After nearly a century of advocating for worker safety and development, the Florida Transportation Builders Association is proud of its contribution to the state’s progress and prosperity. This team of five identifies, establishes, and maintains essential networking connections locally and across the United States. Putting its voice to good use and helping to improve standards across the board, the association is committed to making lasting change.

“Political advocacy is something anybody can do and everybody should do,” says FTBA President Dan Hurtado, who holds a master’s degree in structural engineering and was formerly chief engineer of the Florida Department of Transportation.

Since its founding in 1933, the association has guided its 540 member organizations in navigating industry challenges while shaping policies and promoting best practices. To achieve this, its efforts take various formats, such as collaborating with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to host its two-day annual construction symposium. Here, technical experts share information on current technological trends, the evolution of project delivery, and legal matters.

While the symposium covers heftier matters in a slightly more formal setting, the association’s four-day annual convention allows a moment of respite for its extensive community of suppliers, contractors, subcontractors, and others. Here, people gather and network while enjoying the chance to compare notes. “These gatherings are very important to us. We take a lot of pride in it that there are tens of thousands of people out there that we help support through [these events],” Hurtado continues.

These two annual gatherings are not the only opportunities members have to mingle. Various informal events across Florida punctuate FTBA’s calendar every year. Regular meetings address current industry issues involving transportation owners like the FDOT and others, while 10 technical committees bring stakeholders together, covering areas like traffic maintenance, lighting, and alternative contracting. In addition, they tackle challenges like safety, the state of pavements, and structural specifications, drawing on the expertise of a large variety of professionals.

Transportation construction contractors represent the majority of FTBA’s members. “Our contractors are building massive structures, hundreds of miles of roadway. They’re a sophisticated group, handling complex construction operations,” says Hurtado.

As a result, the association is a repository for vast amounts of technical expertise, from which members benefit. Beyond providing technical expertise, it also offers support in legal matters. “Whenever there are contract disputes between transportation owners and contractors, often FTBA will help bring issues to resolution,” Hurtado says. When it comes to contractual disputes, he counsels those in the industry to always consider the actual content of a contract and its meaning first and, following this, to consider what is fair and what would preserve the relationship between the client and the service provider before deciding on an optimal route of action.

Time has taught him that this sage advice is incredibly valuable. “Sometimes, folks can’t get past the first consideration of understanding the content of their contract,” he explains. As a result, conflict resolution guides the parties toward finding “win-win” outcomes. These solutions often preserve the relationships that are crucial to successful projects.

FTBA also engages in political advocacy, engaging with transportation-positive candidates who appreciate that planning and executing such large, expensive projects may take decades to complete. This aspect of its work means that FTBA, as an organization, holds a long-term view of transportation infrastructure development. “Transportation is a multi-year effort. Because of this, FTBA’s political advocacy focuses on the long-term outcomes rather than short-term victories,” says Hurtado.

Following these efforts, the association plays a vital role in educating officials on the realities of the industry, its processes, and the benefits for the state of maintaining a well-funded, well-run transportation system. Within this context, one of the main points it emphasizes is that navigating transportation funding cannot be adjusted in the blink of an eye, but is rather a process of patience, endurance, and attention to the fine print.

As Florida’s state gas tax—which, according to Hurtado, generates billions annually—funds the state’s transportation trust fund, which funds FDOT’s work program, FTBA is responsible for ensuring that that money is indeed directed to the designated areas as planned, rather than diverted. Here, transparency, advocacy, and education lead the way to help keep everyone informed and focused as to its purpose.

Moreover, the association concerns itself with the quality of workforce recruitment and development. Providing a range of courses and upskilling opportunities, it also promotes the industry to young people looking to create well-paid futures without incurring massive student debt. Part of this mission includes a team with heavy equipment simulators that give kids an exhilarating chance to feel what driving cranes, bulldozers, and other construction vehicles is like. Naturally, this school-based event is always a hit.

As part of these efforts, the association ensures students who are passionate about the industry have the funding they need for education. FTBA has provided over two million dollars in scholarships, providing over 500 students with access to college and trade school educations. The scholarships provided “are something we are very proud of,” Hurtado adds with a smile. The number of lives the association has changed and improved directly and indirectly through these continued efforts is nothing short of remarkable.

Other programs include the FTBA commercial driver’s license training program that supports people in the industry in qualifying as heavy-vehicle drivers. FTBA also creates opportunities for employers to further develop promising younger staff through its Emerging Leaders Academy.

Florida is home to around 24 million people, hosting an estimated 143 million visitors every year whose spending reaches hundreds of millions of dollars. One economic driver is that Florida is the country’s leader in small business startups, leading the association to constantly remind its members that remaining up-to-date and engaged with industry developments and state-wide growth is imperative to continued prosperity.

