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"By conducting these tests, we know what we can achieve; therefore, when we're bidding these jobs it gives us an idea of what steps we need to take to guarantee those numbers - it lets us know what our capabilities are," Bottorff adds. "Other companies that haven't tested too many floors really don't understand what they're after."

Another strength for Bottorff Construction is its equipment fleet. "We're probably equipment heavy in this company," Ernzen says. "This time of year - February in Kansas - we're looking at a lot of equipment sitting back here in the yard, but in the heat of battle it's all being used."

Ernzen says the company's equipment fleet size is an often-discussed topic, with the management team considering renting more instead of owning so many pieces. But Bottorff says the company always sticks with its large equipment fleet because they know it's well-maintained and there's ease in scheduling equipment when it's your own. "Because we own most of our equipment it gives us a competitive edge over the people we're bidding against," Bottorff says.

"We did almost 200 jobs last year, and a lot of those jobs only lasted a day and a half or two days. Since we own our own equipment it's easy for us to take it with us and bring it back home at the end of the day rather than arranging delivery with rental pieces," Ernzen adds.

An award-winning project
Bottorff Construction's dedication to quality and customer service can be seen in the company's recent award-winning project at Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility. The site is a train yard and distribution center where trains from the coast carry imported goods, then cranes unload the train cars and load the goods onto trucks for distribution across the country. Bottorff Construction was hired as a subcontractor on the train yard repair; another subcontractor demoed the damaged areas throughout the 150-acre train yard and Bottorff Construction installed the new concrete.