16
SPRING 20
Suit-Kote and New York State Team up to
Solve Longitudinal Joint Problem
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
1
President’s Perspective FRANK SUITS, Jr.
Welcome Back! This year’s offseason was rather mild
as far as winters in our part of the country go, and it
has yielded a tremendous opportunity for Suit-Kote an early start!
2016 has all of the makings to be something truly
special. The early start coupled with increased
financial resources, lower than usual priced asphalt
and a well executed bidding strategy has put SuitKote in a great position to have possibly the best year
in Company history - weather permitting of course!
As exciting as all of these developments are they also
bring with them challenges that demand our absolute
focus. As the season heats up and work is in abundance
we cannot lose sight of the most important part of our
jobs - getting home safely to our families each and every day. Safety is the most important
gift we can give to our children and spouses because without it nothing else really matters.
This edition of Suit-Quotes focuses on our recent advances in our safety and training
programs and will attempt to give each of us a chance to evaluate and learn more about how
we can be successful at work without compromising our well being. This off season Suit-Kote
employees completed more than 10,000 hours of safety training. The program has grown
and improved in recent years and this year’s hands on training was implemented to coincide
with the tradition classroom instruction. Through the efforts of our safety and operations
departments they did a terrific job of creating a curriculum designed specifically for Suit-Kote
to provide everyone with the tools to avoid accidents and make it through the season injury
free.
This training will be especially important this year more than any other in recent history
because we are likely to see dramatic increases in work. You will likely get an understanding
of just how much work is on the books and how far that schedule will reach geographically.
This is not a time to cut corners and take unnecessary chances with your safety.
In addition to safety training, we also conducted a comprehensive management training
program this winter. Each and every supervisor in the entire company was trained on managing
a workforce, how to enforce company policy as well as a concrete understanding of the many
laws and regulations that can have a serious impact on Suit-Kote and its employees. This will be
a new year of adherence to company policy and involving our Human Resources Department
to assist in many facets of Suit-Kote life. It is our intention to improve communication among
the many locations of our company and provide the necessary resources and support to
continue to allow our Company to adapt to the ever changing world we live in.
Rounding out this edition of Suit-Quotes will be insightful articles addressing health insurance,
government funding programs, capital investments and the state of our human resources
information technology capabilities.
The road ahead is going to be busy. We have done our best to prepare you for what lies ahead
and we are confident you are ready to rise to this challenge. You are the best at what you
do and we are pleased to give everyone an opportunity to showcase that talent on an even
larger scale than in previous years. Let’s have a safe and great season!
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Suit-Kote Corporation
table of contents
4.
Suit-Kote Mangers Go to School
5.
Employee Intracompany Transfer Program
6.
News From Around the Company
9.
Equipment Manufacturers Visit Suit-Kote to Train
New management training program instituted
First year program provides employees with opportunity
What’s new(s) in the Suit-Kote family
Equipment operators undergo training from experts
10. Longitudinal Joint Repair Solution
Public/private cooperation allows for introduction of new product
11. Suit-Kote Healthcare Costs Headed in Right Direction
Health insurance spending declines thanks to education
12. A Simple T-Shirt or Profound Safety Tool
Crew shirt giving people a reason to think safety all the time
13. Travelling on a Hope and a Prayer
Tips of tire maintenance and care
14. Safety Spotlight
Fall protection program and national safety month update
16. Suit-Kote Health Insurance Update
Falcone Associates provide important information about healthcare
19. Employees Get Serious About Their Retirement
401K is seeing record investment
20. New York State Provide Record Funding
CHIPs funding reached historic high
21. 2016 Work Season Could be a Record Breaker
Funding and asphalt prices work together to make 2016 special
22. Capital Expenditure Investments Key to Future Success
Suit-Kote invested millions to prepare us for this season
23. Human Resources Gets a Tech Boost
Digital automation makes paperwork much easier
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
3
Suit-Kote Managers Training
Leaders Wanted
On February 23, 2016 nearly all Suit-Kote managers
attended a comprehensive management training seminar.
To many, this was a valuable experience and it taught them
how to be better managers and clearly explained what is
expected of them on a daily basis.
Suit-Kote has been growing consistently for more than
a decade and this type of expansion brings with it great
opportunity, but also increased risk. As the Company
continues to add locations and employees there are higher
expectation for professionalism and sophistication of the
workforce. As more and more trucks get out on the road
the visibility of the Company grows and the public spotlight
focuses on those men and women who are out on the road
representing Suit-Kote every day. This type of exposure
coupled with today’s ever tightening laws has required the
company to invest in our managers to help them lead our
employees and set the proper example of what it means to
wear Suit-Kote green.
What is a leader? A person who guides or inspires others.
It involves the exercise of influence by one person over
others.
An organization has the greatest chance of being successful
when all of the employees work toward achieving its goals.
The quality of leadership exhibited by supervisors is a critical
determinant of organizational success. There are eight traits
of a leader: vision, trust, participation, learning, diversity,
creative, integrity and community. It is our hope our
managers at all levels will continue to develop and enhance
these traits because it will only make this Company better
and stronger and it will also improve the lives of everyone
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Suit-Kote Corporation
who works here.
Leadership has a strong impact on the company’s
reputation, and the effects ripple down through the
organization, specifically affecting employee morale and,
of course, financial performance and continued growth. In
year’s past Suit-Kote has operated like a moderately sized
family business, but we have grown into a large corporation
and because of this we must replace the thought of, “this is
the way we have always done things,” with “this is the way
we must do things now.” Breaking old habits is difficult,
but it can be achieved through strong leadership and
teamwork. We live in an ever changing world and we must
either change with the times or be devoured by them.
One of the main focuses of the meeting was on leadership
and understanding what it means to be a leader and not a
boss. It is important for our managers and employees to
know this Company will stand behind its employees when
they are faced with difficult situations and when they feel the
need to point out issues that can impact the corporation in
a negative way. The summer work season is tough enough
and not following company polices or safety procedure will
not be tolerated. The Suit-Kote Board of Directors (BOD)
has made the commitment to managers and employees to
be there to support and follow through on adhering to our
policies and procedures fairly and across the Company.
We must be vigilant in making sure how we communicate
and act in the workplace is professional and we must
completely stamp out behavior that is unbecoming. It is up
to all employees and managers to make sure our employees
treat each other with respect and support. It is equally
Suit-Kote Intracompany
Transfer Program Provides
Opportunity
This off season was the first year of a new initiative
at Suit-Kote. The Company has created a program
allowing current employees to apply and interview for
open positions throughout the Company.
Overall this program was a tremendous success. There
were several open positions on road crews and nearly
all of the openings were filled with current employees.
Most importantly, all employees who applied for
intracompany openings were given an interview with
the exception of those who applied for construction
laborer positions and certain flagger positions because
those jobs were not set to be filled until after the May 1,
2016 transfer deadline.
important for those same people to have the courage to stand
up and report to their supervisor or human resources when
they see behavior or actions that are wrong or in violation of
Company policy. It is important to the health of the Company
to identify and correct unwanted behavior immediately .
Your supervisors and managers have been taught to identify
a great many liability issues and how to correct them. This
season is likely to be different than recent years. Breaking
of the rules and violation of Company policies will be met
with proper disciplinary action. In addition, all managers
and supervisors have been cautioned to understand SuitKote policies apply to each employee equally and fairly and
uneven discipline or favoritism will not be tolerated. It is the
intention of the BOD to make sure all of our employees feel
the rules are being applied fairly and across the Company,
with no exceptions.
