by Diana Barnum
Correspondent
Employees at Tallmadge Asphalt / Paving Co., Inc. not only work hard,
but play hard too. They just completed their largest project ever that
took 13,200 tons of asphalt. One of the perks? VIP night at Barberton
Speedway.
The $600,000 project was paving a parking lot for a new FedEx
building in Ridgefield, Ohio. Tallmadge won the bid because of several
factors; price, reputation, quality of past work, service and cost savings
- they manufacture their own asphalt and do their own grading. Their bid
included excavating, grading, labor, trucking, materials, sealing,
striping for parking spaces - in short, everything.
Workers hauled all
of the asphalt in 20 trucks for approximately 45 minutes to reach the site
from their base in Tallmadge, Ohio. Their fleet consisted of three
6-axles- two Kenworths and a Freightliner, and 10 Macs - five quad axles,
two semis, and three tandem dumps in their grain division. To help out
with hauling, Tallmadge rented from DRS Trucking in Tallmadge, and Gordan
Ripley in Kent, Ohio.
Borrowed vehicles for Tallmadge’s most recent
projects include six quads, two semis, two floboys, and five 6-axle
dumps.
FedEx Project
First they excavated and graded. Equipment on
site was a Cat dozer for “hogging it out,” Huber Maintainer for fine
grading, John Deere backhoe 410 and 310 to put in sewers and drains. Dirt
was loaded up to use in low areas, then excess was hauled away to local
fill sites.
Next came the base or binder, 301 and 402 with more sand
content, both made by Tallmadge. Then came the topping, 404 limestone
(also by Tallmadge). After setting, stripes and spaces were added.
The
crew consisted of nine men; three roller men, a couple of lube men and a
couple of shovel men.
“Right now, we’re working on a parking lots and a
horse farm driveway,” said Joe Reiner, Tallmadge plant foremen. “We sell
asphalt retail to city, Cuyahog Falls, Kent, ...to patch holes and repair
water main breaks. And we sell to Skibiski Asphalt (Kent, Ohio) for small
driveways and parking lots.”
Of the several different mixes of asphalt,
some of their most common are ODOT 301 & 404 (gravel or limestone).
ODOT 301 contains larger stone in the mix for strength but is porous. ODOT
404 is made up of smaller stone, yielding a more finished appearance. It
also protects against water damage. Tallmadge’s average driveway is
installed using a 2” base layer of ODOT 301 asphalt and then a 1 1/2” top
layer of ODOT 404 for a smoother finish.
Barberton Speedway
But it’s
not all work and no play for Tallmadge. Mike Sekulich owns the company and
he also owns a racecar that says, “Tallmadge Asphalt.” His company
sponsors two VIP nights a year at Barberton Speedway for employees to
enjoy good seats, racing, food and drink.
“Tallmadge also sponsors a
couple of racecars like two late model division cars by Dave Watson and
John Crumrine,” said Richard Lushes, promoter at Barberton. “They also
give $10,000 towards the point fund.”
Racecar drivers earn a certain
number of points by how they finish in a race. At the end of the year,
points are tallied up and a winner is chosen.
Other marketing
promotions of Tallmadge Asphalt are an annual golf outing and
participation in Habitat for Humanity. When Habit builds new houses,
Tallmadge supplies them with a totally free driveway. Sekulich donates the
equipment and asphalt; workers donate their labor. They average three
houses per year.
How has this hard work and play affected the
company?
“We’ve grown from 15 to 60 employees in the last 30 years,”
said Reiner.
And clients enjoy working with long-time employee Joe
Reiner. He’s been with the company for over 25 years.
“He’s a wonderful
person to work with,” said Tami Earnest, office manager and dispatcher for
DRS Trucking. “He has a people personality (and he likes bananas!) The
company’s worked with them for years.”
Tallmadge was been in business
55 years since the company was started by Edward Sekulich, Mike’s dad.
Edward paved airstrips during WWII, then returned home and started
Tallmadge Asphalt Paving Company. He retired in 1977, leaving the company
in Mike’s charge.
Tallmadge expanded into the concrete business in
1989. They specialize in residential driveways, concrete basements and
commercial parking lots.
For more information, contact Tallmadge
Asphalt / Paving, 1046 North Munroe Rd., Tallmadge, Ohio 44278. Call:
(330) 633-3221. |