(Above) Bill Rash, President, Landmark Site Contractors.

Since 1996, Landmark Site Contractors, paving contractor, of Perris, has served customers with quality work, integrity and competitive pricing. Co-owner Bill Rash is no newcomer to the industry. His father was vice president with one of the largest contractors in Southern California. So by age 15, Bill began working his way up through the ranks. Seven years ago, he and 10-year friend Kirk Harns teamed up at Landmark. Rash brings a full 35 years experience and a working knowledge of the industry to the partnership.

Rash spent 19 years on his previous job with Calmat/Industrial Asphalt, earning the respect of the many suppliers and support companies he dealt with over the years. Those contacts made the transition to self-employment much smoother. Teaming with Harns proved to be another wise business move. That partnership combined their above-and below-ground talents into a contracting firm that could handle a variety of construction projects.

(Above) Landmark Site Contractors paving at Glen Ivy Hot Springs Resort.

Harns has long been contracting waterworks infrastructure, civil engineering projects, foundations for tanks and other applications, slabs, pipe and underground work. A large percentage of his projects have both grading and paving, making this partnership a natural. Rash operates Landmark as President, while Harns signs checks as Vice President.

The company began with not much more than one dump truck, a skip loader and a small roller. From there they "went out and found some work" says Rash. They can now field two complete paving crews of ten people each. Equipment has changed during their short history, too. They operate two full-sized paving machines; a Všgele 1110W and a Blaw-Knox PF180H that allows them to place between 400 and 500 tons per hour, "if we can get the asphalt to the pavers," jokes Rash. The 20-foot paving width of the Všgele allows them to make two, rather than three, passes when paving streets, improving production capabilities and meeting local standard requirements.

(Above left) Landmark Site Contractor's new facility in Perris, California. (Above right) Kirk Harns, Co-Owner & Vice President, Landmark Site Contractors.

From the tiny dump truck, the business has grown to between $3.5 and $4 million in annual sales. "We're still small," says Rash, "and because of that we look for niche markets." They try to balance their equipment, manpower and expertise to a particular job to maximize profit. At 50 years of age, Bill Rash says "I'm still learning."

Renting out their equipment keeps the young company from having down time. Sending company personnel with equipment insures proper usage and avoids "finger pointing" should anything be broken. It also assures Landmark that proper maintenance is done according to schedule. That helps them keep a crew, and helps to pay for equipment. Rash estimates that one-third of his total business comes from equipment rental and personnel lending.

(Above, left to right) Jennifer McDaniel, Office Manager, Craig wheeler, Administrative Manager/Estimating, Kris Bertuco, Accounting Manager, Bill Rash Jr., Project manager/Estimating, Mary White, CFO and Andy Gutierrez, Paving Superintendent.

One reason this portion of their business has been so successful is because smaller paving contractors just can't afford to purchase a paver. Landmark would have a difficult time keeping the machinery if it weren't for the lease program. Rash says, "you couldn't justify owning a paverÐunless you're getting steady utilization out of it."

The company routinely keeps 28-29 full-time employees on the payroll. They have a smaller concrete crew they keep busy with curb and gutter work and the occasional flatwork, and also employ one grading crew. Like most contractors, they prefer "turnkey" projects; one in which they take a project from the ground, or in this case underground, up. With their particular mix of employees and equipment, these jobs prove the most profitable. However, they accept many other assignments where final paving is the only portion of the contract they get.

(Above left) Andy Gutierrez, Paving Superintendent, on site at Glen Ivy Hot Springs Resort. (Above right) Landmark's Vögele 1110W on a residential project.

Two recent projects demonstrate their versatility. In Coachella, they placed concrete flatwork on a project involving three schools, and in Victorville, it was 100,000 sq. ft of asphalt in a residential tract. In Victorville, they also placed 4500 lineal feet of curb and gutter, and sidewalks as well. On the paving portion, they used 1500 tons of asphalt over a 12-inch, class 2 base. After final construction of the housing tract, they will overlay the final 1-inch layer of asphalt as a finish coat to bring streets to final grade.

The company does 95 percent new construction work. One recent exception was a seal and re-stripe at Arrowhead Pond. The one and one-half million square-foot job came about as the result of a relationship Rash had developed during his career in the industry. He hopes they will remember him when the time comes to replace the entire asphalt paving.

(Above left) Art Chavez, Paver Operator, Landmark Site Contractor. (Above right) Landmark Site Contractors purchased their Vögele 1110W from Nixon-Egli Equipment Co.

"It definitely helps coming from within the industry. I don't believe that I would have had the success had I not cultivated good relationships with a number of people," says Rash. "It's definitely been an asset. I learned a lot working for someone else, but I've learned a lot more during the past six or seven years. Everything is a learning process."

During the short life of Landmark, the business has changed little. But the market they serve is forever shifting. Rash says "One day it's public works, the next commercial and the day after we're looking at residential. We Ôre not heavily into maintenance. We're more into public works, with schools and city projects. Schools are good jobsÐpublic works is tough, but it's solid."

Landmark has done a variety of work, including parking surfaces for Wal-mart stores in Murrieta, Sam's Clubs in Corona and a big rehab at a Target store in Costa Mesa. "Those are always memorable, they're always nice because their parking lots are huge," says Rash. Straight runs make the work go much faster.

"There's no shortage of competition. There are a lot of pavers in Southern California, and a lot of really good ones." That's why Rash says "it's important to find your own niche." What's ahead for landmark? More of the same. Bill Rash is so involved in the daily operations of the company he seldom has time to look back, as he did with us. When he does, he realizes that Landmark has come a long way from that single dump truck. One thing is certain about their future. Rash strongly emphasized that integrity has gotten them to where they are and that will continue to be the guiding principle in their future success.

Landmark maintains a web site at www.landmarksitecontractors.com. The site is not yet complete, but a generous supply of information is available, along with a list of references to contact about their work.