Evolution of ASI
Paving the Road to Success

1978 – At the age of 14, Bruce Israel thought it would be more fun to paint yellow stripes in parking lots than mowing lawns or busing tables as a summer job.

• He got the idea while attending a kitchen supply convention with his dad and saw a display of an asphalt striping machine.
• He convinces his older brothers, Dan & Mark, to kick in $600 each to buy a striping machine – they find work recruiting customers from the Yellow Pages.

1981 – Dan Israel leaves to attend Denison College – the summer striping job is now grossing $50,000 a year.

• Dan achieves a Political Science degree – the business is now doing $200,000 in yearly sales.
• Bruce is now half way through Hillsdale College, majoring in Marketing, and he & Dan continue to run the business with Bruce helping out on weekends & holidays.

1987 – The brothers acquire a small paving company and enter the world of larger contracts & higher revenues.

1988 – Dan & Bruce sell “Global Striping” (now at 60 employees & grossing $700,000 yearly), and buy out a small excavation company to concentrate on the core business of “full service” asphalt paving – sales begin to skyrocket.

1990 – Asphalt Specialists, Inc. is becoming a force in the Metro Detroit paving industry with 3 full time paving crews and 8 prep crews – now grossing $10 million for the year.

1995 – The business continues to grow at an accelerated pace – Dan & Bruce acquire a 10 acre parcel in Highwood Industrial Park in Pontiac Michigan, and proceed to build “ASI World Headquarters”, an office complex large enough to accommodate an ever increasing staff – the facility includes a 4 bay shop / industrial garage for 24 hour preventative maintenance & repair for their growing arsenal of paving & earth moving equipment and fleet of big rigs & trailers.

1999 – Recognizing the importance and necessity of trucking and hauling materials, Dan & Bruce acquire and build up 3 distinct trucking operations suited to various needs.  Lou’s Trucking specializes in quad axle work – Oxford based TKMS & Milford based TSI focus on the “gravel train” or aggregate hauling part of the operation.  In combination, ASI & the 3 trucking companies have over 100 trucks in the field daily covering virtually every construction hauling requirement.

2000 – Dan, Bruce, & other leaders in the company realize the value of recognizing & identifying the core values that have evolved during the growth of the company – having a clear & well articulated ideology attracts those of compatible personal values.  The values identified in “The ASI Way” not only develop a consistency and strength in how the entire ASI team operates, but provides a moral compass or standard in how we provide service to our customers.

As part of its corporate business philosophy, ASI adopts a system commonlyreferred to as “The Rockefeller Habits”.  This discipline is one of setting goals    (quarterly, yearly, & into the future), collecting & maintaining data (to set benchmarks for measuring progress), and having regularly scheduled & structured meetings for good communication & problem solving.

2001 – Kevin Shell becomes a partner and part owner of ASI.  Kevin graduated from the University of Michigan in 1987 with a Bachelor of General Studies degree & worked several years in the property management business.

In 1995 Kevin joined the ASI team and was integral in establishing the company’s core values through diligence, hard work, innovation, and leadership.  His attention to detail and focus on customer satisfaction continues to produce outstanding sales.

Kevin’s self discipline and professional growth have made him a “Go to Guy” – he is now a Vice President and leader of the Sales Department & mentor to all departments within the company.

2001 – ASI purchases Toby Wilson, Inc., a locally based pulverization company, to expand and better serve customers with this valuable reconstruction tool.  (ASI adds a 2nd state of the art CAT RM500 pulverizer in 2007 to accommodate a growing demand for the service.)

2002 – ASI now operates 5 full time paving crews and 20 prep crews with annual sales of $30 million.

2004 – ASI purchases Metro Paving, Inc., a Livonia based paving company, with significant experience in municipality & governmental paving.     

2006 – ASI begins a joint venture with the formation of ASIX Paving, Inc., dedicated to union paving requirements and municipality projects.
 
2007 – Through hard work, determination, and the good fortune of an ever increasing loyal customer base, Pontiac based Asphalt Specialists, Inc. has become a state of the art paving company grossing in excess of $45 million yearly.

Ongoing – Realizing the levels of complexity and internal organization necessary to efficiently develop & run sales, project management, site preparation, paving crews, trucking operations, and equipment maintenance, the brothers & their staff know the value & advantage of staying on the cutting edge of computer technology.