That means that the state relies on strong transportation infrastructure to earn its annual gross domestic product of 1.47 trillion dollars, which, if it was an independent, self-governed nation, would put it 13th on the global earnings scale, perched between Australia and Mexico—a tremendous achievement for the people of this productive place. “If there is anything FTBA is proud of, it is our role in promoting a healthy and vibrant state economy,” Hurtado says.

Being such a busy place, traffic management is crucial to keeping everyone safe and the state functioning as it should. Whereas the historic approach saw more roads built to accommodate more traffic, the modern ethos leverages technology to regulate traffic in smarter ways—as far as possible.

In addition, the association takes it upon itself to explore new technologies, and it is common for vendors to team up with FTBA to further develop, refine, or qualify their products. In this way, it helps secure continuous evolution on the product and construction front in this bustling state.

But it is not just road user safety this team is concerned with; highway worker safety is another top priority, as is paying respects to those who have lost their lives serving the state. The association is currently creating a memorial “to highway workers who have lost their lives in service to the state [which] will be displayed at an FDOT roadside park,” highlighting the association’s commitment to raising awareness.

Looking ahead, FTBA looks forward to expanding its influence locally and nationally. Beyond that, continuing to secure a well-trained, efficient future workforce for Florida is one of its greatest goals. To this end, its approach includes continuing to recruit students, veterans, and employees looking to make a change to create better lives for themselves by joining the transportation construction field.

Hurtado’s message to prospective employees is one of welcome and promise. “A career in road and bridge construction is challenging and rewarding, demanding and honest, exciting and fulfilling. It is a promising career that keeps every promise that it makes. Dirty hands earn clean money.”

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Embracing a daily goal to deliver the highest caliber precast goods in Florida and beyond, HHI has built a rock-solid reputation for manufacturing superior products while assisting contractors and guaranteeing safe highways throughout Florida.

Driven by its skilled employees and a strong sense of integrity, the company’s projects—including MSE retaining walls, top walls, sound walls, K-Walls, and light-pole bases—exceed the rigorous demands of an industry that prides itself on quality.

“I grew up in the industry,” says Flores. “My dad has two plants in Texas, so it’s a family business over there, and I’ve worked in different aspects of the company throughout the years.”

And even though she chose to attend law school, Flores’ father never pressured her to come work with him, she says. “He wanted me to pursue what I wanted, and I wanted to be a lawyer.”

From law to infrastructure
Following graduation, she practiced law for 14 years before HHI was “even a thought,” she says, although the Florida construction market was booming at the time and needed an additional precaster.

“I was approached by my father’s partner—who is now also my partner here—about the possibility of opening a plant in Florida,” she says. “I jumped right in. I took the opportunity and put in all of my life savings. We started immediately because there was an immediate need.”

Both her business background and law degree have helped “in so many aspects,” Flores says. “You think differently. You think about risk, about management, about labor law. I had a pretty good starting point, but I had a lot of guidance from my dad and my partner—collectively probably 80 years of experience—and they were great teachers when I needed it.”

Flores’ partner, who has numerous contacts in Florida, put HHI in touch with Cemex Inc., leading to HHI leasing one of their properties in Florida. “It’s how we got started and it’s been instrumental in helping us grow,” says Flores, adding that it’s “been a whirlwind from start to finish. It’s surprising because normally I’ll stop, I’ll sit, I’ll go home, I’ll think about things: is this something I want to invest my money into and be a part of and operate? This time I didn’t think about it.”

Does she have any regrets? “I’m not sorry in any way whatsoever. I’m really happy with that decision, because I love it,” she tells us. And it’s clear, 11 years later, that she made the right decision. “We’re doing well,” she says. “Opening up any kind of company is stressful and time-consuming. You pour your blood, sweat, and tears into it, which is what I did.”

By that December, Flores had moved to Florida, learning to navigate labor costs during a very stressful period. And while there were already jobs in place and contracts to fulfill for customers, there were still a lot of unknowns to calculate.

“Navigating through that for the first couple of years was difficult,” says Flores. She adds that it was 2019 when HHI got a grasp on total costs as far as what numbers should be, what needed to be included, what needed to be changed, and how to improve. “It took a good five years for us to get a handle and an accurate reading on everything, because sometimes you don’t know until you’re at full volume.”

And just when the business began to thrive, COVID-19 changed everything. “We had to navigate through that as well. We had material price increases all over the place. Our costs went through the roof. There were several increases per year on everything. We never knew what markets were going to do. We had to adjust our quotes weekly.”

Like father, like daughter
Navigating that period was a huge challenge, but HHI weathered those storms successfully, and the company is now proudly on the other side. But success for Flores also means acknowledging her father.

