Buying Your College Grad A Job HMI REP Oct 2, 2013 0000 Buying Your College Grad A Job Ernie Cvetezar Over the past year we have seen a trend developing at our seminars. Families are attending to consider/research the possibility of investing in a concrete raising business for their recent son/daughter who has graduated college and who cannot find a job. In reality they are buying a job and career. The good news is that after doing their homework and evaluating options, the HMI Polyurethane Concrete Lifting business opportunity is evolving to be the career of choice. I AM OFFENDED BY THE TERM UNDEREMPLOYED! The news is saturated with stories of our current underemployed workforce. These articles presuppose a mindset that anyone with a college degree should be sitting behind a desk working fo 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
Missed Opportunity – “I’m Just Too Busy to Make More Money” HMI REP Apr 29, 2013 0000 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 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
What kind of applications can concrete raising equipment be used for? Jen Mazur Oct 11, 2011 0000 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 Read More
AN UNDER WATER FOAM! – ANOTHER HMI INNOVATION! Jen Mazur Sep 26, 2011 0000 Can polyurethane set up, lift concrete and maintain its compressive strength when pumped under slabs where water is present? At HMI it can! RR401g is the latest HMI innovation in perfecting specialized foams for residential, commercial and DOT contractors who lift and level concrete slabs. This 3-4 pound hydrophobic/hydro-insensitive foam is again a two component polyurethane foam product, best delivered by HMI equipment, which sets up, lifts concrete and maintains compressive strength even when a void is filled with water. Weather and draining are no longer concerns for contractors or government crews. Traditional delays and costs in completing projects are gone. Commitment to Innovation Is More Than A Tag Line At HMI! For 40 years HMI has 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
Residential HMI Poloyurethane Driveway Repair HMI REP Feb 2, 2011 0000 As the HMI polyurethane is injected under the slab, the material reacts and expands filling voids. The material expands very (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
World of Concrete 2010 Here We Come! HMI REP Jan 26, 2010 0000 We are on our way to the World of Concrete 2010! I remember when we would wait to get the notice for the next year's conference and hope it would be somewhere exciting. Houston, Atlanta, Orlando, it was like winning the trade show lottery. Now the show has exceeded any of those venues and we are headed to Las Vegas to learn what is new in the World of Concrete. Always full of the newest products and methods, the World of Concrete is put on by Hanley-Wood and will no doubt out-do itself in 2010 as it has the past 30 years since we have been attending. This year we will bring a new product line of polyurethane concrete lifting equipment that is sure get some attention. Every aspect of concrete is covered which makes it a great plac Read More
Polyurethane Concrete Raising Vs. Traditional Mudjacking HMI REP Jun 4, 2009 0000 The equipment is costly and the material is 4 to 5 times more expensive than mudjacking. Why would polyurethane concrete raising be used instead of traditional mudjacking? Four major questions need to be answered. I’ve been hearing about polyurethane concrete raising for the past 20 years. Having been in the mudjacking business for the past 35 years, I thought that because the process was so expensive it would come and go. Polyurethane Concrete Raising Vs. Traditional Mudjacking Why would anyone spend 4 to 5 times the amount of money to have their concrete raised using polyurethane opposed to traditional mudjacking? Is polyurethane strong enough to raise and support concrete slabs? Does the finished job look better than Read More