It is important for all employees to understand as we continue
to enter this new world of lawsuit driven justice, we must be
aware people looking to sue will often seek out the biggest
target available. And the target on the back of Suit-Kote is
getting bigger and bigger every day. The Company has seen
a spike in frivolous lawsuits and the frequency of suits filed
has been growing at a rapid pace. There are no signs this
reality is going to subside any time soon, and that is why is so
important for all Suit-Kote employees to understand this and
act as ambassadors of the company every day. Our polices
and procedures have been put in place to not only ensure
your safety, but to protect the company from unwanted
avoidable liability.
Due to the nature of our business and the need to
prepare for the season, we instituted a May 1st transfer
deadline because in order to have all of our workforce
needs met we have to limit the time frame for personnel
changes.
This program will resume at the end of this season and
will remain open until May 1, 2017. We encourage
all employees who are looking to advance or seek a
position they are passionate about next year. Please
understand any employee who is interested in seeking
another position with Suit-Kote will be looked at as a
positive step to bettering their career and it will not be
viewed in any other way. This will in NO WAY have a
negative effect on your current position or standing
within the Company if you are not selected to fill an
open position.
Suit-Kote values all employees and will continue to
make programs such as this available because we are
dedicated to providing everyone with the opportunity
to better their careers right here at Suit-Kote.
How the Program works:
• When a position become available, the hiring
managers contact Human Resources and they draft
a job description and then post it to our Corporate
website www.suit-kote.com under the tab of Job
Openings.
• Interested employees complete the online
application and submit it to Human Resources.
• Employees are then contacted to set up an interview.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
5
News from
around the
company
In Memoriam
Steven L. Bishop, Sr., 63 of Locke
NY passed away suddenly at
Cortland Regional Medical Center
on February 13, 2016. He was born
May 28, 1952 in Tupper Lake, NY.
He was the son of the late Leonard
Bishop and Theresa Norman
Bishop.
for being there in the wee hours or the late nights. If it
needed to be done they were always there.
Thank You Dick Thorington, Don Deiss,
Harold (Butch) Quaile, and thank you
to one we lost this year Steve Bishop
(Bish). Steve fit right in with these
three men and was always there when
someone needed anything.
Dick Thorington
Steven was employed by Suit-Kote, as a Specialty Truck
Driver, he was previously employed by Cornell University
as a Tradesman. Steven loved cutting wood for all his
family to stay warm and will be remembered as a very hard
worker.
Steve is sorely missed, but we have
taken advantage of the opportunity to add Steve’s
grandson, Tyler Bishop to the L.A. division. Tyler has taken
over the calcium truck for his grandfather, and is proving
to be a great addition. It can already be seen that he has
the same drive as Steve.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife; Judy Bishop, two
sons; Michael Bishop (Deborah) Groton, Steven Bishop
Jr. (Tammy) Truxton, one daughter; Rae Marie Bishop
(Cliff Hall) Statesville, NC, three brothers; Richard Bishop
(Judy) Augusta, GA, Randall Bishop (Marilyn) Cortland,
Timothy Bishop (Carla) McLean, one sister; Susan Cornell
(David) Statesville, NC, nine grandchildren; three great
grandchildren; several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Starting his employment at Suit-Kote May, 25 1987 Robert
Daugherty spent nearly 30 years dedicated to Suit-Kote as
a pugmill operator. After many years working long hours
and spending a lot of nights in a hotel, Bob has decided to
retire. Although he will be missed, we hope that he enjoys
his retirement doing the things that he loves to do. If you
should see him out, probably on a golf course, wish him all
the best with his retirement.
Memorial contributions in Steven’s name can be made
to Caring Community Hospice of Cortland, 11 Kennedy
Parkway, Cortland, NY 13045.
Cortland LA
It’s nice to have someone you
can count on when you need
a job done, and done right, at
any time of the day or night. The
work ethic instilled in our longest
tenured employees is unmatched
in this day and age of Google
this and e-mail that, Snapchat,
Facebook,Twitter and the like.
There are three new faces in the lab this year, so please
welcome Connor Campbell (Aggregate Lab Tech), and
Jacob Harder (Aggregate Lab Tech).
Preble
Harold “Butch”
Quaile
You cannot replace the “get it
done attitude” of a our senior employees who grew up
without all the luxuries of today. So when you pass these
gentlemen in your daily travels shake their hands and
thank them for their years of service to this company and
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Suit-Kote Corporation
Cortland Lab
Congratulations to Kelly (Hollister) Henninge (Cortland
Lab) on her marriage to Mark Henninge on May 29th at
ceremony at their home. Mark, welcome to the Suit-Kote
family.
Mike Murphy is now responsible for the sales management
of Fosterdale, Oneonta as well as Broome, Tioga and
Chenango Counties.
Congratulations to Zeke and Linda Quinlan. They became
grandparents on May 8th when Blake Brendan Quinlan
was born weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 20
inches long.
Al Paquin was recently contacted by the Village of Minoa
(East Syracuse) and Erie Village Homeowners Association
to praise our surface treatment crew on doing an excellent
job. A special thank you to Brian Davis, Earl, Alex and Don
for doing such a great job and representing the Company!
Watkins Glen/Belmont
Kevin Smith has been promoted to the position of General
Manager of our Watkins Glen and Belmont facilites. Kevin
will focus on the sales and administration management of
the Watkins and Belmont offices.
Western New York
Gary Risley is now taking the lead for western NY with the
sales and administration management roles for the Buffalo
and Jamestown office’s.
Jamestown would like to thank everyone for their great
efforts on getting ready for what looks like a very busy
season. With the extensive training, hard work setting
up jobs, and getting all the equipment ready it was
a challenging spring but as always everything came
together. It has been an abnormally busy start to our
season.
Please remember with a busy season on our hands that
safety does not take a back seat. If anyone sees a safety
issue please report it. Don’t be afraid to say something.
The Jamestown
Employees would
like to thank
Tony
Brown,
John Irving, Jim
Halstrom, Dayton
Brown,
Brad
Potter and John
Beckwith from our own Suit-Kote Construction Division
for their hard work in preparing our building site for our
new garage/office facility. They have worked through
some difficult soil and weather conditions to make
the site suitable for our new building. Their hard work,
professionalism and their experience in this type of work
has proven invaluable.
We would also like to announce the addition of a new SuitKote family member in Jamestown. He is the son of Josh &
Mindy Henderson. His name is Walker Martin, born on May
12th, 8 pounds 11 ounces 21 inches long. Congratulations
Josh & Mindy.
A new construction season is upon us and it shows great
promise. Please make safety you first priority every day
and in the end we will celebrate the fruits of our labors
together.
Congratulations on a
job well done to Eric
Hill. Recently while
working on a project
in
Pennsylvania
Eric
received
an
exemplary evaluation
from PENNDOT. In
the report he received
high grades across
the board and the
evaluator even added
in the comment
section “Eric Hill’s professionalism and cooperation was
above reproach.” Excellent job representing your crew and
you company Eric!
Just like everywhere else our Buffalo facility is busy
growing as well. In just two years they have added 27
new employees to meet the growing demand for liquid
asphalt, emulsion mill and hot haulers.