“My father is a big part of it. He’s my teacher,” she says. “I’ve had guidance throughout from my dad. He made it clear in the beginning, ‘If you ever need anything, if you have any questions, I’m a phone call away. You can always call me.’”

Flores took that suggestion to heart. “He’s an instrumental part of my knowledge, of me learning how to do this, how to operate this company. I take that and I run with it. All the knowledge that he can provide, I’ll take it.”

Leading by example
Additionally, while being a woman-owned and run company can be a challenge in a traditionally male-dominated industry, her leadership encourages more women to take the opportunity to explore a new path. “I love it,” says Flores. “I love that this is a woman-owned company. I love running it; it’s so important. We can do anything if given the chance.”

While she’s had moments where she gets “a side eye,” or hears rumblings that people don’t think she’s knowledgeable enough, since the beginning she’s worked hard to gain the respect of colleagues and feels HHI has earned its reputation as a solid company by doing good work within Florida. “I’m proud of the company, and my employees are proud of it,” she says. “They’re always very supportive of me, and that’s all that matters. We have a lot of women who work here, both outside and inside. My General Manager is a woman, and she’s in charge of a lot of these men. I’m proud of that.”

Flores adds that she likes to hire women who are eager to embrace new opportunities. “It is a male-dominated industry,” she says, “but I’m of the mindset that women can do it just as good as a man, and so I hire and build my team with women and men. I’m proud of us,” she says. “We’ve come through a lot. We’ve made it 11 years. Was it flawless? No. Did we make mistakes? Absolutely. But if we do make mistakes, I demand to know why that mistake was made and learn from that. I think that contributes to us being able to grow and be more successful every time.”

A challenge met
That commitment and care from employees hit a more personal note for Flores when she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. While cancer-free today, that was a staggering obstacle for her and a challenge for the entire company.

“It was a concern for everyone,” she says, noting that HHI swiftly rallied around her. “Along with my own family, my HHI family gave me a big bear hug and didn’t let me worry about anything.”

They worked hard through all of it, she adds. While Flores would put in four or five hours before needing to rest while going through chemo treatments, her team filled in the gaps. “Sometimes it’s harder for the people you’re around every day because they see you going through that,” she says. “They were such a big support, and they traveled through that journey with me every step of the way.”

The entire company also made her smile, laugh, and took care of her throughout, even participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Orlando, bringing their own families as well. “That was so special for me. I just cried because I couldn’t believe the support I was receiving. They wanted to show up and do that with me. It meant so much to me, and I love them back. We’re a family in every sense of the word.”

Work is important, she stresses, especially when you’re sick and need a distraction from what’s going on in your life. And while her own family and doctor were amazingly strong and supportive throughout treatment, continuing to work helped keep Flores from “falling into despair and depression,” she shares. “That’s all I wanted to do; I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay here with my people and continue to do what we sought out to do,” she says. “I’m so happy I did, because they’re a big part of why I recovered and why I’m cancer-free.”

And her people at HHI carried her through the entire experience, she adds. “They didn’t let me worry about anything, and it made the journey that much easier.”

Time to grow
Now able to truly look ahead with hope and resilience, Flores says HHI is focused on expansion and increasing both its revenue and its footprint to support growth.

“That’s something we’re actively working on, along with expanding production lines to accomplish those goals,” she says. She also aims to employ more people to produce the company’s product for the state of Florida.

“Every day that we’re here is an accomplishment, and I’m proud of that,” says Flores. “We’ve weathered the storm on several fronts—whether it’s having so much work that we have to navigate through, having very low work and trying to navigate through that, or dealing with COVID and material price increases and figuring out our costs through the beginning years. Every single thing is an accomplishment for us, and we’re still here.”

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While few of us likely give the importance of this crucial civil function a second thought, rendering concrete matrices that maintain their integrity for generations takes practice, skill, and expertise. Based in Lilburn, Georgia, Blount-Sanford Contracting pours concrete barrier walls on road and highway projects nearly every day of the year, primarily serving state DOTs as well as county governments across the American southeast. Crews are currently working in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida on a daily basis.

Extensive expertise
Blount-Sanford Contracting’s extensive offering includes reinforced and non-reinforced median and side barriers on highways, as well as barriers, parapets, and sidewalks on bridges that prevent traffic from spilling over the sides into other lanes or bodies of water. Moreover, the company supplies flared, vertical, and tapered back bridge rails. The team also provides additional textures and treatments to concrete to enhance the aesthetics of its installations.

The team uses sophisticated machinery to execute its projects. To ensure consistency over long distances, a mobile paver machine is fed with pre-prepared wall slip, rendering in situ slip-form work. This is finished by field workers following on foot as the machine progresses at two to three miles per hour—painstaking work performed in every kind of weather. “We take a lot of pride in the quality of work that we do. All of our employees have a lot of pride, and they know that their name is attached to the work,” says James D. (Jimmy) Greeson, President.

