Untitled - Heartland Asphalt, Inc.

PAGE 2 • IN BUSINESS • JUNE 10, 2012
GLOBE GAZETTE
INSIDE IN BUSINESS ...
COVER STORY
Cover Story:
Owner George Jessen of Heartland Asphalt/See
story on this page.
Features:
NORTH IOWA FIRM, Holland Moving & Rigging, is making moves worldwide with special equipment/See Page 5
SWITCH AND BAIT: When
Dan Krauth realized the
trades were no longer the
place for him, he opened a
bait and tackle shop. Now, he
can’t imagine ever quitting/
See Page 10.
SINGULAR MISSION: The
new Regional Commerce
Center has economic growth
as the mission of the organizations housed in it. And
there’s room for more/See Page 13.
STRESSBUSTERS:
Dealing with stress
is an essential
management tool,
expert advises/
See Page 20
JEFF HEINZ/The Globe Gazette
Heartland Asphalt owner George Jessen (right) confers with employee Frank Kelly at their worksite at the NorthwoodKensett High School track/football field area. The area is undergoing a major overhaul.
News You Can Use:
SMALL BUSINESS PROFESSOR: Election-year issues
of interest to small business owners/See Page 8.
FINANCIAL ADVICE: Involve your board of directors
more in risk management/See Page 16.
NETWORKING — or make that “sweatworking.” It’s the
new golf/See Page 17.
TECHNOLOGY: How are you logged on? It could make a
big difference in security/See Page 23
In Business: Vol. 10, No. 2, June 2012
Publisher: Howard Query
641-421-0500
howard.query@globegazette.com
Managing Editor: Jane Reynolds
641-421-0564
jane.reynolds@globegazette.com
Design Editor: Tom Thoma
641-421-0566
tom.thoma @globegazette.com
Associate Editor: Bob Steenson
641-421-0530
bob.steenson@globegazette.com
Advertising and Circulation:
Greg Wilderman
641-421-0545
greg.wilderman@globegazette.com
•••
In Business is a quarterly publication of the Globe Gazette.
Reach us at Box 271, Mason
City, IA 50402-0271 or by e-mail
at news@globegazette.com.
PAVING the WAY
to SUCCESS
Heartland Asphalt
competes with the
big firms through
innovation, adjusting to market
By MARY PIEPER
mary.pieper@globegazette.com
W
When Heartland Asphalt of Mason City was founded in 1990,
it had 30 employees and served six counties.
Today it has 75 full-time year-round employees and 10
part-time summer employees, and serves an 18-county area.
See HEARTLAND, Page 4
PAGE 4 • IN BUSINESS • JUNE 10, 2012
GLOBE GAZETTE
HEARTLAND: ‘You have to be able to innovate and adjust to the market’
From Page 2
Despite several economic downturns over the
years, “we have been able to survive and in some
cases thrive,” said owner, President and General
Manager George Jessen. “You have to be able to
innovate and adjust to the market.”
Consolidation in the asphalt industry means
Heartland has fewer competitors, but a lot of those
competitors are much bigger companies.
Still, Heartland recently was the successful bidder
for a project that involves repaving Interstate 35 from
north of Clear Lake to the Diamond Jo Casino exit
near Northwood.
“That will be the biggest job we have ever done,”
Jessen said.
ABOUT 75 PERCENT of the work Heartland does is in
the public sector, where the low bid gets the job,
according to Jessen.
One way Heartland is
George Jessen’s
able to keep bids low and
5 Tips for Success
be competitive is by recy• Have goals and a
cling.
vision for your company,
“That’s a big part of our
post them and discuss
success,” Jessen said.
them with your employOne method the comees.
pany uses, called hot mix
• Keep up with trends
recycling, involves taking
in your industry.
old pavement, crushing it
• Help your employand blending it in with
ees feel comfortable
new asphalt.
expressing new ideas.
Jessen went to Iowa
• Emphasize quality
State University for conso you can get repeat
struction engineering.
business.
He had a summer intern• Have an organizaship with Weaver Contional plan and use techstruction in Iowa Falls.
nology to become more
That’s when he got his
efficient.
introduction to asphalt
work.
He went to Chicago for
a year after graduating from ISU. When he came
back in 1985, he went to work full-time for Weaver
Construction.
Weaver sold out to Martin Marrietta Aggregates
in 1986. Jessen worked for that firm until 1989,
when the company sold off its asphalt division.
He then joined Fred Carlson Co. in Decorah and
helped facilitate the purchase of the asphalt business
from Martin Marietta. The office was moved from
Iowa Falls to Mason City and the operation was
named Heartland Asphalt, even though at that time
it was a subsidiary of Fred Carlson Co. Jessen was
named president and general manager of Heartland.
In 1997 he purchased controlling interest in Heartland. Since Fred Carlson Co. sold out to a larger company a few years later, “that was a good move for me,”
JEFF HEINZ/The Globe Gazette
Big and small, Heartland Asphalt Co. handles projects of all
sizes. Here, workers last year replace a section of bike trail
along 19th Street Southwest, just west of Eisenhower
Avenue that had been removed for a water main extension
project last winter.
We know health insurance.
Jessen said.
ONE CHALLENGE in the asphalt business is finding and
training employees, according to Jessen.
The work “can be a taxing lifestyle for some people,” he said, noting peak time during the summer
can involve working 60 to 65 hours a week.
Still, 60 percent of the company’s workers have
been with Heartland for more than a decade, and
one-third of that group has been with the company
for 15-20 years.
“We are lucky to have good people,” he said.
The company hired eight new people this year.
Some came with experience but others didn’t.
All employees need continuing education because
“we are a heavily regulated industry,” Jessen said.
Winter is a big time for employee training because
it’s the off-season for the asphalt business. With all
the continuing education employees need, it seems
like there isn’t any down time any more, according to
Jessen.
Even with all the challenges, “I enjoy coming to
work,” he said. “I’ve never woken up in the morning
and not been excited to get to it.”
Mike Coborn
CLU, ChFC
Dustin Price
FARM BUREAU AGENT
FARM BUREAU AGENT
Julie Thome
SALES ASSOCIATE FOR
MIKE COBORN
4050 4th Street SW • Mason City, Iowa 50401
(641) 423 - 5824
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa is an Independent
Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
MS-84463
H039IA (11-10) FB-04-P-10