The Northeast District Albany Branch accomplished a successful project with a new customer called All States Materials Group—an asphalt production facility in Massachusetts—cleaning process equipment. “This project generated more than $425,000 in new revenue and a high margin of profitability,” said Regional Manager Richard May.
“We received very positive feedback from the customer, and it has helped to generate additional opportunities both with this company and to some additional customers they recommended,” May said, adding that Albany Branch Manager Scott Boerem and Area Sales Manager Jon Swintosky both worked diligently with the customer to execute the work.
Swintosky said Boerem was speaking to a former colleague and learned through the conversation that there was an asphalt plant in Deerfield, Massachusetts that conducts an annual cleaning of its tanks each winter during the off season. “There was talk that the cleaning company that had been doing the work was not performing up to the customer’s standards and the customer was unhappy,” Swintosky said. “Scott was able to get contact information for the plant manager from his former colleague and I reached out to initiate the conversation.”
Swintosky said the plant manager was willing to hire a new vendor and asked for a meeting with the MPW team. “While walking the project we were able to identify areas where the incumbent contractor was falling short and where we could be more efficient,” Swintosky said. “We also learned the asphalt they produce is very high in polymer and can be difficult to clean compared to other asphalt blends.
“The customer was clear that he was looking for safety and value, not just the cheapest price,” Swintosky said. “A key point was that he wanted steady production from the crew and someone ‘on the gun’ for the entire shift.” He and Boerem knew the incumbent had historically been a higher-priced environmental company. The customer’s emphasis on value over cost made Swintosky and Boerem confident they could use higher margin rates, as long as MPW could perform to the customer’s expectations.
“Not knowing the customer’s budget for the project or their determination of ‘clean,’ we presented the customer with a proposal using shift rates assuming several weeks of work,” Swintosky said. “After submitting to the customer, we learned our shift rate was higher than the incumbent, but they felt more comfortable with MPW’s work plan and felt they would save money in the end by awarding us the work.”
MPW started the project the first week of December 2023 and worked through until early March of 2024 with a total revenue of $432,548.41 with a contribution margin in the mid 50 percent range. Swintosky said the customer was very happy with the quality of work, stating “the tanks are cleaner now than when they were new.” The customer also stated the MPW crew was motivated, professional and great to work with. Also, the project was completed ahead of schedule, safely and under budget.
“Since the completion of the project, we have worked at another Terminal, and we’ve been referred to several other asphalt plants where we completed work with them,” Swintosky said.