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It also helps that they are the owners, and the owners are out there on the job.

"People like us because I sign the contract and I'm out there putting down the stone," Steve says. "We run a tight ship with the owner on the site. If we run into a problem the food chain is short. The foreman doesn't have to go find one of us to find out how to get it solved. I'm right there, or John's right there and we just solve it.

"Plus, I have a good knowledge of what's in the bid because I've signed it. So if there's a decision to be made out there and it's going to cost us something I know if there's room in the bid to absorb that cost.

"We're very hands-on, and in this competitive market you almost have to be," Steve says. "Producers have the edge because the cost of material is lower for them than for us and because they are able to spread their profit out not only over bigger jobs with higher volumes but also over the mix they sell to other contractors, like us. I think the edge that has kept us going and kept us successful is my brother and I are out in the field."

Finding, training, retaining employees
And the Days think the way to keep the quality up is by having an experienced crew and operation.

"We have a good group of guys who have been with us who know what they're doing. It's not rocket science, but when you run a good drug testing program and you train them right you'll have good results. But it all starts with finding the right people."