Brad Kaufman (L), co-owner and president of Blackjack Paving, and Jay Herzog, co-owner of Blackjack Paving, take delivery of brand-new LeeBoy 8515 D asphalt paver at the job site just off Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta.
Blackjack Paving, based in Tyrone, Ga., recently “doubled down” and purchased its first brand-new paving machine, a LeeBoy 8515 D asphalt paver, from Reynolds-Warren Equipment. The company purchased five used LeeBoy pavers from the dealership in the past, but this purchase represented its first investment in a brand-new machine. Jay Herzog, co-owner of Blackjack Paving, and Brad Kaufman, co-owner and president of Blackjack Paving, put the machine to work on its inaugural project, a parking lot paving project, just off Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. Steve Meissen of Reynolds-Warren Equipment also was on site to deliver the paver to the project.
“On this one-day paving job, we'll be putting down approximately 350 tons of asphalt,” said Herzog. “Sunbelt Asphalt has already been on the job and milled the parking lot out for us, which took them only one day. The milled depth was 3 inches.”
Blackjack Paving has at least six jobs running at any given time and offers an impressive service portfolio, including asphalt paving and repair, sealcoating, paint stripping, concrete repair, thermoplastic application, wheel stops, signage and much more.
“We're a full-service parking lot maintenance company — from a small patch or sealcoating, to a complete remove and replace,” Kaufman said. “We've started constructing new parking lots now that the economy has improved. Through the recession, Blackjack continued to have a steady flow of work, maintaining existing parking lots and eliminating trip hazards, excessive wear and potholes. This is our niche and it helped keep us moving during the recession and beyond. Now that the economy has improved, we are venturing into a new arena.”
It's a far cry from where the company started just nine years ago. Herzog was in the flooring industry, while Kaufman was in the rental car business. They started out with small jobs in the asphalt patching and sealcoating business. Early on, the duo realized the right partnerships were invaluable, and decided to make their first paver purchases from Reynolds-Warren Equipment based in Forest Park, Ga.
“When we got into this industry, we realized there was a lot of business out there that needed to be captured,” said Kaufman. “Neither of us are paver operators. We're just the marketing force behind Blackjack Paving with a mentality to 'keep the funnel full.' We market, and we gather the business for contracts. Then, we hire experts for the job. Our employees are the backbone of our company. We hire the cream of the crop in the paving industry, and we keep them busy. That's what they like and appreciate. We keep 'the funnel full,' and they perform the job.”
“Business was good and just seemed to continue to evolve on its own to where we are today,” said Herzog. “We started out using the Ditch Runner machines, and we just continued to grow with more paving work.”
Today, Blackjack Paving employs approximately 45 people. The company's headquarters is located on the south side of Atlanta near an interstate, which enables the company to do work anywhere in the Southeast. Blackjack's fleet includes approximately 30 pieces of equipment and 17 trucks on the road, according to Kaufman. Both Herzog and Kaufman said that the support they've received from Reynolds-Warren was an important factor for their most recent purchase.
“Our go to guy is Steve Meissen, but the entire Reynolds-Warren staff does exemplary work, including Scotty Holcombe. Our loyalty to Reynolds-Warren is, simply, a product of their loyalty to us. It's a two-way street. Their service is great and so are their product offerings, which continue to meet our needs. Their ability to work with us during the purchase of the equipment, and the service they provide for our equipment has been great. They have quality people available for whatever our needs are. When a piece of equipment goes down on a job site, it costs us money. They can service us quickly, and put us back to work to minimize lost production time. And they care — that's really important to us,” said Kaufman.
Meissen also appreciates his ongoing relationship with Blackjack Paving.
“We've been dealing with Blackjack since they started in the paving business nine years ago. What's great about them is their high quality work. When you go out on their jobs and you take a good look at the finished product, it's what their customers wanted and expected. The degree of quality is amazing. They do a lot of business with us, not just on the LeeBoy pavers, but on the Sakai rollers and Crafco crack sealing equipment. They're a diverse group, and they do a lot of work other than paving, including sealcoating, crack sealing and other asphalt maintenance work. They're just a real joy to work with.”
Moving forward, Herzog said that his employees and his customers are vital to his company's success.
“Brad and I are really good at sales and marketing, but the operational side of this business is so, so important. We appreciate our employees, and we are proud to have developed an organization that does its very best to attract and keep the best talent possible. It's also really important for us to have our staff members feel they have a great future here and an opportunity for growth.
“Customer service is our number one venture. We pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for our customers, addressing all of their pavement maintenance needs. We make sure to give them the best product available.”—CEG
For more information on Blackjack Paving, visit www.blackjackpaving.com.
For more information on Reynolds-Warren Equipment, visit www.reynoldswarren.com.
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