Concrete friendship leads to strong business partnership
Owned by Todd Kaufman and Craig Cozad, Coeur d’Alene Paving is the only local producer of concrete and asphalt in Kootenai County. The owners plan to expand their business into construction supply this year. HOLLI KEEN/Coeur d'Alene Paving
When they met in seventh grade, Todd Kaufman and Craig Cozad didn’t imagine they would one day go into business together.
But decades later, the lifelong friends are the co-owners of Coeur d’Alene Paving, Inc. and CDA Redi Mix & Precast, Inc. They’re the only local producers of concrete and asphalt in Kootenai County — and they’re planning to expand their business even further in 2019.
“We had to go through a lot of adversity to get to where we are,” Cozad said. “It was an uphill battle since 2005.”
Just getting the business off the ground was a challenge, Cozad said, beginning when he became Kaufman’s business partner in 2004. They struggled to secure permits and faced pushback from neighbors.
“Nobody wants an asphalt plant in their backyard, or a gravel pit,” Kaufman said. “Even if there was one before, if it ever shut down, they didn’t want it again. It was a big fight.”
The future of their business was uncertain for three paving seasons.
“It was like, ‘Is this our last year in business, or do we get to go again?’” Kaufman said.
After clearing a number of obstacles, Coeur d’Alene Paving opened a new branch in 2016: CDA Redi Mix & Precast, Inc. It was the logical next step for the business: Kaufman and Cozad said they always wanted to sell concrete in addition to asphalt.
“We definitely climbed the hill and got to the top,” Cozad said.
In fact, the business experienced a significant growth spurt beginning in 2016. Since then, Cozad and Kaufman have needed qualified employees to fill positions in almost every department but weren’t getting enough applications.
To that end, they held the first ever Coeur d’Alene Paving career fair in March. More than 30 career opportunities were available.
“It turned out wonderful,” Cozad said. “It was a great experience.”
The event was a success. About 70 participants came to the career fair, and about 15 percent of the applicants were hired.
“It’s probably worth doing every season,” Kaufman said.
The business is still growing. Kaufman and Cozad are putting the finishing touches on a new office in Coeur d’Alene. It will be the base for a new branch of the company — this time, construction supplies. The idea is to make Coeur d’Alene Paving a one-stop shop for customers.
“When we got into concrete, all our concrete customers were going to our competition to buy their construction supplies,” Kaufman noted. “We can’t keep letting our customers go to the competition.”
Cozad said he hopes that branching out again helps communicate to Coeur d’Alene Paving’s customers that they’re in it for the long haul.
“They depend on us, and we want to make sure we can follow through with everything we’ve promised,” he said. “We want to be that construction supplier.”
