Developing relationships with potential customers requires patience. ACI Asphalt & Concrete, LLC sales associate Mike Picott nurtured a two-year relationship with new client Tashitaa Tufaa of MTN in Fridley, Minnesota. He saw that come to fruition this season after lengthy negotiations.
The customer’s goal was to create a new 157,995 square foot asphalt parking lot with new striping to direct traffic more efficiently at his site in Minneapolis, a parking lot is home to 650 school buses coming and going all day long.
A project like this required the efforts of many to execute it smoothly, timely, and efficiently. Picott enlisted the help of estimating manager Mike Dietz who put together a rock-solid proposal. After numerous site visits with the client, Picott brought in ACI president Justin Pomerleau to meet with the customer twice to assure him they was the right company to take on this project.
Picott believed having Pomerleau at the meeting added a significant piece of customer service, and a personal touch, to instill confidence that selecting ACI was the best choice for his company. As it turned out, Picott was right, because Tufaa finally signed the contract.
Getting The Ball Rolling
Soon afterwards, ACI superintendent Jeff Hollenback and milling and grading superintendent Barry Hall met onsite to put together a grading and paving plan. The existing jobsite was terribly flat with poor drainage.
Hall is a boots-on-the-ground type of leader, while Hollenback masterfully scheduled the grading and paving for a seamless operation.
ACI Asphalt & Concrete
As with many projects, the customer had some changes orders he wanted to see implemented. This is where estimator Dustin Velasco filled the role of project coordinator. Valasco revised maps, handled the change orders, and ran some of the logistics. Along with providing a second set of eyes on the project, he was also able to run some ideas for improvements past Tufaa, as well.
One of the largest obstacles they dealt with was the weather, which pushed the project late into the season. Crews began milling on October 23, 2024. On top of that, they also had to work around electricians, concrete crews, and hundreds of buses coming and going. It was an extremely busy parking lot.
Weathering The Obstacles
This project required 4000 tons of asphalt and 700 feet of B612 curbing. A typical truck can haul approximately16 tons of asphalt at a time. This gives you an idea of the sheer volume, in truckloads of asphalt, that was required. The ability to choreograph crews, trucks, and asphalt is an art for all its own, especially since nearly everyones’ projects were getting delayed due to frequent rainy weather.
ACI Asphalt & Concrete
When the rain finally died down, the end of the season saw unseasonably warmer temperatures, but before they could get comfortable, the crews were met with four inches of snowfall at the end of October. This completely halted work. The snow didn’t stick around, thankfully, and it was mostly gone two days later, with the crews getting back to business.
The MTN project took approximately two weeks to complete. The confidence Tufaa showed throughout the project boosted the morale of the crews who did excellent work despite the challenges. In the end, Tufaa was thrilled with the safety and efficiency of their new parking lot.
ACI was proud of the work its team did, as it is on all their projects. Now, the company is taking lessons learned from jobs like this, and preparing for an even better 2025 season!
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