C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. Grows Innovation in Central Florida
BY Sandy Lender
Founded in 1976, C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. (CWR), in Florida, specializes in asphalt paving. The company was acquired by Construction Partners Inc. (CPI) in 2001 and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of CPI with one terminal and 10 asphalt plants throughout South and Northwest Florida. That tenth plant started full production Dec. 19, 2022.
Bob Flowers, the president of CWR, explained the catalyst for setting up a tenth plant in the Rick Scott Industrial Park in Sumter County. “CWR has provided asphalt production services to Central Florida for nearly two decades. With a new facility strategically located near rail infrastructure, this division is now best positioned to meet the ever-growing demands of its customers for years to come. This state-of-the-art production facility is designed with robust capabilities and sustainability in mind, giving us the capability to deliver asphalt products of the highest quality.”
Plant Manager James Moller explained they started taking delivery of the plant June 2022. The grand opening was Nov. 15. “We did tentative testing in November of 2022 with great success,” Moller said. Full production began Dec. 19.
CWR also performs asphalt paving, milling, excavation, embankment, storm drain, stabilization, aggregate base, curb, sidewalk, grassing, signs, signals, and striping. CWR has successfully completed design-build projects with Florida Department of Transportation, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and local counties. While asphalt paving is their specialty, CWR offers a variety of services, including:
- highway and road construction;
- residential and commercial sitework;
- airport construction;
- military base construction; and
- parking lot and driveway construction/renovations.
“The Florida construction market provides a wealth of opportunity for growth and expansion for CWR, and we are eager to leverage it with our full roster of services,” Flowers said.
In fact, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced in December, Florida is the top state for the fourth year in a row for construction in its Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard, which rates state laws, programs, policies and statistics in the seven categories of project labor agreements, prevailing wage laws, right-to-work laws, public-private partnerships, workforce development, career and technical education, and job growth rate.
“We provide solutions to customers spanning a broad range of projects and contracts, including municipalities, commercial constructions, and government contracts,” Flowers said. “It is through this effort that we have been able to make a meaningful impact in the infrastructural landscape across Florida. CWR is proud to take part in helping build strong communities while connecting the citizens of Florida.”
While CWR is committed to building communities and being an active part of the Florida citizenry, management focuses in-house, as well. The company has five core values that they believe are critical to the success of company, employees and customers.
- Safety—Safety is a top priority to ensure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day and night.
- Quality—CWR team members pride themselves on delivering unparalleled asphalt material to every job.
- Customer Satisfaction—The team consistently strives to exceed client expectations, seeing customers choose to work with the company time and time again.
- Productivity—Members of the CWR team work effectively and efficiently, using cost-effective solutions to save clients money.
- Management Information Systems—Management endeavors for accountability and ongoing performance assessment. As each department strives for continuous improvement, they employ the latest technology to produce quality results.
Marion County’s Gerald Hickman (at left), and CWR Project Manager Billy Joiner (not pictured), led the audience in blessing the new facility and its team. Area Manager Stuart Savoy (center) and President Bob Flowers also addressed the crowd to share their optimism for the new facility and its environmentally friendly attributes.
The safety core value listed above brought an award to the table in 2017. That year, CWR was awarded the Fleet Safety Award by the Florida Trucking Association. The company has also developed a safety committee—which is led by the president and safety director—which meets quarterly and includes representatives from all levels of the team. The CWR safety management team performs daily safety meetings and job hazard analysis reviews for each project, as well as tracks all near misses and accidents. They measure and analyze trends to continuously improve safety at CWR. CWR’s leadership team meets with its partners once a year for a two-day safety summit for continued training education and to share ideas and best practices.
Employee training is vital for maintaining a culture of safety on every project site. CWR provides its employees with the appropriate tools to keep themselves and others safe by offering continuous task/hazard-specific training both in the field and in formal meetings and seminars. New employees go through a safety orientation and training prior to entering the field. They train employees and give them the autonomy to stop work on a job if they see an unsafe working condition. Once a year, they shut down all operations and provide all employees with safety training specific to the type of work they perform.
Grade Foreman Zachariah Ashcraft (on the left) and Grading Superintendent Cody Skelton (on the right) share in the festivities of the grand opening Nov. 15.
The core value of management information systems is used to assess performance and excellence throughout the company. “At CWR, we pride ourselves on our performance-driven culture, which we refer to as ‘keeping score,’” Flowers shared. “To ensure this is done effectively, staying up to date with the best Management Information Systems (MIS) available is essential. We are continuously investing in initiatives and using IT-powered data solutions to enhance our operations and provide accurate results. As a result, by putting an emphasis on measuring our performance, keeping score allows us to remain ahead of the competition and meet our goals consistently.”