Initially founded as a concrete drain structure operation by Sandy Sanford in collaboration with Blount Construction in 1968, curbs, gutters, and mold-less concrete formwork followed. Sanford later bought his partner out, maintaining the firm’s good name for rendering strong and attractive concrete structures that end users can trust.

A valued team
Working across such a vast and diverse region means that field staff must cope with extreme temperatures, especially heat. To ensure their overall safety, the company provides its people with the appropriate PPE and hydration. Employing around 70 individuals—most of whom are out on the road performing this crucial work for up to 11 hours a day—safety is considered paramount across all levels of the company. Since they’re so well cared for, “the folks we have enjoy what they do and do a great job,” says Greeson.

Thanks in part to its robust benefits and remuneration, Blount-Sanford Contracting attracts and maintains a solid stable of hardworking people underpinning its reputation for quality concrete work. Benefits include a 401(k) with company matching; life, dental, and health insurance; a range of bonuses; paid holidays and vacation; and opportunities to work their way up in the company. Always ‘on the grow,’ the company is currently seeking more laborers, concrete finishers, and slip-form machine operators to round out its team.

Along with its range of capabilities, the scope of the company’s projects also varies. With one truckload of concrete rendering nine cubic yards, the team can execute projects ranging from 16 to 300 yards per day. “The project types we do range in size due to whatever the departments of transportation are bidding—the type of work they release,” Greeson explains. Arriving at the company in 2015, Greeson celebrates his first decade with the firm this year—10 years which have seen many proud moments.

Pristine projects
The team is currently collaborating on a large bridge project alongside Archer Western Construction and Traylor Brothers, an impressive structure that promises to become what has been called “the biggest bridge ever constructed in Florida.” Replacing the Howard Frankland Bridge on Interstate I-275, the replacement structure will cross Old Tampa Bay, linking St. Petersburg and Tampa, just as its predecessor did. Blount-Sanford Contracting is also collaborating with Lane Construction on an expansive interstate project on the outskirts of Charlotte, as well as some projects with Blythe Construction.

In an industry where Blount-Sanford performs such a niche role amidst so many other major project elements, coordination and scheduling of contractors is crucial. To improve workflow and mitigate bottlenecks, its area managers are well-versed in creating efficient systems. Greeson is full of praise for their sterling efforts. “We have four area managers who control the different areas and do the scheduling. They do a wonderful job,” he enthuses.

The approach seems to be key to the company’s longstanding success. With its local DOTs releasing consistent streams of work, Blount-Sanford Contracting is pleased and grateful to have established a steady revenue stream. And—while he admits it is a lot of hard work—for Greeson, the team’s resilience and commitment are a good match for the demands that come with such regular projects.

Such projects include ongoing work on Interstate I-85, which passes through Atlanta heading to South Carolina, where the team has completed multiple 6 to 12-mile sections over nearly half a decade—specifically a 27-mile stretch of work starting near Gaffney, South Carolina, heading toward the North Carolina border, which remains in progress. Blount-Sanford also recently completed work on the beautiful—and enormous—Pensacola Bridge project in Florida. “The bridge crosses Pensacola Bay and is absolutely gorgeous,” shares Gleeson. They put lights on it and light it up at night—that was beautiful work as well.”

Embracing innovation
What set the firm’s work apart on the Pensacola project—beyond outstanding workmanship—is a specialized stamp used to press patterns into concrete. Here, the team employed a wave-patterned print that adds a lovely artistic touch to road elements that would otherwise be notoriously bland. “That is something special that we partnered up for with a company called Slipstone,” says Greeson. While Slipstone holds the patent for the stamp drums, Blount-Sanford performs the stamping in the field. The collaboration is proving to be mutually beneficial while bringing a novel addition to the civil construction market.

Such innovation is something customers value tremendously—and they are not shy to say so. One customer notes, “Their staff is always professional and dependable. Their crews have the knowledge and resources to provide a final product that can be measured against the highest quality standards. In addition to their typical services, they have also provided [us] with technical advice for innovations that either reduced construction costs or durations.”

Another client, who has worked with the firm since the ’90s, had this to say: “Blount-Sanford has ALWAYS performed their contract obligations, doing exceptional work in a timely and professional manner. I will always consider Blount-Sanford when they quote work on a project, no matter the size.” It is this level of customer satisfaction that secures the company’s bright future.

For Greeson, the road ahead is clearly defined. Continuing to lead with dependability and consistency, the company’s aim is to remain the top barrier provider to every customer on its books. To achieve this, Blount-Sanford Contracting Company continues to trust its people to provide signature trustworthy service and friendly customer care that has made the firm the go-to industry legend it is today. “Our success is just based on our people. We have the best people in the business by far,” Greeson says with a smile.

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