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John gives an example of how important it is to have a knowledgeable employee, in this case a screed operator, on the job. "It's easy to overrun on a job and that's the killer," he says. "That's where the experience comes in on the back of the paver. If you've got a 600-ton project out there and you're trying to get in and out in one day, the difference in making money and losing money is 1⁄8-in. too much mix. I don't care who they are in this business, the people who turn those screws out there are worth their weight in gold because they can make it or break it."

So Triangle Asphalt works hard to find and retain employees, offering wages and benefits as good as or better than the union, including health insurance and a retirement plan. The result is a core group of people who have been with the firm from 6 to 20 years, and some of the laborers have been with the company for as many as 16 years.

Employees include two outside salespeople, one inside salesperson, two paving crews with three laborers and three operators in each crew. Equipment on a crew includes two rollers and one paver. Though Triangle only has two paving crews, it does have four pavers and it juggles the two crews around to match the equipment to the job.

"We try to do anything and everything with each crew," he says. "Crews aren't specialized in certain things."

Because Triangle Asphalt has more equipment than crews, it has the luxury of not only planning ahead but moving equipment ahead of where it's needed. So one employee has the job of moving equipment all day. "That's his job. We're always moving equipment from one job to another to stay ahead," Day says. "Most jobs are two to four days long. I'd like to get more of the two- or three-month jobs but we don't have too many of those.