How a PA Pole Base Producer Landed 7 Gas Station Projects from One Cold Call

Project Details

Project Name: BFS Gas Station Manufacturer: American Precast Industries Sitework Contractor: Stan Corp Construction Project Location: Clarion, PA Year Built: 2022

Tom McConnell, American Precast Industries in Clarion. We are in Brookville, Pennsylvania at a BFS gas station. We did six Pole Bases here for the contractor. It was funny the way I found this, I knew this was coming up. I had seen it on local news and stuff so I waited till there were people on-site because sometimes with the private jobs it's hard to figure out who's doing what because they're not publicly bid so I came out here and figured out who the contractor was and then ended up selling Pole Bases to them. And that contractor has done six or seven more of these BFS gas stations together since this one, so it worked out pretty good for us. The advantages of using Pole Base instead of doing them cast-in-place is with Pole Base, all you gotta do is dig the hole, and then you can set the Pole Base, connect your conduit, run your wire, and set the light pole on the same day. With cast-in-place, you have to drill the hole, build your rebar cage, tie in your conduit, tie in your anchor bolts, pour the concrete, then you have to wait till you can tear off the Sonotube to get the rub finish that you see here. Then you have to wait until the concrete fully cures to at least four thousand psi to set the light pole itself. I mean you're turning a one day process with Pole Base. If you're doing a cast-in-place you might be a week for light pole base. It's a pretty significant savings as far as timeline goes, makes things go faster and always ends up in cost savings. So I would say the pitch is definitely you you don't have to deal with any kind of concrete. You don't have to think about your conduit location, rebar cage and the anchor bolts. Don't have to think about any of that. American Precast with Pole Base takes care of all the details. We make it to spec what's on the prints. Know straight from the prints to our shop we make it exactly the same and ship it to the site. The only thing you have to think about is taking delivery digging a hole and setting it in the ground. Sweet.

“I would say the pitch is definitely that you don't have to deal with any kind of concrete. You don't have to think about your conduit location, rebar cage, and the anchor bolts. Don't have to think about any of that.”

-Tom McConnell, American Precast Industries

THE CHALLENGE

For Pole Base producers, getting buy-in from contractors is often the first—and biggest—hurdle. On a gas station project in Clarion, PA, American Precast Industries turned that challenge into a long-term win. General Manager Tom McConnell saw an opportunity to introduce Pole Base precast light pole bases mid-project and made a strategic site visit. By directly connecting with the site’s general contractor and demonstrating how Pole Base could simplify installation and expedite scheduling, they secured the job. Six bases were installed on-site, and that one conversation led to repeat business on seven more BFS gas stations.

Watch Tom in action in the video above, and read on to get all the details for this big Pole Base win.

THE SOLUTION

For American Precast, it was all about demonstrating the value of precast light pole bases versus cast-in-place. Typically, light pole base installation is assigned to the site’s electrical contractor, but in this case, general contractor Stan Corp Construction handled the base installation. With Pole Base, Stan Corp could:

Get exactly what their site lighting specs require – American Precast makes each Pole Base precisely to engineer specifications, ensuring rebar, conduit, and bolt projections are accurate.
Auger and set Pole Base quickly, with the use of machinery, simplifying installation and labor requirements.
Connect conduit, run wires, and set light poles in the same day, keeping project timelines on track.
Impress their client with a smooth, seamless base that performs at a high compressive strength and meets the site lighting structural requirements.

And with those benefits in mind, six 24 in (609.6 mm) x 8 ft (2.4 m) precast light pole bases were installed in parking lot and driveway areas, right on track with the project specifications, and providing the proper illumination for this gas station site.

THE OUTCOME

With cast-in-place light pole bases, the site installation could have taken longer than a week. With Pole Base, the bases and light poles were up in one day, saving labor costs and keeping construction timelines on track. Tom’s initiative to seek out this project and introduce himself and Pole Base to the site’s general contractor resulted in gaining a repeat customer.

American Precast Industries has been producing Pole Base in Pennsylvania for over 5 years, and is a testament to the power of a producer that goes after new jobs and new relationships time and time again–always looking for the next site that could benefit from Pole Base.

Put yourself in American Precast’s shoes. Explore more Pole Base projects and what it’s like to be a Pole Base producer.