Preserve the Pavement. Strengthen the Industry.
BY Bill Stanley
If Bill Stanley were starting a business today, he’d take a hard look at pavement maintenance. Here’s why he believes the market continues to grow—and the practical advice he’d give anyone looking to build a maintenance business customers can trust.
Last month, I talked about how today’s asphalt isn’t your grandpa’s asphalt. You know that, and I know that. But a lot of our customers—especially on the private and commercial side—don’t.
As we and other paving contractors do our part to educate our customers, I think pavement maintenance is only going to play a bigger role in our industry.
That said, if I were starting a business today, I’d take a hard look at pavement maintenance. I know folks in our industry have different definitions of pavement maintenance, but my definition is any treatment done to extend the life of the pavement between repaves.
That might surprise you because we don’t do maintenance at American Pavement Specialists (other than mill-and-pave, which some people might also consider maintenance). And we’re not looking to get into it. We’ve built our business around paving. But just because it isn’t our lane doesn’t mean I don’t see it as an opportunity.
If I were starting an asphalt maintenance business today, here are three things I’d do to build a business that customers can trust.
Know What You’re Looking At
If you’re going to build a maintenance business, the first thing you’ve got to do is educate yourself on what you’re looking at. That’s more important than knowing how to run a crack-sealing machine or spray sealer.
Every parking lot is different. How old is it? Was it a full-depth pave or just an overlay? Is the problem in the asphalt, or is the base failing? Is it sitting in full sun, or does it stay damp because it’s shaded all day? Is that crack from traffic, water, tree roots, or a poor foundation? Before you can recommend the right maintenance, you’ve got to understand why the pavement is doing what it’s doing.
I see too many guys who know their product, but they don’t really know the pavement they’re standing on. They’re not trying to mislead anybody—they’re just selling what they know. But if all you know how to do is fill cracks, every problem starts looking like a crack-filling job. If all you do is sealcoat, every parking lot starts looking like it needs a sealcoat.
The best maintenance contractors won’t just know their products. They’ll know pavement. And that’s what helps customers make the right decision.
Pavement Maintenance Is About Timing
Maintenance has to happen at the right time. Too early wastes money, too late wastes money.
I had one customer show me a proposal for about $40,000 worth of crack filling, sealcoating and striping on a 10-year-old parking lot. I told him to spend that money repaving the worst section of the lot and work through it in phases.
I have customers who see a few cracks and want to repave the whole lot. I tell them, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Fill the cracks, seal it, restripe it, and you’ll get a few more years out of it.”
Because good pavement maintenance isn’t about selling sealcoating or recommending repaving. It’s about recommending the right solution so the customer gets every year they can out of their pavement.
The adage of “the right treatment on the right pavement at the right time” is a mantra in our industry for a reason! Throwing resources at the wrong pavement distress is a waste of time and money for the customer and the contractor.
Paving Contractors and Maintenance Contractors Need Each Other
I think paving contractors and maintenance contractors need to work together a whole lot more than we do today.
When American Pavement Specialists finishes paving a parking lot, I make a point to talk to my customers about what to expect from their pavement and why maintenance matters. Then we stay in touch. If they call me a year, two years or five years later asking what they should do, I’ll point them in the right direction. If I drive through one of our parking lots and notice it’s time to fill some cracks or seal the lot, I’ll let them know. I’ll also recommend a contractor I trust.
And vice versa. If a maintenance contractor is looking at a parking lot and decides it really needs to be milled and repaved, I hope they direct that customer to a qualified paving contractor. That partnership is how we take better care of the customer.
The Bottom Line
I think pavement maintenance is a huge business opportunity. But more importantly, it’s something our industry needs more of.
Today’s pavement is different than it was years ago, but a lot of customers still expect it to perform the same way. If we don’t explain what’s changed—and what they need to do to protect their investment—they’re going to think the pavement failed, when in reality their expectations haven’t caught up with the changes in our industry.
That’s why paving contractors and maintenance contractors need to work together to recommend the right treatment at the right time, so our customers can get every year possible out of their pavement.
If we do that, everybody wins: the contractors, the customer and the entire asphalt industry.
Bill Stanley owns American Pavement Specialists, Danbury, Connecticut, with his wife, Colleen. Stanley has more than 40 years of experience in the asphalt industry.