Oriskany Expands Territory
Steve Gloo, who served with Herkimer County for more
than three decades, before retiring, has decided to take on
the challenge of developing a market presence in Fulton,
Montgomery and Schoharie counties.
This is Steve’s second season of being focused on this
effort and is making great strides with developing this
new market area. He has been successful with introducing
dense graded coldmix paving to hot mix market area that
has strong hot mix industry presence.
Oriskany has expanded its technical presence at their facility
by installing a state-of-the-art laboratory to conduct product
formulations and field testing. Longtime Suit-Kote employee
Jonathan “JC” Curtis has been tapped to lead this new venture
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
7
Polkville
William “Willy” Olands started working at
Suit-Kote in 1979. He started out with the
construction division doing various jobs
which included driving truck. He later
began driving fa lowboy hauling blacktop
for many years. When Ed’s Batch plant
moved from Homer to Polkville in 2003,
Willy became Ed’s loader man. He decided
to retire this year. His last day was May 27,
2016. He was a great guy to work with and
will be missed.
We would like to also recognize Candi Benek who has been
working hand in hand with our IT Department bringing to
life a new computer program for the sales department.
This will funnel several spread sheets and maps into one
program, making it more efficient and user friendly. This
program will be up and running very shortly and we are
looking forward to it. Thanks for all the hard work!
Willy
Olands
Oneonta
Gerald “Jake” Wikoff has stepped into Larry Preston’s sales
representative role. Jake has been part of S-K for 15 years,.
He has come off of the paver to fill our need in the sales
role. Jake’s sales responsibilities are Otsego and Delaware
Counties.
Washington, PA
Kelly Puskarich has filled our sales void in the Pittsburgh
Washington PA area. She was a sales rep for the
pharmaceutical industry for 10 years prior to joining SuitKote. Kelly now handles our sales in Somerset, Fayette,
Westmoreland, Cambria and Indiana Counties.
Meadville, PA
As Meadville continues to develop, it proved time for a new
management structure to meet their current and future
needs. Greg McCartney is now the Facilities Manager,
Dave Conroe has been tapped as Operations manger and
Candice Benek is now the Office Manager.
Bentleyville, PA
Bentleyville is a new location in Pennsylvania that the
company has recently secured. This location is actually an
old farmstead with the house as an office and the old barns
converted into very nice shop space. We are currently in
the process of installing 2 new 20,000 gallon emulsion
tanks and a scale.
This will open the door for Suit-Kote to grow in the South
West Pa region. The farm is located on interstate 70 about
15 miles East of interstate 79. Greg McCartney will be
hiring a full time yard employee to tend to the tanks and
cold patch in the yard. Lori Mead will be relocating the
Washington office to this location. Kelly Puskarich with
Sales, and Ryan Smith Southern Operations Manager will
also call this home.
Did you
Know?
Charles Smeal has been taken off the road and is now
working in the dispatch office. Steve Cooper who has
spent over a decade as a crew foreman with Suit-Kote
has moved to a new dual role working with sales and
operations. Steve will be able to ease into a sales role
without compromising his valuable insight he has to give
to the work crews in the field. Jared Jack has been named
to replace Steve as crew foreman.
New York State Department of
Transportation Region 6 contracts more
cold-in-place recycling (CIPR) projects
than any other region. But did you know
out of the 206 miles they have contracted
in the last five years, Suit-Kote’s CIPR train
has completed 170 miles of it?
In addition to the management changes, Medville has
also added a several new faces: Terminal - Jay Morris, Chris
Hopkins, Danny William JR.; Lab - Joshua Smith; Operations
- Kevin Reece (dump truck driver), Doug Walker (dump
truck driver) Kevin Grinnell (lowboy driver/crew), Kevin
Bishoff (lowboy driver/crew), Alejandro Cuellar (mainline
lowboy driver), Dan Fox and Nate Harrah (crew members);
Administration - DeLaynne Taylor and Lori Mead.
According to representatives from Etnyre,
the United States premier distributor
manufacturer, Suit-Kote Corporation’s
fleet of 100 distributors is the largest
privately held fleet in the world?
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Suit-Kote Corporation
Operators Learn
From the Experts
Many of our operators and supervisors had a chance to learn
all about their machines right from the people who made
them.
In recent years Suit-Kote has made tremendous investments
into updating and improving our equipment and machinery.
These additions have been welcomed by all who use them,
but figuring out how best to use all of their attributes usually
takes a lot of trial and error. However, this year a training
program was initiated where Suit-Kote employees who
use this equipment every day had a chance to speak with
representatives from Etnyre, BergKamp and Roadtec to learn
more about these machines.
In conjunction with safety training many Suit-Kote operators
were visited by Etnyre factory personnel to learn about their
chippers and distributors. They learned useful tips on how
to operate this equipment and also offered a few of their
own in hopes they might address some of these needs in
future editions. At the conclusion of the Etnyre training
Suit-Kote logged more than 1,200 man hours learning and
exchanging ideas.
Next up was a visit from BergKamp, who travelled to our
Preble facility to explain the advances they have made with
regard to our micro/metro operations. They have improved
their technologies to benefit our crews making them more
efficient and productive. Over three days, 810 man hours
were devoted to BergKamp training.
Roadtec was the final manufacturer to present. Over the
two days of instruction and 560 man hours, our milling and
recycling divisions learned quite a bit about using the right
procedures to keep these machines moving and also opened
up a dialogue that will likely lead to future advancements.
We are dedicated to giving our work force the very best,
cutting edge training available and this year was proof of
that commitment. We will continue to invest in whatever
it takes to keep Suit-Kote’s workforce on top of the industry
where it is and belongs.
Suit-Kote Heads East
It is easy to see by anyone in the transportation
infrastructure industry that Suit-Kote has
been growing steadily for the better part of
a decade. It has slowly added tremendous
asphalt storage capacity as well new and
improved rail sidings and has even purchased
a barge accessible facility in Tonawanda,
NY. These improvements have provided
the necessary infrastructure to sustain our
territory expansion.
Suit-Kote’s foot print now reaches from
the Canadian border all the way south to
Pittsburgh, Pa. As far west as Ohio and now
it is time to expand the map once again - this
time we are headed east!
In recent years we have made significant
upgrades to our most eastern facility Oriskany. This year we added a new laboratory
which is one of the final pieces to the puzzle
in our move towards Albany. Although we
already sell asphalt to customers as far as
Massachusetts and Connecticut we have not
yet begun to market our road maintenance
processes like we do in the rest of Upstate
New York. This will no longer be the case, as
we are committed to bringing our “best in
industry” workforce and superior processes
to the municipal governments in Eastern New
York.
Steve Gloo is our new salesman who has been
chosen to lead our sales efforts in this new
area and Jonathan “JC” Curtis will head up the
laboratory operations. These two individuals
have the right mix of knowledge, talent and
experience to make this expansion a great
success.
This is an exciting time to be a part of the
Suit-Kote family and we are proud to make
strategic maneuvers to ensure the long term
prospects for this company and all of its
employees.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
9
Longitudinal Joint Repair
Public Private Cooperation
In 2015 Suit-Kote Corporation, with the cooperation of
New York DOT Region 6 embarked on the creation of a new
process. For decades regular wear and tear on high volume
roads created wide cracks at the centerline and along the
side of the road. This issue creates a dangerous driving
condition for motorcycles and small vehicles.
