Who says pennies are useless? In 2012, Richland County voters in South Carolina approved a 1% special sales and use tax titled the Transportation Penny reserved for local road improvements. One of the projects coming to life through this initiative is the extension of Shop Road immediately southeast of Columbia. Shop Road is a four-lane divided highway complete with bike lanes and sidewalks. There was no existing access along the corridor, so the project provides the infrastructure for a new industrial site. When the $19 million project opened for bidding, Don Brasington of Verlington Concrete saw an opportunity, submitted a bid, and was selected to do the paving, sidewalks, and curb and gutter for the project.

Verlington is no stranger to concrete work as they have been completing various hand-formed and slipformed concrete jobs since 1968. Don’s father, Frank Brasington built the business from the ground up. Now Don runs the business with his sister, Michelle Brasington, who works as a Project Manager. A third generation, Matt Brasington, has been learning to operate their equipment from his father, Don. Verlington Concrete is based in West Columbia, SC and completes work throughout the state with twenty-eight employees who specialize in commercial and industrial concrete work.

The Shop Road extension is Verlington’s largest paving job to date, and it came with 5 inspectors monitoring their work. After some slow progress with a roller screed, Don made a big decision to purchase a Power Paver SF1700. Matt described their situation, “when Don gets on a job, he fully commits to it.” The job specifications include over 51,000 square yards of paving over approximately one mile. Most of the paving is sixteen feet wide and ten inches deep. The concrete is a 4,000-psi mix with a slump of 1.5 inches. Don and his crew of sixteen also completed a combined 6,000 linear feet of sidewalk, and curb and gutter for the project.

With the shift from a roller screed to a new paver, Don and Matt expected a learning curve. But through the instruction of two Power Curbers & Power Pavers field technicians, they picked it up very quickly. Matt reported, “I ran the controls for 300 yards on day one with no problems and after the first week things were running really smoothly.” Before the paver purchase, they were able to complete about 100 yards each day, but on the first week with the SF-1700 they were approaching 500 yards per day. Both Don and Matt echo that production has increased three to four times. The benefits were not only recognized through changes in production. Matt acknowledged that “the paver really improved our company and workers’ morale by eliminating the hardest back-breaking parts of the job.” At their new pace, Don anticipates completing the job in February 2019.

Verlington has a long history with Power Curbers & Power Pavers. They owned two extruders in the early 70s, bought a Power Curber 5500 in 1988, and have upgraded through a 5700-B, 5700- Super-B, to a 5700-C in July 2017. Don explains “we’ve been dealing with Power Curbers & Power Pavers a long time; they treat us like family. The service, product support, it all has a personal feel.” Leading into their third generation of family ownership, it is clear how important family is to the Brasingtons. Having a great attitude and friendly support is one thing, but without capable equipment, it isn’t worth much. Fortunately, Power Curbers Companies has both. Don describes their Power Curbers and Power Paver as “reliable and quite simple to work on. Parts are readily available, pumps, hoses. It makes a difference.”