When Ted Heitsche was approached by a former asphalt-plant manager at S.E. Johnson in 1998 to start up his own asphalt and concrete recycling business in the northwest Ohio area, he knew little about the industry.
"I heard there were opportunities to make money in recycling, but never considered making it a living," says Heitsche, owner of Ted's Trucking in Collins, Ohio, just south of Toledo. At the time, Heitsche used his company trucks to haul crushed asphalt to S.E. Johnson's construction sites in the area.
"I did some research and found that asphalt and concrete recycling materials were generating healthy profits for recyclers. I also discovered there was a need for recycling aggregate in this part of the state," Heitsche says.
Heitsche ultimately took the plunge in the asphalt- and concrete-recycling business after spotting a gap in the market for a company able to crush C&D debris. With the profits from his trucking company, he created his second business, Heitsche Boyz Crushing (HBC), in an effort to operate the only mobile recycling plant in the region. To date, Heitsche is the only mobile contract crusher in northwest Ohio to step up to the challenge.