In the past these problems were remediated by the use of
crackfill material or if they were too wide they were filled
with hot mix asphalt.
The previous methods for addressing longitudinal cracks
either proved to be a danger to motorcyclists or proved
to be too time consuming and costly. NYSDOT official
Jonathan Engels brainstormed with Steve Rebman to find a
better, less costly solution for this problem.
Soon, Suit-Kote’s micro paving process was called to action
in a pilot project commissioned by the Friendship Residency
of NYSDOT Region 6. Mr. Engles was instrumental in
allowing for this process to be tested to repair these cracks
in the road.
The pilot project was
completed using sixty tons
of material in a micro paving
process in the Spring of
2015. The finished product
exceeded all expectations
by providing a durable skid
resistant driving surface
with no drop off at a much
more reasonable cost.
Later in the summer of 2015, Engles and Suit-Kote
partnered again for 105 ton project. Mr. Engles observed
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Suit-Kote Corporation
that on the first day (which was a shortened day), Suit-Kote’s
micropaving crew was able to apply 60 tons of material in
place. This was radically different than the 7 tons of hot
mix asphalt his crew was able to apply in a full day. As SuitKote’s crews became more familiar with process and the
calibration of equipment, they have been averaging 80 tons
per day.
Word of this process and its
successful use in repairing joints
and roads edges began to spread.
By the end of 2015 Suit-Kote
completed two more projects one in NYSDOT Region 5 and one
for the New York State Thruway
near the Pennsylvania line.
This product is gaining steam in
2016. Region 6 already let two
emergency repair contracts calling
specifically for this micro paving
solution and to date Suit-Kote has
already applied 500 tons on Route
390, 75 tons on Route 75 and 133
tons on Route 86 and that is just
through the month of May.
Soon this process will be introduced to the rest of the New
York State DOT Residencies offering them a cost effective,
skid resistent, quick fix to a long standing problem.
Suit-Kote is proud to work with transportation officials to
help them solve problems that have plagued this industry
for a long time and this is just the most recent example of
public and private sector cooperation.
Suit-Kote Healthcare Costs
Headed in the Right Direction
Since the creation of Obamacare, we
have used this publication to provide
Suit-Kote employees with information
about the impact this law has had
on health insurance plans across the
company. We have done our best
to prepare and make the necessary
changes to our plan to give it the best
chance to withstand the damage
caused by Washington.
cost decrease in healthcare claims.
Even though it was a nominal decrease,
it was still decrease. When compared to
the rest of the nation any decrease at all
is as rare as finding a mythical unicorn
in your backyard. This is great news
and we are sure there are many who
are envious of our success in containing
our costs in this environment. And SuitKote has its employees to thank!
In recent years, due to increasing costs,
we were forced to increase the cost to
employees for dependant care coverage
and last year we instituted a lower
health savings account contribution.
These measures were necessary to keep
our plan viable and affordable without
compromising services.
Back in 2012 when our education
process began and we switched to
a high deductible health care plan
(HDHP) our immediate focus was
trained on prescription drug usage. In
2010 a mere 53% of all prescription
drugs purchased were generic. Today
that number has risen to an astounding
89%. This dramatic shift benefits the
company and the employee. The
less money spent on name brand
prescription drugs, the more money
each employee saves in their health
savings account (H.S.A) and the overall
plan saves as well. This is a good thing
for everyone - except of course the
pharmaceutical companies.
In addition to the cost adjustments, we
also embarked on an mission to educate
all employees and their families on how
to become a health care bargain hunter
instead of an uninformed consumer.
Those efforts are beginning to pay off
and we are starting to contain the costs
of our health insurance - and it could
not have come at a better time.
In the last few years, it has been typical
for corporations much like ours to see
20-30% health cost increases. It has
created a crippling environment for
employers across the country. The
Obamacare Exchanges that were set
up to take the place of employers who
were dropping coverages are now
collapsing in state after state. With all of
the horrible news being communicated
in the media every day, we thought
it was time to share good news with
regard to our plan.
In the last year we have seen an actual
There are many different areas we
could highlight to illustrate success last
year because it was nearly universal.
Most categories saw a decrease overall
and it has given us a clear picture on
where we still have the most room for
improvement.
The emergency room is a important
piece of the heath care process,
but it is also the most unnecessarily
overused as well. Too many people
use the emergency room for ailments
that would otherwise be treated
by a family doctor or an immediate
medical care center. Last year our total
emergency room visits were down, but
our avoidable visits were 6% higher
than market averages. What does this
mean? Put simply, many of the visits to
the emergency room could have been
avoided and instead the patient could
have been taken to their family doctor
or to an immediate care center.
There is an extreme cost differential
for an emergency room visit when
compared to a physician or immediate
care center. The average Emergency
Room visits costs about $1,600, the
average immediate care visit costs $500
and the average physician visits costs
about $109. By simply choosing an
alternate option for non-serious injuries
and ailments an individual can save
anywhere between $1,000 to $1,491 in
their H.S.A. to be used or saved for the
future.
We would encourage everyone to use
the resources we have provided to
determine when it is time to go to the
emergency room instead of the other
options. If you are unsure and need
guidance, pick up the phone and call
a doctor at ALLY HEALTH and get the
advice you need. This program is of no
cost to you and can be a great help in
times when you are not sure what is
best.
We are proud of everyone for their
efforts in helping us get our costs curve
under control. It has been a team
effort and it must continue. Because
of the recent success, The Board of
Directors has officially decided to not
make any changes to our corporate
H.S.A contribution or to our the cost for
dependent care coverage for next year.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
11
A Simple Tee Shirt or a Profound Safety Tool?
By Ryan DuBois
As I looked back in some old 1970s photographs of SuitKote projects I couldn’t help but notice employee attire. It
ranged from field technicians wearing flannels to operators
wearing traditional green Suit-Kote uniforms to even
some laborers wearing no shirts at all. When I look at these
photos my mind immediately begins to think about the
evolution of the Suit-Kote tee shirt and more specifically
the potential impacts recent design changes may have on
our company and just maybe our future.
For decades now, Suit-Kote has produced uniforms for
crews to wear while working their tails off throughout the
summer months. Although I am uncertain of the origin
of Suit-Kote uniforms, at some point Suit-Kote realized
employee uniforms could serve as a tool to provide a
safer work environment for their employees. This is clearly
evident by the brightly colored orange, yellow and green
tee shirts of the past. The brighter the shirt, the more
likely our employees could be seen and therefore the
less likely they would be hit by a passing motorist. Fast
forward a few decades and Suit-Kote employees can still
be seen wearing neon yellow Suit-Kote tee shirts. The only
difference nowadays is the new messages on the back of
the tee shirts.
A couple of years ago the Safety Dept. decided to utilize
the back of our tee shirts as a platform to display a constant
safety message to anyone reading the backs of our shirts.
The first year’s message was “Safety Paves My Way Home”
with the idea that working safely will result in our safe arrival
home. The second year’s message was “Suit-Kote Rooted In
Safety” with a picture of a tree and the various divisions of
Suit-Kote representing the branches of that tree. This past
year we came up with the design pictured below. The goal
was to identify whom in your life you choose to work safely
for and check off the boxes accordingly. Additionally, we
wanted to take the opportunity to remember former SuitKote employees who had lost their lives while working for
our company. Suit-Kote took the liberty to check the boxes
beside their names, thus taking the stance that all current
Suit-Kote employees should work safely in their memory.
