Tag Archives: Concrete Raising Seminar

By: Paul DelFino
“Welcome to the Family” are the words I have used for many years to wrap up every HMI “Discovery and Training Seminar”!

The word family is continuously populated in the HMI website since it is in reality a family business that markets to families as well as major corporate entities and government. Last week, as I was queued up waiting to deliver the seminar wrap up, following Jeff’ presentation in Las Vegas, I starting thinking about the word – family - in a business context. What expectations and perceptions were created as we say “welcome to the family” or position ourselves as a family business?

FAMILY BUSINESS – GOOD or BAD IMAGE?

Generally family, in a business context, evokes multiple images/percepti


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HMI Offers Concrete Raising Seminar In Texas on November 6th & 7th

 HMI News Release

World Leader in Concrete Lifting Announces A Special Seminar in the Southern US to Assist Entrepreneurs and Municipalities to Explore and Learn The Techniques to Lift and Level Concrete.  

HMI Inc. (www.mudpumps.com) the world leader in manufacturing of concrete lifting and leveling equipment has announced that it is taking its acclaimed training seminar series on the road to Arlington Texas on November 6th & 7th , 2013. For over 40 years HMI has been assisting entrepreneurs and municipalities by educating and supplying the equipment to cost effectively lift and level concrete slabs. The unique two day seminar, will be held in Arlington, Texas.

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On highway I-43 in Manitowoc county,WI, the weight of moving traffic and the unstable soil caused the slab of concrete underneath the asphalt to rock back and forth as heavy vehicles traveled over it. The signs of an unstable slab of concrete are cracks forming and pot holes in the concrete.

 

RaiseRite (www.raise-rite.com) drilled a series of injection holes through and around the troubled area. A dense lightweight polyurethane material was then injected in the holes to stabilize the concrete beneath the asphalt. The polyurethane injected has a cure time of 15 minutes to make sure the job is done fast and correctly. The polyurethane material used will not erode and assure the slab will not move. After the injections were complete the

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How To Hire a New Estimator

Ernie Cvetezar

Typical story that always seems to happen – “your concrete raising business grows fast and as an owner operator you cannot keep up doing estimates and doing the work!” I have “been there done that” many times in my career.  So it is decision time – do I hire a worker to do the work or do I hire an estimator?

My experience is that most new owner operators choose to recruit an estimator.  Why:

It is easier to hire and train an estimator. HMI has created systems and the Appstimator Estimating App to allow you to train someone in as little as three days to estimate concrete repair.
Estimators can also double as temporary workers for peak periods and can be paid in multiple ways; salary, h

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Missed Opportunity – “I’m Just Too Busy to Make More Money”

Business Advice from a War Horse “Who has Been There - Done That!”

Ernie Cvetezar

One of my great frustrations is watching clients and new friends make the same mistake I once made.

THE SYMPTOM – Many of HMI’s clients who attend our seminars and secure NEW polyurethane concrete lifting and leveling equipment do so to add an additional service to their existing business. These entrepreneurs want to diversify, grow and increase their profit margins.  Too often we get feedback from customers that they love the equipment.  They have successfully completed a job, but have not used the concrete raising equipment recently because they just too busy with other parts of th

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Multiple applications for concrete raising with the same system
Concrete raising with mud or polyurethane raises and stabilizes settled concrete.  Concrete raising projects are often the same repair in different settings.  To learn more about concrete raising attend an HMI Discovery & Training Seminar.

Residential concrete raising applications

Sidewalks
Driveways
Patios

Commercial Concrete Raising Applications

Commercial Entrances
Industrial Concrete Raising
Industrial Void Filing

Municipal Concrete Raising Applications

Curb & Gutter
City Streets
Highway Projects
City Sidewalks

Specialty Applications

Block Wall Core Filling
Bridge Approach
Void Filling
Shotcrete Application

For any questions about mudjacking equipment applicati















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“How you get the work has changed as much as how you do the work!”

As I was sitting back and observing the recent April HMI Training Seminar, two thoughts came to mind:

1.      How you get the work has changed as much as how you do the work!

2.      When you consider; marketing, estimating, and sales HMI devotes as much time in our seminar on getting the work as we do training future equipment owners on how to do the work!

More than 3 decades ago I started my mudjacking business by putting a 2’x4’ ad in the local newspaper. That one ad generated 14 requests for estimates and my first 10 jobs. RaiseRite/HMI was born and I had a new career. For the next 10 years, newspaper advertising was the anchor to my marketing program.

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I am excited!!!!!!   It’s true!!!!!!

In the coming weeks the HMI team and I will be heading to my 23rd  World of Concrete. It is not unreasonable to suspect that I would have a ho hum perspective after so many years of potential setbacks that are a result of our economic environment.  Why am I excited?

- FIX vs. POUR – The economy for concrete lifters and levelers is sound. With new construction down and budgets tight; fixing and efficiency are what is HOT. HMI customers are finding work and I suspect many in the trade will be approaching us on how to introduce a new Concrete Lifting  & Leveling service to their business.  As an example our contracting Division grew in 2010.

- Mud & “NOW” POLY – I invented the first

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The HMI team recently conducted its first training seminar on concrete raising and leveling using either the traditional mudjacking method or our NEW polyurethane concrete lifting system.  Participants came from varied walks of life and brought varied experiences to our headquarters in Manitowoc, WI.  We enjoyed the participation of:  engineers, entrepreneurs, current contractors, retired professionals and some folks who are about to retire.

WHY THEY CAME

– When asked why they came to the HMI seminar three main reasons were cited by participants:

1) Looking for a NEW business opportunity they can rely on Part Time or Full Time.2) Looking to ADD a service to an existing business.3) Looking to start a FAMILY business where they can invol

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LEARNING TO LIFT & LEVEL CONCRETE
36 Years of Experience in 2 Days

I’ve been asked to give a 3 minute speech on the history of my companies for the introduction segment of our NEW upcoming TRAINING SEMINARS.  WOW -  did that request get me thinking.  I laughed to myself thinking how I could probably talk “for hours” on how I got started in business or how I learned how to mudjack or what my business philosophy is and how it made me successful.  I could pepper my talk with humorous stories of accidentally

spraying customers with mud or water, filling toilets with mud and some not so funny stories about pushing in basement walls or filling heating ducts with mud.

When if comes to giving this “3” minute speech (they will hav


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