A Helping Hand For Others
Superior workmanship drives Elite Paving & Seal Coatings, Elite Concrete Creations Ohio and Re-Deck of Northwest Ohio
Joe Croft takes pride in everything he is involved in. “Our company name is on every single one of the trucks in our fleet, and our employees proudly wear a company uniform,” he says. “We stand behind everything we do. We would never install a product in your home or business that we would not install in our own.”
Croft is at the helm of three companies in Lima, Ohio—Elite Paving & Seal Coatings, Elite Concrete Creations Ohio, and Re-deck of Northwest Ohio. “We are a one-stop shop for asphalt, concrete and epoxy finishes,” he says. “We are the workhorse of the industry. General contractors like us because they don’t have to sub out for multiple services. From paving or resurfacing a parking lot to laying the concrete and applying an industrial epoxy finish in homes and businesses, we do it all.”
Elite Paving & Seal Coatings provides new asphalt, asphalt resurfacing, patch repair, seal coating and custom line-striping, and hot tar crack filler for both residential and commercial customers. “Primary projects include residential driveways and commercial parking lots,” Croft says.
Elite Concrete Creations Ohio provides decorative and regular concrete flatwork, as well as concrete design services. “We are Ohio’s decorative concrete experts,” Croft says. “Our design experts make existing concrete look like slate, granite, brick or wood.” Common applications include decorative floors, driveways, patios and pool decks, as well as commercial parking lots and floors.
Re-Deck of Northwest Ohio specializes in concrete design. Additionally, the company does concrete repair, polishing, Graniflex flooring systems, rustic concrete wood, industrial epoxy coatings and metallic marble flooring. “We offer over 100 different colors of stamped overlay. When applied over existing concrete, the overlay gives customers an attractive yet affordable way to repurpose old concrete. We turn our customers’ dreams into reality,” he says.
With a fleet of more than 25 trucks, Croft has over 40 employees, who complete projects from Flint, Michigan, to Nashville, Tennessee, and from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis, and all throughout Ohio. “It’s a new adventure every day. It never gets boring. I love what we do and would not have it any other way,” he says.
Among Croft’s favorite projects is one for Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. “We applied 1.4 million square feet of seal coating to a series of parking lots in just six days. It was one of the largest seal-coating jobs we’ve ever done in such a short timeframe and was a very fun project,” he says. According to Croft, Elite Paving & Seal Coatings has the capability of completing upward of 725,000 square feet a day. “We use a 100 percent synthetic sealer that is environmentally friendly and comes with the industry’s best warranty (three years).”
Another memorable project was for Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Lima, Ohio. “We provided 16,000 square feet of new flooring at a discounted rate for the ReStore,” Croft says. “Over 90 volunteers were on hand to unload the 30,000-square-foot warehouse in preparation for the job. We all worked together to empty the warehouse and filled nine semi-trailer trucks in eight and a half hours. What I loved about the project was spending time with the volunteers and learning about their life stories.”
Strong Work Ethic
Croft’s story began in Cloverdale, Ohio, where at just eight years old, he began working in the shop at Vorst Paving. “I would wash the trucks and equipment on the weekends,” he says. According to Croft, Vorst Paving, owned by Dan Vorst, is one of the largest paving contractors for CSX Transportation in the U.S. In his early teens, Croft joined his dad, paving and working after school and on the weekends when the opportunity presented itself.
“Working with my dad helped me develop a strong work ethic and value for earning my own money. That’s stayed with me over the years,” Croft says.
When his father passed away in 2002, Vorst took over as mentor, encouraging Croft over the years to do better. “Starting Elite Paving & Seal Coatings in 2010 was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but Dan supported me and guided me along the way. He told me I had what it takes to be my own boss—that I know what I’m doing and I do it well. He gave me my first seal-coating rig and only asked me to pay for half of it when I was able to,” he says. “Dan is a second dad to me. He is a very big part of who I am and where I’m at today. I could never thank him enough. I’m very grateful to have him in my life.”
Croft began maintaining existing parking lots, performing line-striping and repair services. “There was definitely a learning curve in those first few years, particularly pricing the jobs correctly so you still have money to update and maintain your trucks and equipment.”
Fixing the Mistakes of Others
Over the years, Croft found that much of his new business came from companies that had hired inexpensive, inexperienced contractors. “Fly-by-night companies come in with super low prices, undercutting everyone else. In the end, we are called to fix their mistakes, and most times, the customer pays more than it would have cost them to have us do the project in the first place,” he says.
One of the unique offerings of Elite Paving & Seal Coatings is its 60 custom colors of seal coat. “That is something new to the industry and unique to our business,” he says.
As Croft’s reputation grew, so did calls for concrete services. “I got so many calls for decorative stamping and concrete services that I began Elite Concrete Creations Ohio in 2013,” Croft says. “When I began this company, we started with sidewalks and residential driveways. Today, we work on large projects, providing concrete flatwork for jobs such as a 200-by-200-foot factory building or a half-mile roadway.”
Croft attributes his companies’ growth to word-of-mouth and social media. “We provide superior workmanship with the industry’s best products. When you become known for doing quality work, people talk. And that’s great for business.”
As the company’s decorative stamping services grew, Croft began receiving calls for epoxy services. “After looking into the epoxy business and taking multiple epoxy training classes, I made the decision to buy out my biggest competitor, Re-Deck of Northwest Ohio, on March 25, 2016—two days after my 30th birthday. It was the hardest company to get off the ground because of all the fly-by-night companies that were undercutting the market.”
Mentor and second dad, Vorst, gave Croft the opportunity to cut his teeth in the epoxy business. “When I was first learning, Dan took me down to his basement. He said, ‘Here’s your clean slate. Have fun.’ We installed a decorative, concrete overlay. Dan gave me the practice space I needed to refine our technique,” Croft says.
Croft is particularly proud of what he accomplished with Re-Deck of Northwest Ohio. “I revamped that company completely, and in nine months, achieved an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau,” he says.
Among all three companies, Croft oversees more than 700 projects a year. “I employ three estimators and a construction design representative who works with customers on custom design needs.”
Croft is proud of his employees and proud of the fact that he employs those needing a second chance. “I myself have made mistakes in my life and have served time as a felon. I was given that second chance to prove myself, and I’m committed to doing the same for others who are seeking a second chance on life,” he says. “Everybody makes mistakes. It’s what you do after those mistakes that define you. Of all the people who gave up on me, Dan, my grandfather and my mom never did.
“I didn’t get where I am today without help,” Croft adds. “No one does it alone. With a helping hand, the right state of mind and hard work, you can turn your life around and accomplish anything. You just have to have the drive and ambition. No matter where you go in life or how much money you make, it means nothing if you forget where you came from and who has helped you get to where you are now.”