One of the things that  has impressed me from conversations with our customers recently is how many of them have diversified over the past year.  Many folks who were purely curb and gutter subcontractors have made ventures into stamped concrete, poured walls, box culverts, and barrier in order to compensate for the scarcity of available curb work.  My first thought upon hearing this has been skeptical.  Are those concrete sectors really in any better shape and curb and gutter?  Is it really a good idea to jump into a new field during times of tight margins and to challenge folks who are already pros in those areas?  After my initial pessimistic reaction, what really strikes me is the spirit, the entrepreneurship, the willingness to risk, of these contractors.  This is the same spirit that allowed many of them to become very successful curb and gutter contrators, who, through no fault of their own, found themselves in a downturn that forced them to look elsewhere.  By expanding their services, they'll be stronger companies with more to offer to general contractors when our economy rebounds. 

 Perhaps one overlooked area for you to expand is into extruded curb work.  Extruded machines, which Power Curbers invented in 1953, are still popular today.  Though extruded curb is most often seen in warm-weather climates like Florida and Arizona, its used in nearly all 50 states and in many countries.  Simple to operate, easy to transport, and requiring a very small crew, an extruded curb machine may be just what you need to help fill your workload until normal workloads return.  To learn more about our PC-150 or 440-XL please vist our "Extruders" page or our archives from past "Power Curbers Profiles," both of which can be found on the Power Curbers website.