ForConstructionPros.com

Consistent growth

When Bencker started Decorative Concrete Systems in 1997, he was only the second decorative concrete company in the area. Since then, he has seen several competitors come and go and now competes mostly against a group of five other companies.

About a year ago, the company opened an office/showroom to better market to potential customers. The company has grown from a one-man shop to having four employees, although Bencker is still the primary installer.

Bencker started out doing spraycoating using Color Crown products, but now offers a full line of decorative services, including stamped concrete, acid staining, countertops and overlays.

"It's definitely a quickly expanding market," he says. "We're building about 13,000 homes a year in the area, from small homes to multimillion dollar ones."

The big challenge will be overcoming the negative impression of decorative concrete caused by failing projects - something that should be accomplished by better standards and more educated contractors and homeowners, Bencker says.