
“There are a lot of asphalt companies out there and basically they’re the same company with different-colored trucks,” says Cliff Godin, vice president and director of operations for Michigan Asphalt Paving & Sealcoating. “We’re trying to differentiate ourselves.”
Well, they were certainly off to a “different” start from day one in 1986. Because unlike most contractors who start a business because they have a specific construction skill, Michigan Asphalt Paving & Sealcoating got its start because a homeowner wanted his driveway paved ...for free.
“My father-in-law, Tom Cotter Sr., wanted to get his driveway paved, and when he got the quote he asked the contractor how many neighbors he had to sell before he’d get his for free.”
The answer was five, so he put up flyers and talked with neighbors and had five signed up within about 48 hours.
“Two years later we did 400 driveways,” Godin says.
25 Years of Selling
And they did them all as a subcontractor, only selling paving work; self-performing none of it. “We knew the square foot costs so that was easy and at that time people were moving frequently and just wanted to get their properties looking good so we were selling a lot of overlays.”
That worked fine for 25 years, though they worked with four or five contractors, switching from one to another because job quality declined or availability became an issue. Those are the same reasons Michigan Asphalt Paving & Sealcoating became a self-performing contractor in 2012.
“It was just time for us to start doing it ourselves,” Godin says.
Godin credits brother-in-law Tom Cotter, the company president, with taking the lead on starting their own company...and he says it came as a bit of a surprise. “As president, Tom is the driving force behind Michigan Asphalt. I remember in December 2011 hearing him on the phone talking with someone in South Carolina and the next thing I heard was, ‘So do you want my credit card number?’ And when he got off the phone I asked him ‘Did we just buy a paver?’ and he said ‘Yes we did’.”
At that point they had no paving experience other than watching crews on the jobs they had sold.
“We never questioned whether we’d be successful,” Godin says. “We had a customer base and a reputation that was solid and proven after many years. So we mined more than 20 years of high-end customers that we’d sold to and who knew our name and reputation.”
The first year they paved fewer than 40 driveways as a part time supplement to their full time jobs. Within four years they became a full-time, year-round contractor. Today the company, based in Birmingham, MI, generates 75% of its sales from paving and 25% from sealcoating and patching; 70% of their work is residential and 30% is commercial. The 40-person company runs one paving crew, two excavation crews, three sealcoating crews and one patching crew.
“Since we began self-performing we have quadrupled in size and we’re still growing. And our reputation, which was great to begin with, has never been better,” Godin says.
Reputation Creates a Comfort Level
Godin says that because Michigan doesn’t require a license to do asphalt work, fly-by-night companies come through making it difficult for reputable contractors. “We have worked very hard to build our reputation. We have the owners and management teams of some of the largest asphalt suppliers in Michigan referring us to their personal friends for their driveways. I tell my employees that this is high praise indeed and that they should be very proud of that achievement.”
Godin says some of the things they’ve done to enhance their reputation include:
- Looking professional. Trucks are branded, crews wear uniforms, lawn signs are placed.
- Making the company visible. “We were one of the first contractors to use yard signs which are basically our company logo and people are used to seeing our signs around. People see it and recognize it. People also can look at our website and see who we are and that we’ve been around for a while. We’re very visible.”
- Servicing the customer. “If there’s a problem we do our best to take care of it right away.”
- Communicating proactively with customers.
- Paying attention to detail. “We’re very concerned about people’s homes. You can do a great job on a driveway but if you leave trash or damage their lawn you’ll hear about it and so will everyone else in the neighborhood.”
Standardization and Procedures
This past winter Michigan Asphalt Paving & Sealcoating developed a set of standard operating procedures that they then shared with employees at their annual spring kickoff meeting.
“Standard procedures will make the company run more smoothly and efficiently. We wanted to give our crews a framework of well-defined plans and mechanisms so that they can handle all aspects of the business without going into crisis mode. “
Tom Cotter Sr., 92-year-old founder of Michigan Asphalt Paving & Sealcoating, who is now retired.