We may never know if these messages on the back of
Suit-Kote tee shirts have changed someone’s behavior,
prevented an accident, or saved a life, but we are certain
this year’s tee shirt had an impact on at least one person’s
life. Her name is Michaela Pratt and her email below will
explain the impact our recent tee shirt design had on her.
“Hello, my name is Michaela Pratt my father, Michael Pratt,
worked for your company many years ago and was killed in
an [workplace] accident. When my family saw the uniform
shirts your company now has we were delighted. We are
happy to see you have not forgotten him or the others. I
would just like to say thank you for myself, my mother, my
grandmother and my family. Thank you for remembering!”
A simple tee shirt…I think not!
SAFETY...WHAT’S YOUR REASON?
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P
P
P
P
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Suit-Kote Corporation
MYSELF
PARENTS
SPOUSE
CHILDREN
GRAND CHILDREN
CO WORKERS
GENERAL PUBLIC
JAMES GILLETTE
CHARLIE STREETER
MIKE PRATT
Travelling On
Hope and A Prayer
By Robert “Bubba” Cobb
It is pretty safe to say that almost anybody reading this
article travels in a vehicle on a daily basis. We zip down
highways at 65mph, trusting our vehicle to get us from
point A to point B safely. Sadly, many of us are not so
proactive in maintaining our vehicle and checking for
safety issues. We travel on hope and a prayer that nothing
breaks, leaving us stranded on a highway, or worse yet, in
an accident. Here are two quick tire-related tips that take
little time and no money, but keep you safe on the road:
Check the air pressure in your
tires and air up to recommended PSI.
Every vehicle has their own recommended PSI specification,
and this information can be found right on the inside of the
driver’s side door frame. Many vehicles today have TPMS
(Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems) built right in which
will alert you when air is low, and tell you which tire is low.
When driving on an under inflated tire, not only are you
risking damaging the tire, you are also risking a tire failure,
which may cost
you more than
just a new tire.
Don’t
ignore
these indicators Air is free, so this
is an easy fix!
ALWAYS Re-Torque After Your
Wheels Have Been Off Your Car
Whenever you install new tires on your vehicle – or have
service work which requires removing the wheel(s) – it is
recommended that the lug nuts be re-torqued around 50
miles after the install. Years ago, it seemed that the biggest
issue with lug nuts was it was difficult to get them OFF.
Nowadays, with aluminum wheels and different materials
used, the issue is keeping the lug nuts ON the wheel. If one
lug nut loosens, it will allow movement that may soon loosen
other lug nuts. A wheel coming off a car at a high rate of speed
is never a pleasant
experience. Most
reputable
tire
shops will check
and torque your
lug nuts quickly
and at no charge if
you just stop in and
ask.
There are also steps you can take to preserve the overall
life of your vehicle. Heck, with vehicles costing in the tens
of thousands of dollars, it pays to make them last. Here are
some quick and inexpensive measures you can take which
more than pay for themselves in the end:
Check and Change Oil Regularly
Refer to your Owner’s Manual to determine how often you
should be changing your engine oil. Also consider the type
of oil you use and type of filter, as these also affect how
many miles you can go between oil changes. While some
vehicles must be changed every 3,000 miles, others are
designed to go much longer. If getting your vehicle into
a shop regularly is difficult, consider using premium filters
and synthetic oil to buy you more time between changes.
Nothing will destroy an engine faster than neglecting oil
levels or neglecting the quality of the oil that is passing
through the engine. Regular and consistent oil changes
are a must!
Change Brake Fluid Annually
Most of us don’t really think about our brakes until they
stop working. Before you face replacing costly items such
as calipers, hoses and sensors, consider replacing brake
fluid annually as a measure to maximize the life of your
braking components. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, which
means it is prone to attracting moisture, and this moisture
causes components to corrode and fail. This deterioration
can deposit rust and other particles into your brake fluid.
Flushing and replacing your brake system with clean
fluid gives your braking system new life blood for better
stopping power and a longer life.
Flush and Fill Coolant System
Here again, refer to your Owner’s Manual on the
recommended intervals, but as a rule of thumb, flushing
the coolant system annually will keep the coolant system
in good shape and prevent corrosion and deposits from
building up. This will help you avoid costly radiator and
engine repairs that come from neglect in this area. Up to
65% of all engine failures are caused by coolant system
issues!
Think for a minute about the measures you may take to
ensure your personal health: eating healthy, avoiding
tobacco, hitting the gym, using SPF, getting annual
checkups, etc. You do those things because you want to
live longer and enjoy a good quality of life. Maintaining
your vehicle is no different – there are many simple and
affordable measures you can take now to help protect not
only the life and performance of your vehicle, but your
safety as well!
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
13
Safety Spotlight
Suit-Kote Fall Protection Program
By Josh Lynn
Earlier in the season, a Suit-Kote employee was injured
while performing work on a ladder. A twenty foot section
of one inch metal piping was being installed along the
rail for air lines. The threads at the end of the pipe were
not lining up properly. It was decided to lower the pipe
to the ground using the man lift. Once on the ground; the
employees would replace it with another section.
The employee in the man lift placed the piping on the
support beam. The man lift was being relocated to the
middle of the pipe so it could be gently lowered. The
employee on the ladder was holding the other end. He
decided to try to lift the twenty foot section before the man
lift was in place. This caused the other end to fall to the
ground. When this happened,
the piping spun him around
180 degrees and caused the
employee to lose his balance
and fall 4 to 5 feet to the ground.
His left knee made contact
with the bolt on the concrete
support pad. This resulted in
a fractured knee. To date, this
employee has been off work for
two months.
As you can see by the story above; falls from heights can
result in the most serious types of injuries. Because of this,
we wanted to take a more proactive approach and prevent
falls from occurring. The Safety Department reached out
to all facilities who perform work from heights through a
questionnaire to see what types of fall protection we are
purchasing as a company and what projects we are using
fall protection for.
A Personal Fall Arrest System is comprised of three
key components: anchorage connector, harness, and
connecting device. While a lot of attention has been given
to anchorage connectors and harnesses when discussing
fall protection, the connecting device (a shock-absorbing
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Suit-Kote Corporation
lanyard or self retracting lifeline) between these two
components actually bears the greatest fall forces during
a fall. Self retracting lanyards act almost like a seat belt.
Once the force or weight of a person is detected, the self
retracting lanyard will lock into place. Most of the work
our employees perform at heights is usually at 15 feet or
less For this reason, we believe purchasing self retracting
lanyards will suit all job tasks from heights better than a
shock-absorbing lanyard.
Besides our daily visual inspections of our harnesses,
lanyards and shock absorbers; we are required by OSHA to
have our fall protection inspected by a competent person
every six months. This can be very difficult when we have
such a variety of fall arrest systems.
In addition to purchasing uniform Fall Arrest Systems
throughout Suit-Kote; a Work from Heights Permit has
been created. The permit will include the following items:
• Description of the Work to be Completed;
• Risk Assessment of Associated Hazards;
• How to Control Identified Hazards;
• Equipment to be Used (Scaffolding, Manlift, Ladder);
• Types of Fall Protection / PPE to be worn;
• Weather and other Misc. Items
The objective of the permit is
to get the employee to take
the extra step and plan out
everything before working
with heights.
