Tending to the infrastructure in Arkansas — public, commercial and residential — often boils down to the same things. Even today, a lot can be accomplished with wood, concrete and tools, but everything surrounding that, be it raw materials, trained employees or even carbon footprints, has undergone a sea change. There is much to manage, and even if things look the same on the surface level, there is far more that goes into it than meets the eye.
Take, for example, the customers themselves. In 2025, everything comes with a faster-than-before deadline, and the construction industry is no exception.
“I would have to say it’s the speed and efficiency in which we operate to deliver for our customers,” said Mitch Parrish, chief operating officer at Razorback Concrete and its parent company, FHC Ready Mix — East. “Technology has been a big driver of this, which has increased our customer expectations. To address the changes, we have heavily invested in technology, from truck cameras, tablets in the cabs and real-time data analytics.”
Mitch Parrish
Making it all work is vital. According to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas roadways service a market of more than 100 million people within a 550-mile radius around the state. Meanwhile, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates 31 percent of roads in the state are classified as being in poor condition, and motorists pay an estimated $671 a year due to damage caused by roads.
Yet for the Arkansas companies that deal in cement, asphalt or ready-mix, those demands merely scratch the surface. Be it local roads, highways, private driveways or commercial parking lots, getting there is only half the battle. Succeeding in the industry means having both the people and the equipment to do the job, and as equipment changes to meet the needs of an ever-changing technological landscape, those people doing the job had better be trained.
Arkansas-based Hugg & Hall began in 1956, merely offering industrial forklifts. It has since exploded, having locations in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi to go with numerous in-state outlets. Rick Vollmer, Hugg & Hall’s vice president of rental operations, said simply providing the equipment for construction is only half the battle.
Rick Vollmer
“I think one of the biggest things that we’ve been noticing here recently is labor shortage and skilled tradespeople,” Vollmer said. “It’s a pretty big impact that we’ve noticed. We try to address that internally by investing in technician training. We’ve worked with some vocational programs in the past, as well, to help with those labor gaps. That’s been a big issue.”
Conway-based Nabholz Construction is another stalwart in the industry, having been in construction, infrastructure, concrete and more for over 75 years. Chris Kauffman, president of Nabholz’s excavation wing, agreed that investing in manpower is more important than ever before.
Chris Kauffman
“We have an employee dedicated to excavation outreach who goes to high schools and colleges in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma to recruit students interested in the trade,” Kauffman said. “In the past few years, we have had several high schoolers commit to employment with Nabholz after graduation. During employment, they receive extensive training and education opportunities through Nabholz’s career development programs in order to have a successful and fulfilling excavation career within our company.”
Even something as seemingly simple as concrete, sand and gravel can become complicated when factoring in multiple demands, multiple locations and the need to be everywhere at once.
“From a construction materials standpoint, our biggest challenge is workforce availability,” Parrish said. “Especially CDL drivers.”
“I mean, that’s a huge term today, workforce development,” Vollmer said. “We’ve actually had a group of people in northwest Arkansas over at a workforce development fair in Springdale. That’s been a big thing.”
If finding the right people has proven to be more of a challenge, it is because the demands of the job bear little resemblance to what the norm was even a decade ago.
“Recent technological advancements have significantly enhanced our efficiency and precision,” said Rob Brosius, president of Bass Commercial Concrete. “In the field, laser screeds ensure accurate flatness and levelness for large concrete pours, while GPS and robotic total stations empower our field engineers to achieve superior accuracy in layout and surveying.”
Rob Brosius
These days, simply “eyeballing it” and breaking out the shovels is not an option.
“Diagnosing a repair on a piece of equipment today begins with a laptop,” Vollmer said. “There is an emerging group of younger potential employees looking for jobs. They grew up in an era where it’s a perfect marriage of where this industry is headed. Those characteristics are a perfect match for the people we’re looking for.”
Vollmer called Hugg & Hall’s employee retention “amazing,” and pointed to a number of employees who have stayed with the company for 30 years or more. There may be a bit of a youth movement due to the emergency of digital technology and artificial intelligence in the industry, but each of Arkansas’ leading companies invest heavily in development and training of current employees, as well.
Kaufman said Nabholz is not about to back away from its core value of “grow our people.”
“Longevity in the construction industry comes from building lasting partnerships and trust,” Kauffman said. “We grow our people by investing in training, promoting from within and providing stable, meaningful work. We have more than 25 different training and development opportunities for employees of all positions, as well as high school students who are interested in a career in trades.”
The best news for prospective employees looking for a career in infrastructure is the industry remains stable and strong. Like with most sectors, businesses had to withstand a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, but numbers today are returning to their original levels.
“Supply chain issues continue to be challenging,” Parrish said, “but it has gotten better since the pandemic.”
Business has been good enough for Nabholz to absorb Bass Concrete, creating a partnership that will enhance both companies’ customer service efforts, and even with technology growing at a frenetic pace, good old-fashioned customer service is still the name of the game.
“We serve our clients by being a partner who communicates often, anticipates challenges and delivers timely solutions,” Kaufman said. “From preconstruction to closeout, our many client-focused systems ensure we understand and fulfill a client’s project goals, whether it’s with our extensive value analysis efforts or our project-specific closeout web sites.”
With so many satisfied customers, growth is almost sure to continue. The core values remain the same, and so does the core mission. What has changed is how the job is done, and it is why so many construction companies are welcoming new employees with varied skill sets with open arms. The infrastructure business is not just a great place to work but a great place to grow.
“We have numerous success stories of hiring because we saw the drive and character of a candidate during the interview process,” Brosius said. “We have watched them go on to be tremendous leaders for our organization. One of the most fulfilling aspects of leading a construction company is creating high-paying career opportunities that don’t require a college degree. Through hard work and dedication, these team members can advance into roles that offer six-figure salaries, building not only concrete construction projects but also rewarding, lifelong careers.”
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