RAP Management manufactures sustainable pavement materials, serving a customer base primarily comprised of paving companies. RAP Management accepts business on credit, through checks, and their point of sale — part of which they manage with Square products. “The point-of-sale terminal was a one of the key things offered by
Square that played a large role in our decision to switch our primary
processing over. Our first processor that we utilized was not as user
friendly. The fees were competitive, but the actual point of sale was
very cumbersome. We had to open a web portal, enter login
credentials, and manually input the card and billing information, which
took much longer than we’d have liked it to” said RAP Management
Sales Manager Anthony Burke, adding that for their business there
are typically two individuals in the control center, one operating the
asphalt plant, the other loading the trucks and communicating with the
drivers and paving foreman. If one of those individuals stopped what
they were doing in order to process a payment, it would mean a line of trucks that needed to be loaded would come to a standstill. Expediting that process was crucial for them in growing the business.
“In previous years using the previous processor, there was so much
manual data entry that it opened the door for mistakes to be made.
Each year there would be a typo or incorrectly entered billing
information that would lead to complications” said Burke. He says the
simplicity and expedition of the process helps avoid errors today.
Capitalizing on existing assets
RAP Management doesn’t offer installation or trucking services, they
focus on materials manufacturing. This is something that helps them
streamline their operations and avoid competing with their own customers. “We like to focus on excelling in our area of focus, making great
materials.” said Burke. He says the key to the company’s success
has been validation and repetition. Keeping the business consistent
from start to finish, from the production line to the plant in their case,
has given them the flexibility to better serve their customers.
A focus on sustainability also sets them apart from other material
manufacturers. “Most, if not all, in the industry is recycling, just not
quite at the same content level or quality that we are. The nationwide
average is in the ballpark of 15-20% recycled content. We’re achieving
60% on a daily basis,” said Burke. “The facility we’re running is a more expensive facility, but when you offset all the costs of being able to utilize the reclaimed material instead of buying virgin material, a lot of that balances out. It allows us to be competitive with some of the big guys without having the massive infrastructure to do that.”
The business often runs performance testing, making sure the quality of its asphalt is not only sustainable, but meets its quality standards as well. While prioritizing sustainability is a success for the company today, Burke says it was seen as a risk when they first tried it, as much of the construction industry is reluctant to try new things. “They didn’t see it as this ‘great new thing’ at first. They saw it as a way different that than the way they have always done it before.’” said Burke. “In the beginning we were met with pushback but after years of consistent quality that has changed. Private companies and local municipalities have grown to welcome these products.”