Ajax Paving Industries Inc. is a company that has built its reputation atop three principles on which employees can rely, sometimes literally.
“Quality, safety and profitability are the three legs of the stool that must be in balance to keep us successful,” reveals Jamie Jacob, Ajax CEO. “We actually have them painted on the legs of a stool we pull out at annual meetings to illustrate their importance.”
This philosophy has contributed to the tremendous success of Ajax, a multi-faceted, award-winning asphalt and concrete contractor that employs 500 to 600 during its peak season, and generates $300 million in annual revenue.
Making Inroads with Asphalt
Herbert H. Jacob established the Ajax Asphalt Paving Company on April 19, 1951, in Madison Heights, Michigan, selecting the company’s name so that it would appear first in the phonebook. In the nearly 60 years since the company was founded, Ajax has managed to become first in far more places than just the Yellow Pages.
These places include several hundred miles of the Michigan, Ohio and Indiana region surrounding the company’s headquarters in Troy, a suburb of Detroit, as well as along the Gulf Coast of Florida, where in 2009 the company finished a historically significant highway project from Ft. Myers to Naples. Since business has come up alongside the auto industry, Ajax has been there to assure commuters the highest quality surfaces on which to travel.
“My father saw an opportunity in the early 1950s during a great period of growth,” reflects Jamie, Herb’s son and Ajax president since 1988. “He started in the construction of commercial shopping centers and residential developments before venturing into public work during the early 1960s. Since then the tone he set -- that we would be a quality-minded contractor of choice focused on satisfying long-term customers and employees -- has made sure we have seen continued growth, and fulfilled all the potential he saw.”
The first 10 years saw Ajax set certain trends that would be repeated throughout the company’s six decades. In the late 1950s Ajax helped found the National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA), and has since been an active participant in concrete and asphalt associations in both Michigan and Florida. Groups such as the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association (MITA), the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA), and more have aided Ajax in furthering education and industry information, as well as awarded the company numerous certificates of recognition.
The company started its commitment to investing in the most exacting, efficient technology with the procurement of a then state-of-the-art Barber-Greene #879A Asphalt Paver for $13,700. In 1961 Ajax erected its first asphalt plant, and by the end of the decade had a second plant, as well as the resources of the J. C. Sachs Company that Ajax acquired. “Ajax has always been about being consistent, having the best equipment and tools in the industry, and we do reinvest every year regardless of the economic climate,” says Jamie. “We demand a lot of our people, they demand a lot of themselves, and they need the tools to do it.”
This pattern of expansion and acquisition continued throughout the 1970s, establishing Ajax as the preeminent asphalt paving contractor and material supplier in the southeastern Michigan region. And the company has transitioned its identity from that of the Ajax Paving Company to Ajax Paving Industries to reflect these broadening capabilities.
It was also during the 1970s that Jamie started at his father’s company during summers, “working in the asphalt plants, running loaders, working in the garage; I was doing everything from menial labor to jobs that were very important, and being entrusted to a 17-year-old kid,” he recalls. “When you start out you wake at 5 a.m. and get back at 8 p.m. You deal with crews, owners, developers, engineers ... there’s so much to learn and organize. But it’s a lot of fun.
“When I graduated high school I got a degree from the University of Michigan Business School,” continues Jamie, “and then I was blessed to come aboard Ajax in the estimating department, working all facets of the business and making it up the ranks. And at the age of 34 I became company president.”
Jacks of All Surfacing Trades
The 1980s included several milestones for Ajax. In 1981 Mike Horan set up Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, where he is currently president. “I think back to when Mr. Jacob first sent me to Florida to start the business; I worked out of my house for several months and my wife handled the phone calls and took notes, as there were no cell phones in 1981,” recounts Mike. “And to build an organization of our size and reputation makes me proud. Our goals are to ‘be the contractor of choice,’ ‘be the employer of choice,’ and ‘to make repeatable profits,’ and we have accomplished those goals.”
Also, in 1987, Mark Johnston, president of Ajax’s Michigan operations, furthered the dominance of the company’s concrete paving presence with projects such as the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. “We made a large investment in a concrete plant and pavers for the projects that were put underway during that period,” explains Jamie. “We’re not shy about investing to become the best.”
The tone at Ajax always stressed investing in not only equipment, but also the people. Herb Jacob acted as a mentor to the younger generation that now leads Ajax (a company that has always offered great opportunities for advancement, as Jamie, Mike and Mark can all attest). “Herb had a lot of skills that not many of us have, so I tried to draw from the ones I was lacking in, which were many,” says Mike. “And some of the wisdom he passed on was to be financially conservative, build relationships with your employees, subcontractors and customers, do what you say you’re going to do, always think quality, be fair, analyze your competition, surround yourself with the best people, and have fun!”
The Future is Riding on Ajax
Always looking to build on past success, Ajax maintained its focus on “doing what we’re good at, doing it right, and just doing more of it,” says Jamie. Contract after contract for asphalt and concrete production and installation followed in the 1990s and the new millennium, further investments in quarries and vertical crushers were made, and many more national awards and showcase moments were established for the company. The company helped construct vehicle test tracks, and was instrumental in such projects as preparing Detroit’s highways for the 2005 World Series and 2006 Super Bowl. No period has been more fertile than the last few years, however.
In 2008 Ajax was called upon to do a $50 million job at the Memphis International Airport, a new market for the geographically exploratory company. But there is one project above all that has (re)defined the capabilities of Ajax, however.
For the past several years Ajax of Florida has been active in the $430.5 million iROX project in Florida. With an A+ performance rating by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Ajax came out on top as one of only two qualified bidders for the 30-mile I-75 lane-widening project, for which the company formed a joint venture with Anderson Columbia and partnered with the engineering firm of HDR. Assembling the best group of subcontractors possible, and excelling in managing the field, Ajax managed impeccable quality on Florida’s largest road project in history, finishing the final friction course nearly one year ahead of schedule and making multiple lists for most impressive design-build road & bridge project.
Always optimistic, Ajax’s leadership council continues to strengthen the company’s infrastructure, as well as constantly looks to strategic partnerships for increasingly complex public-private projects. Currently, Ajax is investing in asphalt storage terminals to allow for more vertical integration. There are always challenges, but for Jamie and Mike, among countless others, the industry remains deeply satisfying.
“The construction business attracts interesting, hardworking dedicated people in all facets, and I enjoy the people,” says Jamie. “Plus, one thing nice about our business is [that] you can see and touch what you accomplished at the end of the day.”
“Being able to see each day people driving on our pavement to work, around town or at the store parking lot, it’s definitely satisfying to see you improve quality of life by making it easier for people, goods, and services to move freely,” agrees Mike.
With a commitment to employees and customers alike -- and an eye to future technologies such as GPS paving, sonic lasers, and in-field design systems, among others -- Ajax Paving Industries is most definitely a company with a long, smooth road ahead of it.