One for the Roads

In a business environment ruled by multi-tasking, many companies today seek success by juggling as many products and services as they can manage.

From supermarkets to big-box retail, the trend for many businesses is cramming all conceivably related services and products under one roof. What is often sacrificed in applying this quantity-based business model is a deep, specific industry knowledge.

Other companies have taken a stand against the pressure to be "one-stop shops" for everything, instead focusing their resources into filling a specialized niche—and doing it well.

Billy Mulliniks Jr., president of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Mulliniks Recycling, jokes that his company’s exclusive service is the recycling of roads and runways because "we’re not smart enough to do anything else," but the company’s 25-year track record in the recycling industry and 2.5 million-ton annual volume is evidence that the decision to focus Mulliniks Recycling’s energy on roadway recycling has been plenty smart.

Many companies that offer crushing services do so as only part of their business, but Mulliniks is one of the few that makes it the sole focus of its services, says Tom Sutton, the company’s vice president.

This specialization helps Mulliniks stand out in an often crowded field. Mulliniks recycling may have a sharply focused range of services, but that’s not to say the company’s reach is limited. Mulliniks Recycling employs 43 people and is a full-service company providing saw cutting, breaking, removal, trucking and crushing services. In addition to the stationary crushing plant at its Jacksonville, Fla., headquarters, Mulliniks has a fleet of eight portable crushers, which it sends to jobs throughout the entire southeast region of the United States.

The company has spent some 25 years in its current incarnation as a crushing company, but its roots go back to 1974, when Billy Mulliniks Sr. founded the business as a utility company located in Oklahoma. In 1981, the company entered the crushing business with the acquisition of a rock quarry, and entrance into recycling followed with the 1985 purchase of Mulliniks’ first crusher. The company relocated to the current Florida location and opened its stationary unit in 1995.

Mulliniks says that the recycling side of the business simply caught on and grew with each passing year. The company recycled some 2.5 million tons of material last year alone into Department of Transportation (DOT)-spec products for roadbase and some new concrete.

Now an established name in the crushing business, Mulliniks says about 85 percent of the company’s work is repeat business. He attributes much of the success to the nature of the work, which is highly visible on many of the main southeast highways, and good word of mouth. "It’s a big world, but it’s not," Mulliniks says. "People are out on the road and see what you do—it’s all kind of word of mouth. If you do a good job, people will hear about it."

Specialization does not necessarily make doing business simple. Mulliniks and Sutton have dealt with their share of challenges in establishing the business and making it thrive.

A recurring issue in the crushing market is the cost of crushing, Mulliniks says.

"What it costs for us to do business is increasing," says Sutton. He explains that while the costs of asphalt and concrete climb, the cost of crushing itself is rather stagnant. He says that it can be hard to get a fair increase in prices because startups often work cheaper than the market can bear.

"The industry that we’re in, it’s easy to get in," Mulliniks says. "You can go out there, rent a crusher, rent a loader, and people do that. They don’t last long because they don’t understand the market, the cost of what it takes, but it beats the market down."

While the frequency of this kind of market inundation varies, Mulliniks says it’s a pretty constant issue for the industry. "We’re the ones who get hurt," Sutton adds. "People jump in and they work too cheap."

In addition to startups that offer unrealistically low prices, the crushing industry also runs into conflicts with its residential and local government neighbors. What happens in some cases is a plant located on the outskirts of a town ends up in conflict as homes build up around it. In such cases, "homeowners can put the squeeze on an industry like ours making it a little more difficult to do business," Mulliniks says.

This brand of NIMBY-ism—"NIMBY" standing for a "not in my backyard" attitude toward some industries—is often based on a fear of the unknown, says Mulliniks. "A lot of times, people don’t understand what you do, it’s just unknown."

He adds that recyclers can ease their neighbors’ concerns by working with them and addressing any complaints upfront. "For the most part, if you stay in compliance, there usually is not a problem," he says. "Staying in compliance is not that hard—play by the rules."

This involves paying attention to things like hours of operation, traffic and dust control—issues often raised by residents in opposition to heavy-industrial property. Mulliniks says adopting somewhat of a "go along to get along" policy helps put people’s minds at rest. For example, Mulliniks doesn’t run the stationary plant in Jacksonville on weekends. "We limit ourselves some just to get along with our neighbors—it’s just part of doing business."

However, Mulliniks adds that it’s helpful if the residents are open to compromise. "Everybody wants cheaper roads, but you can’t have plants 50 or 60 miles away from town or the costs are too much," he says.

For a company like Mulliniks that services many different states, the inconsistent regulatory landscape also presents challenges. "Every state has different regulations, so that’s difficult," Mulliniks says. "Some states are more recycle-friendly. I would like to see them all get on board and recycle more." He acknowledges that it would be helpful if states were more uniform in their permitting procedures and regulations, but admits that is unlikely to happen.

However, Sutton says that seeking multiple permits and staying in state governments’ good graces has actually helped Mulliniks Recycling drum up business from time to time. "We’ve had people who need a crusher and knew nothing about it, who didn’t know who to call. They get on the Web and find who has portable crushing permits and they start dialing the phone," he says.

Mulliniks boils his business philosophy down to a simple formula based on developing a good reputation and maintaining a strong work ethic. Seeking a little divine intervention doesn’t hurt either, he says. "Be honest, work hard, keep good employees and pray a lot," he says when asked to describe what it takes to be successful.

The honesty and hard work comes easily to Mulliniks, Sutton and their employees, the two principals say. Mulliniks, Sutton and many others in the company have strong backgrounds in related industries like mining and construction, and they’ve brought lessons in working hard and working smart to their current business, Mulliniks says.

While it can be tough to find and maintain good employees, Mulliniks makes it a top priority. "The majority of our workforce has been with us for years," says Sutton. "We don’t really have a lot of turnover."

Given the mobile nature of the company, that isn’t always easy. "We travel a lot," says Mulliniks. " It takes a certain person to want to do that, so when you find him, you’ve got to keep that in mind."

Mulliniks says treating employees the way he himself would like to be treated and rewarding them when he can are two ways to encourage them to stay.

With a strong crew behind them, Mulliniks and Sutton are looking forward to doing more of what’s brought them success throughout the past 25-years. Mulliniks acknowledges his customers’ role in the company’s success. "Without our customers, we couldn’t do this," he says. "We want to continue to do good work and to do that we try to keep good equipment. Each day brings new opportunities." C&DR