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Updated: March 3rd, 2009 03:05 PM EDT

Flatwork Concrete Contractor Keeps Business Up Despite Downturn - Looking Up In a Downturn

Battorff Construction Working
Bottorff Construction offers a complete flatwork package, making them a one-stop-shop for general contractors. The company embraces technology and believes in equipment ownership for an efficient jobsite.
Bottorff Construction Forming
After purchasing a Putzmeister Telebelt to help the company through a large project, Bottorff Construction keeps the equipment busy on every job it can.
Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility
Bottorff Construction won Commercial Concrete Flatwork Project of the Year from the Concrete Promotional Group of Kansas City for its work at the Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility.
Reinforcement
Bottorff Construction’s award-winning project required some heavy-duty reinforcement to hold up to the crane work and shipping traffic at the train yard.

Rebecca Wasieleski
By Rebecca Wasieleski

Bottorff had 18 men working on the project, which took place over several months. The project demanded heavily reinforced concrete because of the industrial nature of the project - the yard field was placed at 10 inches thick while the crane rails were placed at 16 inches thick. Ernzen says the project was built to MoDOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) specifications for concrete mix design.

One of the challenges Bottorff Construction faced on this project was scheduling around traffic, on both road and rail. Because the crew was taking on large pours - 1,200 to 1,300 yards a day - the company had to ensure ready mix trucks were coming in without delay. In order to avoid heavy interstate traffic between the ready mix plant and the jobsite and train car traffic coming into the yard and restricting access to the jobsite, Bottorff Construction started its pours at midnight.

This job also spurned Bottorff Construction to increase its equipment fleet, investing in a Putzmeister Telebelt 110. This equipment allowed the company to place both the base material and the concrete on the job, and it allowed them to belt over the top of flat cars sitting on the tracks during times when trains blocked their path to the pour.

The purchase of the Telebelt not only helped the company on the train yard project but they've been keeping it busy ever since. "Now that we have the Telebelt, we use it on almost every job we have," Ernzen says.

Upon completion, the project totaled 16,000 cubic yards of concrete, 9,050 mans hours and zero hours of re-work required, helping the company make this a successful and profitable venture. Not to mention an award-winning project.

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