Managers/
Supervisors will need to
ensure
that
employees
comply with the permit. They
will also be responsible for
ensuring that delegated safety
responsibilities are fulfilled
and that the appropriate
supervision is provided.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
15
Understanding and Maximizing your
Comprehensive Benefit Plans
By: Bernard Gleeson
As the landscape of healthcare
changes there has been a shift in
how healthcare is delivered. This
shift has not reduced the cost
of healthcare, in fact the cost of
services continues to rise at a
steady pace nationally.
To keep pace with these changes Suit-Kote has
implemented a series of progressive benefit programs
over the last several years to help employees and their
families better manage their health care dollars. These
programs include an HSA (Health Savings Account) and a
telemed program through ALLYHEALTH.
However even with these valuable programs we are still
seeing employees and insured family members not fully
using these programs effectively. We are still seeing
members seeking care at the Emergency Room and Urgent
Care Centers for avoidable services. This means members
are going to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care center
for issues that could be treated at their doctor’s office or
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Suit-Kote Corporation
through ALLYHEALTH.
The ALLYHEATH program was implemented in 2015 in
an effort to provide employees with a vehicle to quickly
access quality health care services at no charge. This
means you do not have to meet your deductible for care
provided through ALLYHEALTH.
What’s even better is you won’t have to use your HSA card
for those services. Preserving your dollars. Available 24
hours a day 365 days a year.
Suit-Kote and Falcone Associates, Inc. carefully evaluated
this telemed plan. It is offered to the workforce at no
charge.
Please familiarize yourself with this valuable program. You
may be spending your HSA dollars without need. Share
this information with your family members. ALLYHEALTH
applies to all your immediate family members whether or
not they are insured through the Suit-Kote Excellus plan.
If you would like to better understand this telemed
program please call our office, we are happy to assist you
and explain how ALLY HEALTH works and how you can
maximize this valuable program.
Falcone Associates Inc. Toll Free 1-800-590-1987 or email
[email protected]
ALLY (Success) Health
In recent newsletters and postcard mailings, Suit-Kote has
done its best to inform all employees of the importance of
the Ally Health benefit. It seems this message is starting
get through to many employees and family members who
are enrolled in the health insurance program.
As of this writing, 226 of the 671 primary health insurance
members have enrolled in this program. This represents
33.7% of our work force has taken a moment to sign up
for the Ally Health benefit. Although this is significantly
higher percentage than most companies there is still quite
a bit of room for improvement because this service is
offered free of charge when most plans charge members
directly for this benefit.
Now let’s look at some of the results from this first quarter
of this year. In just three months, Suit-Kote health
insurance plan members contacted Ally Health fifty four
times to seek medical advice. In those encounters nine
people who planned to visit the emergency room were
treated by phone saving them an average of $1,572 in
their health savings account. Twenty-two individuals
were redirected away from seeking help at an urgent care
center saving an average of $163 and nineteen saved $142
by not needing to see their family physician. In all, SuitKote family members were able to save $20,507 and keep
it in their health savings account instead of paying for
unneeded health care services. This is real savings to each
of the members and if fully utilized could be ten to twenty
times higher.
When using the Ally Health service, money is not the only
thing you will save. You will also save time out of your busy
schedule and will not have to use the valuable paid time off
to go to the doctor. Using average productivity calculations
we can estimate members saved approximately two hundred
and sixteen hours by using Ally Health instead of waiting in
the emergency, immediate care or doctor’s waiting rooms.
Ally Health is a tool in your health care management toolbox
that is under utilized, but has the potential to be a game
changer in care for your family. This program is easy to use
and 64% have rated their experience using this service as
excellent while another 27% rated it as being very good or
good.
ASK YOUR DOCTOR
An initiative by the
American Board of
Internal Medicine
Foundation
launched
an
initiative
that
focuses
on
conversation
to
ensure the right care
is being provided
at the right time
and at the most
appropriate setting.
Consumer Reports
supports
this
initiative. Excellus
Blue Cross Blue
Shield has joined
this initiative and encourages members and their medical
providers to engage in these conversations. Studies have
shown that up to a third of health care services are either
duplicative or unnecessary. The waste in healthcare leads
to increased costs and we all have a Responsibility to help
control costs. Choosing Wisely is an education program to
assist you with sparking conversations with your medical
providers. Be informed for it is YOUR health.
PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS
USE OF GENERIC MEDICATIONS
The cost of Brand Name medications is expensive. Talk
to your prescribing physician about the use of Generic
Medications. This less costly alternative often provides the
same desired results.
MAIL ORDER PRESCRIPTIONS THROUGH
EXPRESS SCRIPTS OR WEGMANS
PHARMACY
Do you or any of your covered family members take
maintenance medications each day?
Once you have met your deductible consider using the
Mail Prescription Plan through Express Scripts. This is a
separate mail order plan through Excellus where you can
obtain a 90 day supply of your maintenance medications
for just two co-payments. By using this program you will
pay a co-pay for 2 months and receive the 3rd month
at no cost! The medications are mailed directly to your
home providing convenience, a time saver and cost saver.
Contact our office to learn more about this program or for
assistance in enrolling.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
17
Understanding and Maximizing
your Comprehensive Benefit Plans
Continued...
YOUR HSA (Health Saving Account)
Suit-Kote provides a generous contribution to your HSA
account annually. For Individual Coverage $1000.00 and
for Family Coverage $2600. Your HSA dollars can be used
for qualified medical, dental and vision expenses. One
question we frequently get is “I have spent all my HSA
dollars what options are available to me?” You have the
option to contribute to your HSA with your own dollars.
Contributions will come out of your pay pre-tax. You
may start the process by contacting the Suit-Kote Human
Resources Department.
If you are unable to financial contribute to your HSA
and you have exhausted your HSA dollars and still have
outstanding medical bills you can contact the providers
office and request to be put on a payment plan.
IRS Contributions Limits for 2016
Individual $3,350
Family $6,750
*Contributions limits are combined employer and employee
contributions.
Catch Up Contribution for employees age 55 or older, an
additional $1,000
DENTAL
Your Suit-Kote Dental Plan through LifeTime Benefit
Solutions provides for 2 dental cleanings and 2 oral
examinations per calendar year. Studies continue to show
the link between oral health and overall physical health.
We encourage you and your insured family members
to receive your oral exams cleanings from your dental
provider. These services are covered under your Suit-Kote
dental plan. No deductible and covered at 100% of the
allowable charge.
MET LIFE GROUP LIFE INSURANCE PLAN
Do You Have The Correct Beneficiary Listed on your SuitKote Group Life Plan?
Have you had any changes in your life that may lead to a
change in the beneficiary information on your Group Life
Insurance? Have you recently become married, divorced,
or had a new child. You may change your beneficiary
at anytime. Just call Falcone Associates, Inc. and we can
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Suit-Kote Corporation
assist you with making a change.
Are You Enrolled in the Met Life Additional Optional Life
Insurance Plan?
If you are enrolled in the Optional Life Insurance Plan you
are eligible for a free Will Preparation through Hyatt Legal
Services. Call our office for more information on this
valuable benefit.
E-NEWSLETTER FROM FALCONE
ASSOCIATES, INC.
Are you receiving the monthly Suit-Kote E-Newsletter from
Falcone Associates?
