"Plus, we like to spread it out so we don't have all our eggs in one
basket," Kent continued. "We don't commit all of our resources to one
job and have our success dependent on how successful that one job is.
So our marketing plan is to do a lot of jobs and maintain our profitability."
"One thing I've always said to the guys is we want to take the work, whether it's one square foot or one square mile," Pete added. "That's the range Bituminous Roadways will work. I've always felt that if you'll do the maintenance and everything that a company needs as far as their asphalt program, they'll remember you when they have bigger projects. So whether they have a little hole to patch or it's two square blocks of parking lot, you want to make sure that you take care of that little hole - because they'll remember you."
Three plants
In addition to handling a large volume of jobs, Bituminous Roadways
is also extraordinary in the Twin Cities because the contractor operates
its own asphalt plants. "All of our asphalt needs come from our own
plants, and we have our own labs, so we can maintain the quality of
our mix," stated Kent. "We take responsibility for our materials and
our work, so that's why we think we have more to offer our customers,
because we do have that control."
Bituminous operates three plants. "Our Minneapolis plant has been there since the beginning," Kent explained. That plant services Bituminous' longtime inner-city customers, which include institutional, hospital, industrial and commercial clients.
Productive equipment key
The Petersons consider their paving and plant equipment the business' key components. "In the 1970s we used to advertise on a radio station called WPBC, and our commercial spiels always ended with the phrase, 'the company with the equipment,'" said Pete, adding that he still encounters customers who remember Bituminous from those old commercials.
"Because they are key, we try not to skimp on pavers or the plants," Kent commented. "If it's time to replace a paver, we want a pretty updated one, and we usually buy new. We want to stick with pavers we know we can depend on, and it comes down to only a few. Blaw-Knox is one of them."
Bituminous Roadways purchased its first Blaw- Knox paver from Road Machinery & Supplies Co. in 1979. Today the company's paver fleet numbers seven Blaw-Knox pavers, including a new Blaw-Knox
5510 rubber-track paver, a 1987 PF500 and two 400s from RMS. Bituminous also owns several Ingersoll- Rand rollers (DD24s and a high-frequency DD70), a Komatsu PC200 excavator and a Komatsu wheel loader, also from RMS. RMS sales representative Phil Major services the account.
"We think the rubber-track gives us the best of both worlds," said Kent Peterson of his company's newest Blaw-Knox paver, the 5510. "It gives us speed, but it also gives us traction when we're working on looser gravel in parking lots. The last two pavers we've bought have had rubber tracks.
"We don't have any hesitation buying Blaw-Knox," Kent continued. "We know it's a quality piece of equipment, and the pricing was there from RMS, so that made it a good value to us."
Equipment Manager Ron Nelson rated the reliability of his company's Blaw-Knox pavers as "really good," and said the same of parts availability from RMS. Because Bituminous has its own staff of mechanics, Nelson noted he doesn't use RMS' service department a great deal. "But when I do, they're very helpful," he said.
Pete Peterson began dealing with RMS when the dealer's representatives started calling on him. "I was impressed by their people," stated Pete. "I had a chance to meet with Mike Sill (RMS president and CEO), and he was a person with a good reputation. We started small with them, and through the years I've watched them grow. We're impressed by how they've treated their customers, and they've been successful because of it."
Repeat business key to success
Bituminous Roadways, Inc., has also been successful because of the way it treats its customers. That reputation for fairness and quality has paid off in repeat business. "We send out a card after we get the job done, asking the customers questions," explained Pete. "One of the questions is, 'Were we the lowest bidder?' It's surprising how many times that card will come back and say no. What happened is that we weren't the low bidder, but we were within a reasonable price range, so that customer would rather have us work for him than take the low bidder who he's not as sure of."
"The cards also ask 'What did we do that you liked?'" added Kent. "And a lot of times the customer's response was 'You did what you said you'd do.' Maybe they don't get that from everybody. We're there when we say we're going to be there,