“Family” – A Popular Word at HMI HMI REP Apr 30, 2015 0000 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 Read More
The Word Is Getting Out & So Are We HMI REP Nov 15, 2013 0000 “The Word Is Getting Out & So Are We” Jeff Cvetezar For several years the team here at HMI has been working hard to apply 4 decades of experience on raising and leveling concrete to perfect the systems that will allow contractors to utilize polyurethane foams for increased profitability. We have: Continually improved our customized foams for concrete lifting to achieve the ideal blends required for the specialty with exacting; strength, speed and adhesion. Introduced new specialty foams for unique projects and formulated foams especially for unique customer needs. Engineered equipment to increase productivity and minimize downtime. It was gratifying to see Concrete Construction Magazine publish an article this week which parroted Read More
HMI Offers Concrete Raising Seminar in Texas on November 6th & 7th HMI REP Aug 2, 2013 0000 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. Read More
How To Hire a New Estimator HMI REP May 22, 2013 0000 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 Read More
Buying A Career HMI REP Feb 3, 2011 0000 There are many reasons for starting a business; to make money, to be independent, to be your own boss and to follow the American dream. At least that is how it used to be. Now with a struggling economy and continued down sizing of corporate America, the reason to start a business is to buy a career. Parents are helping their graduating children buy franchise businesses to make sure that they are employed after graduation. Laid-off executives and factory workers are starting their own businesses to help secure their family’s future. There are three directions that a new entrepreneur can look to; buy a franchise, start a new business or look into an existing business opportunity. A franchise is usually a neatly packaged business that Read More
Concrete Lifting Options The PROs & The CONs HMI REP Jul 8, 2010 0000 Polyurethane Concrete Raising verses Traditional Mudjacking, how do these two methods match up? Which one is better? Will both processes survive the long term market test? Will one surpass the other in popularity? For all those businesses who are presently using mudjacking to raise settled concrete or for those entrepreneurs who are thinking about starting a concrete raising business, these are monumental questions. Below I will attempt to apply 36 years experience to assist in predicting the future. Polyurethane concrete lifting is the new-comer to the arena. Although it has been a known solution for about 20 years, until recently it was primarily applied to the DOT work to raise concrete streets and highway pavement. The equipme Read More
The Answer HMI REP Apr 29, 2010 0000 FINALLY – “THE ANSWER” I have been designing, building and selling mudjacking equipment for over 30 years. I have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs start their own business and support their families. Over time I have observed and participated in the evolution of an industry. From the beginnings when wheel barrow style pumps forced contractors to shovel material into a mixer to the development of self propelled units that mix material themselves, slabjacking has progressed with technology and innovation. Through all of the progress one constant roadblock remained – “a consistent dependable and economically feasible source of good pumping material. Finally– “ I have an answer – Polyurethane!!” Over the years I have candidly Read More
MUDJACKING ON STEROIDS-Increasing Profitability with Residential Polyurethane Concrete Raising HMI REP Mar 1, 2010 0000 Using polyurethane to lift concrete slabs is not a new concept. It was first introduced in Europe in 1989 and quickly spread to the United States. The process was initially patented here in the US and was primarily used on large DOT projects. The big news is that the patent expired in 2003. Now any contractor with the know how and correct equipment can use this efficient technique to raise concrete slabs for jobs of any scale. Yes – polyurethane concrete slab lifting can be a profitable business even with a project focus at the residential level. When first introduced, prohibitions and costs of equipment and material made profitability elusive at a small scale. That is not the case today. Why Is Polyurethane Concrete Lifting Advantageous? Read More
2010 World of Concrete Report HMI REP Feb 9, 2010 0000 HMI’s pumps are the highest quality slabjacking equipment in the world, HMI introduced the Raiserite system for polyurethane concrete raising as a way to grow one’s business, and our customer support/ training is second to none. Did the gamble pay off? In my own informal survey of exhibitors, I found that most exhibitors thought that traffic was off but the quality of the participants was much higher. One exhibitor told me that on the first day of the show they sold more product than any prior year. What a statement! For HMI, we heard from many of our existing customers that our pumps are performing above expectations. New potential customers were able to stand in our booth and talk to existing customers about equipment, servi Read More
Surviving Today’s Economy HMI REP Oct 2, 2009 0000 The question today is...how do you survive in Today's economy? The answer is educate your self on what is working for other business facing the same struggles. 2008 was a great year. Business was great record sales were recorded and everyone was optimistic about the future. Then it happened, housing values took a nose dive, banks and insurance companies were in trouble and all the optimism disappeared. A new government came along and promised to change everything. No, this is not going to be a blog about government, bail outs or a move toward socialism, but a comment on what it takes to survive in today’s business climate. The first step toward being successful is to stop listening to the news about how bad things are and how b Read More
Starting a Mudjacking Business? HMI REP May 7, 2009 0000 I’ve been in the mudjacking and mudpump manufacturing business for over 35 years. I figure it’s time to “give back” and share my knowledge with other entrepreneurs on how to successfully start a profitable mud jacking business. I hope to educate others with my Blog posts. I recently read a blog post I found myself agreeing with at gaebler.comstarting a mudjacking company, in which the author covered several steps that a person looking to get into the mudjacking business should consider. The 4 main points that he covered were: locate competitors near you, know what you will offer that will provide an advantage over your competitors, learn form people in the business outside your area and ask yourself, will purchasing a franchise wo Read More