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No. 11
Revenue growth FY 2021 to 2023: 141%
2023 revenue: $22.7 million
B & B Site Maintenance President Blaine Leatherman relies on word-of-mouth marketing, and when your business is a full-service concrete company, having concrete suppliers in your corner really helps out. “My Ready Mix companies,” he says, referring to the brand name concrete mix, “have really pushed us a long ways, to as far as, ‘Hey, these guys are legit. You know, they might be a little more expensive. But it’s gonna get done, and if there’s any issues, they’re going to get it taken care of,’ which is huge in this industry.
Hard competition: B & B Site Maintenance crews do commercial and industrial work, such as schools, restaurants, gas stations, curbs and the Indianapolis Zoo. (Seen the alligator exhibit? That’s B & B’s work!) Business surged with freezer warehouse work in particular, he says. Central Indiana’s warehouse boom provided a lot of work to concrete contractors. “The boys showed up out in the field and were productive, and we nailed it,” he says. “And it was just—boom. From there we did another one, and it just kept steamrolling.” But then the work slowed. Interest rates rose. Lately, competition has stiffened as companies turn from warehouse work to smaller jobs. “We’re getting beat on bids from people that we never used to bid against,” Leatherman says. “But that just shows the work circle is getting tighter.”
Need for efficiency: Material shortages and price surges have brought their own challenges. “Finding what you need and getting it in a timely manner has changed a lot,” Leatherman says. Save where you can save, he says, “obviously not to sacrifice quality but to try to be the most efficient you can when you’re on the job and just keep moving.”
The next generation: “Man,” Leatherman says, “I’ll tell you that we don’t really struggle with it now, but it’s like that younger generation coming up. You know, I’m 40. Those guys that are in their 20s, they’re just different. It’s a different mentality.” He admits he should be more a part of the solution by getting into high schools to explain the benefits of working in the trades and show young people other career opportunities that are out there. “It’s OK to work with your hands,” he says.•
Check out more of IBJ’s ranking of Indy’s fastest-growing companies.
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