Our monthly E-Newsletter contains valuable information
and helpful hints about your Suit-Kote Employee Benefits
Plans. This monthly newsletter is sent electronically to your
work and/or home email address. If you are not receiving
the E-Newsletter and would like to be added please call our
office or email any of our team members with your email
address(es) and we will be happy to include you. You may
also add your spouse’s or dependent’s email addresses as
well.
Thank you for your
years of service.
Cortland Liquid Asphalt Division:
Richard Thorington – July 1968
Donald Deiss – June 3, 1971
Thomas Burk SR – June 21, 1983
Harold “Butch” Quaile – June 4, 1984
Steven Moffitt – July 30, 1984
Randy Oaks SR – June 3, 1987
Louis Morgan – May 5, 1988
Daniel Bassett – August 19, 1989
Michael Hutson – June 11, 1992
Steven Schoonover – June 1, 1993
Richard Green – June 19, 1995
Hot Asphalt Division:
Richard “Lobby” White – June 1, 1976
Gerald Tracy – August 10, 1987
Arden Burhans – June 1, 1992
Suit-Kote Employees Continue to
Get Serious About Retirement
Our 401k advisor, Eric Schneider,
reports interesting progress in the
retirement outlook of Suit-Kote
employees. He shares the numbers
and provides color on what it all means.
The safety meetings continue to affect
Suit-Kote employees’ future.
As a
result of the meetings 257 participants
increased their deferrals going into the
401(k). Of those 257, 80 participants
were NOT previously deferring into the
plan. For these people, the average
increase was 3.29%. Around half also
set up for an annual increase. The
plain fact is 257 Suit-Kote employees
dramatically altered the future of their
retirement for themselves and their
families
Company wide, the average deferral
percent (including those still not
participating) before safety meetings
was 6.35%. After, it increased to
7.58%. The national average stands
between 6-7%. The best news is the
average deferral rate of participating
employees now stands at 10.1%
beating the national average of 9.75%.
Sadly, a portion of Suit-Kote fits exactly
into the national average. Twenty
percent of Suit-Kote employees do not
participate in the 401(k). According
to the Census and Bureau of Labor
Statistics, of working-age Americans
with
an
employer-sponsored
retirement plan available to them,
twenty percent did not participate.
The disparity of those doing it right
and those doing it wrong is more
evident nationally. Thirty percent of
U.S. households at or near retirement
age have less than $10,000 in assets.
Twenty-four percent have only
between $10,000 and $99,999. That
means 54% of American have too little
saved to produce an income stream in
retirement.
Your statement matters. Our advisors
explain paying attention to your
account balance is vital. www.
empower-retirement.com is a valuable
resource. Seeing what your account
balance translates to can be tricky.
For example, people feel wealthy
with 100k in savings. But should
they? When looking only at liquid
assets that can be easily converted
to an annualized income stream
(and excluding home equity since it
is unrealistic to expect homeowners
to sell their homes upon retirement),
annualizing $100,000 for a single male
turning 65 in the present interest rate
environment produces roughly $140 a
week. A married couple in which both
members turn 65 would receive only
about $116 per week. The website can
show you what your account balance
looks like after your career at Suit-Kote.
You can incorporate social security and
other assets held outside the 401(k)
for a clear picture of your personal
retirement income.
There is no time like today to look
forward to tomorrow. Login to www.
empower-retirement.com or simply
call Eric (607 592-4692) to get started.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
19
NYS Budget Provides Record
Level of Highway Funding
For the first time since 2009, Governor Cuomo as part of his
Executive Budget proposed a five-year highway program
which was agreed to by the Legislature and enacted into
law. This long-term planning mechanism is essential for
public agencies as well as private contractors and gives us
a funding framework to build onto during the upcoming
years of the program. It is important to note that this fiveyear program has been enacted into statute.
The 16-17 Executive Budget proposed a $20.1B DOT FiveYear (2015-19) Capital Program; this was a $2B increase
from the 15-16 Executive Proposal ($18.1B). After extensive
negotiation between the Governor and the Legislature, this
amount was increased to a record funding level of $21.1B.
In addition, the leaders agreed to a 6th year commitment
of $4B, bringing the total to $25.1B for 2015-2020.
The Five-Year Plan provides critical monies dedicated to
local government through the new PAVE NY and BRIDGE
NY programs. While the CHIPS base remains flat at $438M,
the PAVE NY monies are being distributed through a very
similar program and will be providing an additional $100M
annually over the next 4 years in support of local pavement
the next four years (2016-19) the DOT capital program will
grow by over $2B as compared to the previous four years.
This year (2016-17) the DOT’s $4.4B program is over $1B
larger than what was spent in the same year of the last
five-year program.
Parity was the buzzword of this year’s budget season.
Our ask, along with many others, was for equal funding
between the Department of Transportation and the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s(MTA) Core FiveYear Capital Plans. The Enacted Budget allocates $26.6B
to the MTA’s 2015-19 Capital Program with an additional
$1.5B in the sixth year (2020) for the Second Avenue
Subway and various other projects. While the projected
six-year program totals for the MTA and DOT do not reflect
true parity, the difference is much less than originally
proposed by the Governor.
Suit-Kote and its employees worked hard to get the
message out that it was time for New York State to increase
funding for transportation and once again achieve parity
between the MTA and the DOT Capital programs.
reconstruction and rehabilitation. PAVE NY monies cannot
be used by municipalities to purchase equipment or traffic
signals. BRIDGE NY will also provide an additional $100M
annually for municipalities. An important component of
the Bridge NY program is its strong emphasis on culvert
replacement. This will allow some communities to use
more of their core highway budgets for needed pavement
repair. This program will be run by the DOT with the
funding splits based on the 4 MOU Regions.
The new five-year capital program also provides significant
increases in funding for the state’s roads and bridges. Over
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Suit-Kote Corporation
CHIPS Fund
$578 Million
Reaches
Record Level
2016 Season Could Be Record Breaker
The 2016 work season is positioned to possibly be one of
the best in modern history. It is hard to remember a year
when so many positive factors lined up in our industry.
Success in the road building/road maintenance industry
is dependent on several issues out of our control, but this
year it seems many of the perennial roadblocks are falling
into place.
Price of Asphalt
infrastructure.
This year has proved to be much different. The United
States Congress and the New York State Legislature
approved budgets this year containing five-year programs
designed to address our needs. When these two programs
are coupled, they provide a clear picture of what lies
ahead. Municipal governments can now prepare long
range programs without fear of not having the resources
to complete the work. In turn, companies like Suit-Kote
can also plan accordingly.
In particular, the New York State Consolidated Highway
Improvement Program (CHIPs) added a record increase of
$100 million and it will be sustained at least at that level
until March 31, 2020. This unprecedented level of funding
for road maintenance processes gives Suit-Kote a bright
outlook as to what the future holds.
In anticipation of this large infusion of available money
to local governments, all divisions at Suit-Kote began to
prepare as early as January. A new focus was placed on
getting everybody back to work as soon as possible. The
months of May and June were targeted to be as successful
as a typical July or August. This effort has already paid
dividends as evidenced by the extremely successful May.
Last year was one of the first times the price of asphalt
peaked early in the season and continued to fall well into
the summer and fall. This was an unusual occurrence
because during the summer months the demand for
asphalt grows and supply typically tightens, however this
was not the case last year.
