping Keeps its Employees Coming Back".