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(Left to Right) John and Joe Rossi of Rossi Concrete, Temecula, California.
Rossi Concrete Inc. are "complete site" experts-doing everything from curbs, sidewalks, and gutters to the sophistication of decorative concrete work.
When Al Rossi started the company back in 1976 it was strictly a "Mom and Pop" show. Brothers Joe and John were in the field with their father and a few employees, while mom kept the books at home. But five years ago when Joe and John took over from their father, a tough decision had to be made. Changing economic times meant tighter schedules and greater demands-they either had to get smaller, or larger to survive.
Rossi's Concrete's new Gomaco Commander III curb and gutter machine working
in Escondido, California.
Joe and John took the risk, and decided to grow. Going from a garage-based business they now have a 6 acre parcel for their home base in Temecula. This is where the office is located, and where the equipment is kept. Their array of equipment includes a curb machine, a motor grader, 3 tractors, a roller/compactor; and for their demolition division they have a bobcat, a dump truck, and a saw. They have about 25 trucks for general use. Their workforce has grown to about 60 employees. In short, they have experienced a 1,000% growth since that decision five years ago, with prospects continuing to look up. About 70% of their work is in the private sector, and 30% public. They do almost 70% of their work in San Diego County, while Riverside and Orange Counties account for the remaining 30%. Joe has taken the lead role, and calls himself the general manager. He divides his time between overseeing the office work, to visiting each job-site every day to ensure quality control. John engages himself in other aspects of the business, such as running the grading and demo divisions. Father Al still functions as a principal in the business.
Rossi Concrete has found a niche in diversity, in their "complete site" capabilities. They can either "blow and go", or focus on some art deco. When the job calls for blow and go, they can lay miles of curb, gutter, and sidewalk with the best of them. But doing that everyday would soon get monotonous. So they love it when they have an opportunity to install decorative concrete, and other creative concrete flatwork. Not everyone can do this. This type of concrete work entails great experience and artistic capabilities. But this is a trend in society. Residen-tial as well as commercial customers are demanding greater sophistication in their buildings, driveways, facial walls, and other places where art and beauty have a chance to insert themselves. And they are paying the greater prices for this higher quality.
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(Above
Left) Joe Rossi with his wife Denise and children: Joey, Jackson and Rebecca
at home in Rainbow, California on their ranch, where they have 16 acres
of avacado trees and plenty of room for their happy family to grow. (Above
right) John Rossi stands with the two classics that he is currently restoring;
a '53 Pontiac Cheiftain and a '56 Buick.
Currently Rossi is working on a $40 million commercial building in Orange County (actually a pair of buildings called Summit 4A) that entails much of this "high end" flatwork. For Rossi, their take is about $500,000. The general contractor is Lusardi. This is just one of the many general contractors that Rossi works for. Another high-profile job for them was the Temecula Promenade Mall. The average job for Rossi is about $200,000.
Commenting on the general business climate from his perspective, Joe indicates that profit margins are down, even though the volume of business remains healthy. The two reasons he cites for this are: (1) the current competitive nature of this business; and (2) the tedious bureaucracy that results from the mountains of government regulations.
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Rossi
Concrete is much more than just curb, gutter and flatwork. Residential as
well as commercial customers are demanding
greater sophistication with methods that involve art deco and other creative
concrete flatwork.
The biggest obstacle to growth for Rossi is a shortage of quality employees. This non-union company pays quality wages for quality people. Some of their employees have been there 12 years. Most of the personnel that were hired five years ago when they decided to get larger are still there. Joe has a poster in his office that simply reads, "integrity". He emphasizes this to his employees: for what goes around, comes around. And a customer treated fairly with integrity will do just that-come around, again. As Joe explains, "the employees know I'm fair. Honesty is telling the truth. Integrity is doing it when it costs you money."
Last year at their company picnic, they had around 200 attendees. And that was when they only had about 40 employees. This year they expect in excess of 300 for the picnic. Even though they are a mid-to-large-size company, they still retain the "family atmosphere" from the old days.
Besides work, Joe's other hobby is spending time with his family (Denise, his wife, sons Joey-9, Jackson-7, and daughter Rebecca-3) at their ranch. They have 16 acres of avocado trees-some 800; a garden bigger than most houses; a cornfield, a fruit orchard, and even a pumpkin patch. Needless to say, the Rossi family is well-supplied with a constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. The lucky Rossi employees get the frequent excesses-even some of the two pound potatoes Joe grows.
John is into cars. Formerly a Jeep fanatic, his love is now the classics. He has a '53 Pontiac Chieftain that has a chopped Merc' look; and a '56 Buick. But he would love to have a '55 Cadillac convertible. Perhaps some day.
What's in store for the future for Rossi Concrete Inc.? No doubt all the fairness and integrity that they have sown over the years will continue to produce bumper crops. Their reputation remains solid, with a steady harvest of repeat clients.
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