Forget real estate sales and materials production, the truest measure of new construction might be found in the sales of the lowly survey stake. At least one company is reporting very strong growth, and is optimistic that its successful start-up venture will sail through 2012 with huge gains.
Blackbat Truline Stakes, Fort Smith, Ark., began production in February 2011 and is reporting that its sales are up almost 10-fold one year later. Already a major supplier in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Tennessee and Kansas, BlackBat reports it recently signed a deal with an international construction supply retailer that will expand its reach throughout the Midwest and into the upper Great Plains.
The company is crediting an improved outlook for construction for at least part of its success.
“With oil and gas exploration finding large reserves of energy in U.S. shale formations, boom times are returning to many areas and this new contract will help BlackBat reach more customers,” noted Bob Reeves, general manager and co-founder, in a company press release. “It looks to upsize this company 400 percent within 2012. We’re now looking at new areas we’ve never been.”
Because nothing much gets built without a visit first from a surveyor, perhaps this is a sure sign that construction really is ticking up.
Of course, the company also gives ample credit for its growth to the quality of its product. Unlike many companies who make construction supply and survey stakes using scrap wood with breakage rates of 25-40 percent, BlackBat has found its niche by using top grade A-1 pine and hardwood lumber, resulting in less than 5 percent breakage. “This means fewer breaks and more time in the field, rather than trips to trucks to replace split and broken stakes,” according to the press release. BlackBat’s high-capacity saws allow the company to make up to 12,000 stakes an hour. - Sharon Thatcher, Rural Builder
