“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
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
Highway Polyurethane Stabilization HMI REP Jul 18, 2013 0000 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 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
Make More Money With Your Spray Foam Equipment Jen Mazur Oct 17, 2011 0000 A typical story – “I own $50K worth of spray foam equipment. I get work but in today’s economy I am not booked out and often do not have a backlog. I feel like I am just getting by with no solution in sight.” I have heard this story countless times in recent years from spray foam contractors seeking a solution to the economic reality we now live with. Fortunately – I have an answer. How to maximize your spray foam equipment investment by raising concrete with polyurethane. All of the equipment commonly used for spray foam applications can be used to raise settled concrete slabs. At HMI we design and make our own polyurethane foams specifically designed for; concrete raising, under sealing (void filling) and soil stabilization. Read More
THE NEW MARKETING COMPLEXITY Jen Mazur Apr 28, 2011 0000 “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. 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
WOC 2011 – Ernie Cvetezar Is Excited! HMI REP Jan 4, 2011 0000 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 Read More
The HMI Training Seminar Experience HMI REP Oct 8, 2010 0000 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 Read More
A little knowledge goes a long way! Learn how to raise concrete in 2 days! HMI REP Sep 15, 2010 0000 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 Read More