A History of Paving and Grading Excellence in North San Diego County and Beyond. By Brian Hoover, CMS, Senior Editor Photos By Kerry Hoover Sean Repko is not your average Joe, especially when it comes to best business practices and customer service. Repko did not start out his professional career in the construction business but instead made his mark in the computer industry. He worked for blue chip companies like Burroughs/Unysis and Xerox after graduating from St. Bonaventure University in Upstate New York with a B.S. Degree in Economics and a secondary degree in Spanish from the University of Madrid, Spain. Repko had remained in this field for 25-plus years. As a consummate entrepreneur, Repko created his first startup back in 1983 that reached the Inc.500 in both 1989 and 1991 as one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. He has bought and sold several other companies throughout the years to compliment his businesses. After a short stint with a start-up dot com business before the dot com industry imploded he was ready for a change. “I was looking for a back to basics meat and potatoes type of company to invest in back in 2001 and an opportunity to buy an existing asphalt paving business came across my desk,” says Repko. “I knew absolutely nothing about the business, but had colleagues in my area of work who knew of and introduced me to several large and successful grading and paving contractors throughout
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Above: Sean Repko, Owner and President of Joe's Paving Company standing with his Volvo P7170 asphalt paving machine.
the United States.” Repko flew out to the east coast to meet with these contractors, and he began to get a feel for what the paving and grading business was all about. “I knew the risks associated with buying a company that I was not familiar with, but as I continued my research, I realized that unlike on the east coast, I lived and worked in a climate with very little rain or inclement weather and for all practical purposes, a 12-month working season. I decided to have a meeting with the owner of the paving business that was for sale.” Joe's Paving Company started out in 1972 with a focus on small patch and driveway paving jobs. The owner of Joe’s
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Paving Company, Joe Rodriguez, was getting ready to retire after 30 years in business. Repko met with Rodriguez in 2001, and after doing the due diligence, Repko let the owner know that he was very interested in buying his company, but he had one small request. “I asked Joe if he would allow me to shadow him for 90 days to confirm that I was indeed capable of making it all work out,” says Repko. “I started every day at 5:30 (a.m.), and in a relatively short time, I learned the business and so in November 2001, I pulled the trigger and bought Joe’s paving and grading business.” Repko points out that he was impressed with Joe’s business sense, and the fact that his company had been around a long
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