Getting Started Early
Heading into the 2016 season, the current asphalt pricing
has dropped significantly when compared to past years
giving municipal customers a huge purchasing power
advantage when compared to previous years. This
additional power will allow more roads to be maintained
and reconstructed with much less resources.
The month of June is looking like it might break all previous
records just like May. We have virtually all of our work
crews at capacity and have even added a few to meet this
new market demand. There are no holes in our schedule
and, “cross your fingers” the only force out there who can
slow us down is Mother Nature.
Financial Resources
It is our hope the 2016 work season will be picture
perfect. It has all of the ingredients to be just that, and
we are prepared to meet each and every challenge ahead.
For much of the last decade, Suit-Kote has invested
in equipment, training, and infrastructure to have the
capacity to continue to grow and take advantage of
situations such as this and we look forward to very busy
work season.
The money available to the states, counties, towns and
villages is the most important factor in how well our industry
succeeds year to year. In the last decade, New York and the
rest of the nation has had to deal with uncertainty when
it comes to budgeting and funding levels. This unclear
funding picture has lead to conservative planning and
overly frugal approach to maintaining the transportation
In the month of May, we increased emulsion production
at every facility. When totaled, it proved to be the best
production in the month of May in Suit-Kote history. This
is a prime example of planning ahead and getting all
divisions to work in concert to achieve more.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
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$50 Million Reason for Success
By Tom Whipple
Capital expenditures are investments
made by Suit Kote to acquire or
upgrade physical assets such as
property, buildings or equipment.
These investments are made to
increase the scope of our operations,
expand into new geographic regions,
increase productivity to improve our
competitiveness, and to address any
safety concerns.
Capital expenditure (Capex) decisions
are among the most important
financial decisions made, as their
impact is felt over several years at a
minimum. Small errors in assumptions
can affect the financial health of the
organization for a long period of time.
As such, the Suit-Kote Board reviews
the annual Budget Requests and
determines which projects have the
highest priority and offer the greatest
opportunity for us to achieve our
goals. Factors which impact the level
of capital spending include forecasted
business levels, projected growth,
and available financial resources.
At Suit-Kote, we have been
anticipating a major business
expansion for several years. The
condition of the road systems in both
New York and Pennsylvania are very
poor, and a major overhaul is required
to improve the drive-ability of these
roads. Recently, New York State and
Pennsylvania have passed multiyear
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Suit-Kote Corporation
highway budgets which provides the
required funding to overhaul these
roadways. Thanks to an aggressive
Capital Plan over the past five years,
Suit-Kote is poised to successfully
address this expansion. What this
means to everyone is more business,
more jobs, and a greater share of the
markets in which we serve.
Over the past five years, Suit-Kote has
invested over $50 million dollars in a
variety of Capex projects impacting
every location we have. These projects
include the additions of new tanks,
distributors, tractors, trailers, pavers,
lowbeds, milling machines, new
facilities, and the acquisition of the
Marathon terminal facility in Western
New York. All of these projects have
added to our footprint and will enable
us to compete more effectively for
new and existing business. As a
barometer, a company tries to match
its capital spending level to the level
of depreciation it is experiencing.
During the past five years, Suit-Kote’s
depreciation was just short of $40
million. As such, SK has invested $10
million or 25% more than average.
This is a major commitment to the
business, employees, and industry.
Without this commitment, it would
not be possible to partake in the
industry growth over the next several
years.
In 2014, we acquired the terminal
facilities from Marathon Petroleum
in Tonawanda, New York. At the
same time, we assumed their leasing
facilities with NOCO. In 2015, we
completed the addition of a new
polymer facility on the Tonawanda
site. These investments have provided
us with barge capabilities in procuring
asphalt, expanded our storage
capacity, provided us with polymer
capability, and will eliminate the costs
of transporting polymer to western
New York from Cortland. All these
factors will help us protect our market
share and lead to future growth.
Over the past two years, we have
acquired two new full lane Roadtec
Milling Machines at over $2 million.
These new machines used in our
cold-in-place recycling process offer
improved technology, improved
quality, and are producing at 42%
higher than our older vintage
machines.
In Jamestown, we have approved
the construction of a new shop in
2016. The current facility was built
prior to 1950, and has proven to be
insufficient to support future growth.
The current shop is about 4,500
square feet and originally housed
15 employees. The new shop will be
about 15,000 square feet and will
be the home for 85 employees. The
growth being experienced in this
region has demanded newer and
more efficient facilities and we have
responded as a company.
In summary, a business must invest
in its infrastructure to protect its
market share and provide the avenue
to grow. At Suit-Kote, we understand
that need and have responded with
an investment profile second to
none. We have listened to the various
requests over the years, and have
provided our workforce with state of
the art equipment which will enable
us to remain Number 1 in our industry.
Human Resources Gets a Tech Boost
This year has been a milestone for so many aspects of SuitKote and our Human Resources Department is no exception.
Throughout the last few years many efforts have been
made to upgrade the technological resources in HR. The
first phase of this process was to digitize all records in this
department for better storing, access and security. Phase
two was creating an online application process making it
easier to apply for work and to get the right applications to
the proper department in seconds.
Phase three was an idea to use our new enterprise computer
system to remove the time staking process of filling out
dozens of “return to work” forms and move it to a quicker
computerized task. This was completed last season and was
a great success. This year is the second season employees
have filled out their return to work forms electronically
and so far a total of 488 employees have been approved to
return and completed their forms in SK Enterprise.
This season marked the fourth phase in the process and
it was designed to streamline and organize our interview
process for open positions throughout the company. We
also took it a step further by integrating the interview with
what is known as “on-boarding” those who were chosen from
the interview process to begin employment at Suit-Kote.
Interview Process
2016 is the first year the interview requests and new hire
process was implemented through SK Enterprise. Although
there were a few glitches at first, those were resolved
quickly and the process is working smoothly now. For
interview requests, hiring managers can input when and
where they are interviewing applicants and the results of
those interviews as well as the ability to see if other hiring
managers have already interviewed that same applicant
and what the result of their interview was.
This new process has improved efficiency and
communication tenfold. Instead of scrambling to notify,
schedule and organize a prospective employee interview, it
now runs smoothly and allows for the sharing of information
ensuring the best applicants have the best opportunity to
find the right fit with Suit-Kote.
New Hire/Approve New Employee
Prior to this season individuals chosen to fill open positions
at Suit-Kote would spend quite a bit of time filling out form
after form until they likely suffered from a cramp in their
writing hand. This process lead to errors and omissions that
could lead to issues with the many employee benefits SuitKote offers.
With the implementation of this new streamlined approach
we have been able to improve our record keeping and
dramatically decrease the amount of errors and omissions
in the final submitted forms.
So far this season approximately 75 employees have been
approved to hire and completed their new hire forms online.
This has saved time and paper, where employees only need
to type in their information once, and the many forms going
over our benefits in detail can be emailed to the employee
if they choose instead of printing out about 100 sheets of
paper for that alone.
For both of these processes HR would like to thank everyone
involved for their patience and cooperation while working
through some of these glitches and getting used to a
completely new process. We’re all learning together and
will continue to welcome any comments and suggestions
for improving these processes.
Suit-Quotes Spring 2016
23
1911 Lorings Crossing
Cortland, New York 13045
(800) 622-5636
www.suit-kote.com
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Suit-Kote Corporation