Road marking coatings are a growing market segment in North America, with the continent representing over 23 percent of the global market. Earning around USD 1,316.0 million by 2023, projections indicate that the market will continue to grow, increasing by nearly five percent by 2030.
It comes as no surprise, then, that legacy operators are developing innovative ways to expand their reach and secure their stake in this lucrative field. McShea Contracting, a leading road striping firm based in Lehigh Acres, is currently leading the way in establishing Florida’s largest-ever presence in this market.
Following Florida’s rapid population growth boosting road user rates to all-time highs, McShea Contracting spent the past year and a half turning itself into the state’s single largest company of its kind with the help of a few strategic acquisitions and decades of solid business acumen. Specializing in methyl methacrylate paint services for the road infrastructure sector, McShea’s premium UV- and weather-resistant road markings keep road users safe across the state by improving traffic flow and safety management.
In a state that rates third in fatal road incidents with more than 24 million registered vehicles and nearly 19 million drivers on the road, McShea Contracting understands its crucial role in Florida’s efforts to improve road user safety only too well. Now, with this large group dedicated to end-user satisfaction and road safety in the state, fingers are crossed that the people of Florida will continue to see a steady decline in road accidents despite current, widely reported congestion issues.
To this end, the McShea team is committed to playing a significant role in helping to keep traffic across the Sunshine State running smoothly. With federal support implemented through programs such as the Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Safe System Approach, overall traffic infrastructure such as roundabouts and other management and speed control features is also being improved.
With a strategy that smartly defies the old-fashioned way of expansion—where burgeoning organizations become too impersonal to care about remaining in touch with the humans that make them work—this forward-thinking company recently acquired some of its most respected competitors. Going from 90 employees to over 430 and nearly five times its original earnings in revenue, it created a single company powerful enough to serve the 65,758-square-mile geographic region of Florida with personal service delivery that puts a positive customer experience at the heart of its mission. This is achieved with the help of McShea’s highly engaged micro teams, who are familiar with customers and continue nurturing these valuable relationships with the same care the company did when it was a smaller operator.
Growing from four offices serving the state’s southern regions to 10 serving the state, McShea’s goal is simple: to provide a comprehensive road striping service that not only integrates with its road builder customers’ schedules and their overall needs, but also delivers a quality service with a high level of personal engagement. “Of course, we don’t claim to be perfect. But we do handle any mistakes or problems on jobs,” says Dan McWilliams, President, of the company’s commitment to becoming a premium preferred supplier in its market.
True to its roots, open communication leads the way at McShea. The company’s improved capacity now also means extending its reach to new geographies. To achieve this as seamlessly as possible, weekly scheduling meetings serve as gathering posts where plans for such expansion are discussed and implemented.
Officially established in 2009, the family contractor had its earliest origins in Michigan, where McWilliams’ uncle established the mother operation, PK Contracting, half a century ago—a company that is still in business there. Following the striping business to their uncle’s holiday house in Florida, Dan and his cousin decided to leverage their access to generational knowledge and longstanding connections with Michigan road constructors to build their own business. “We started with one little office and just a couple of trucks,” McWilliams says.
The business grew, and in 2021, the family sold both their operations to a private equity outfit, Frontline Road Safety Group. “That was a change for us because we went from a family-owned mom and pop business to a more corporate structure,” McWilliams continues. Having had similar propositions in the past, the family was, at first, not too keen on this one either. Keeping its family-owned character was important, and so was retaining its staff. However, once Frontline made it clear that the acquisition would require the company to continue operating with all its existing staff and management intact, the offer was accepted. The rest, as they say, is history.
In this way, McShea’s company culture was preserved, McWilliams stayed on, and today, the firm is stronger than ever. Following the first acquisition, that of Sanford, Florida’s Oglesby Construction in 2024, owners Tim Parker and his son continued running the operation as they had for decades. Emerald Coast Striping in Pensacola followed only a month or so later. That was followed by another two acquisitions in Tallahassee and Panama City, respectively. There is also Angco Striping in Longwood, all in the state of Florida.
News of McShea’s steady expansion got around as well as its reputation for being a good and fair employer. As a result, the company saw over 70 percent of another competitor’s staff join its ranks following a steady decline in staff satisfaction there. “We had no idea it was going to be the domino effect that it was,” McWilliams says of the en masse walk-over that would enable McShea to open yet another facility, this time in Plant City. Frontline then purchased said competitor’s parent firm, securing a fully operational office space in the same city that the original McShea Plant City outfit could then move into.
Considering the number of acquisitions since July last year, it stands to reason that blending all these teams into a well-functioning unit with a healthy operational culture has taken some careful planning. With every acquired business bringing a decade or two of operational value to McShea, alongside many decades of collective expertise, the company is now in a better position for scaling its operations than ever.
“I’m very proud,” says McWilliams. “We’re still trying to put this thing together operationally in terms of combining our best aspects. It’s a special thing for us all to be on the same side now and have all this knowledge and these resources under one roof.”
Naturally, all this effort is underscored by McShea’s deep understanding of the market—and the importance of pleasing its customers through more powerful capabilities and ever-improving service. As such, it is looking at two more companies it hopes will soon join its stable of service providers. This will enable the team to better serve the entire state, including the region between Gainesville and Jacksonville.
In further developing its service portfolio, McShea is also exploring the addition of rumble strips—a safety feature applied to tarmac where road surface incisions alert drivers to potential hazards. There is also traffic maintenance work lined up in the state’s panhandle region, which will see the advent of package deals that its contractor client base will soon benefit from.
Remaining in stride with its customers’ demanding schedules also means being able to pivot at short notice. By maintaining a well-supervised network of operators across the state, the company’s extended team is able to reach most of Florida. And, with the largest fleet of striping equipment in the state, becoming multi-talented has become a superpower that McShea Contracting is especially proud of.
“We want to be the leading road striper in the state of Florida, providing the best service to all the prime road building contractors,” McWilliams says. Recognizing the sheer volume of expertise and collective time in the field that this company brings to the table, more and more road-building contractors are increasingly turning to McShea for durable industry excellence in roadmarking and other infrastructure services that they know they can count on.