To help meet such goals, a new asphalt plant would need to have innovations and technologies that fit the CWR culture.
“At our company, we recognized the need for improved production capabilities and energy efficiency to remain competitive and move forward in our industry,” Flowers said. “To that end, we identified specific goals such as raising production levels, increasing utilization of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), updating the design of our burners, enhancing combustion efficiency, and integrating all plant components via plant controls. Several of these strategies lead to broader impacts including reducing our environmental footprint. We are making great strides toward each objective by implementing cutting-edge strategies and technologies to create value for our stakeholders and ensure long-term success.”
This lattice boom crawler crane, manufactured by American Cranes, is at least 30 years old, so the operator was innovative in setting up some air conditioning during the summer 2022 work season.
James Moller, the plant manager who has been with CWR for 14 years, shared some of the technologies that are keeping their environmental footprint low: “The ASTEC Whisper Jet burner provides a clean-burning solution to the plant, relying on natural gas for an efficient and low emission output. WMA is an option, and it is something we are looking into for future production.” He explained that educating other contractors in the past has been one challenge to implementing WMA previously.
“CWR is committed to understanding the environmental footprint of its products and practices. Through technology and training, we’re always looking for ways to make our work more sustainable, whether it’s building roads that are more resilient to weather events or using recycled materials that help us create a more sustainable future. As a proud sponsor of NAPA’s Road Forward initiative and a committed EPA Energy Star Partner, CWR is proud to be the leader in this initiative, committed to setting the standard for other businesses to follow.”
Moller explained they make mix for both customers and their own crews at a pretty even ratio. “Realistically, the last three to four years, we were typically about 50/50; intercompany and outside sales.”
Moller also spoke of the technologies keeping production optimum. “By leveraging modern technology, our plant professionals can tailor our new plant’s specifications to meet the unique demands of production.
“We have remote monitoring. We have Fleet Watcher for the loadout system and Team Viewer for the plant’s blending system. We can remotely keep track of how the plant is running its production and help with any necessary troubleshooting. Our facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art lab, providing our team and clients access to the latest in modern equipment.”
At the opening of the new 400 TPH Astec plant, Flowers shared with the attendees that the new facility has “a lot of” features that match up to CWR’s sustainability initiatives, including high capacity for recycle, electric heat, a long drum for running recycle mix with virgin material, the Astec Whisper Jet burner, and so on. “We’ve got more rail infrastructure coming in here,” Flowers told the crowd. “We’ll be bringing all our aggregate in by rail here in the next 12 months or so. That right there is a money saver as well as more energy efficient.”
You can see a video of the day from the Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida (ACAF) at this link: https://youtu.be/MgXpLol2mgU
Flowers shared that the gentlemen offering invocations and blessings at the ceremony were Gerald Hickman, with Marion County, and Billy Joiner, a project manager for CWR.
“As we gathered at the new asphalt plant, our hearts were filled with anticipation and excitement,” Flowers said. “Billy Joiner, our project manager, stepped forward to lead us in prayer. It was a moment of great unity that infused everyone with positive energy and sense of purpose. Together, we formed a strong bond and laid the foundation for a successful endeavor as we began on this new journey.”
As CWR dives into the 2023 season with a new plant up and running in Central Florida, they’re poised to serve customers trending southward in Florida. The new journey is off to an environmentally friendly start with the technologies Flowers highlighted for the audience enjoying the grand opening in November and with the infrastructure to come.
The 2023 Construction Hike for Hope takes place April 15 in five cities (and counting) in Florida. CWR Contracting is one of the first companies that joined the roster to participate in the fundraising event to raise awareness of the epidemic of suicide in the construction industry and to help save lives.
“To raise awareness about the concerning levels of suicide in the construction industry, CWR Contracting is proud to join Vince Hafeli’s Construction Hike for Hope event with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,” CWR President Bob Flowers said. “Together, we endeavor on a mission not only to be informed and prevent these tragedies but also to support those who have been affected by mental health issues that may lead up to this point. As an organization dedicated to protecting our over 1,000 employees’ well-being, CWR stands firm against any risk at hand; together let us make it count! Join us on Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m. CST as we demonstrate solidarity at St. Andrew State Park in Panama City Florida.”
For more information on participating or becoming a sponsor, visit https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=8868.