When Bob Olson started A&A Paving in 1960, he had the goal of running the best little asphalt paving and sealcoating company in the Chicagoland area. For Bob, “Paving is a dream job.” After six decades of serving Chicagoland’s paving needs, helping property managers, businesses, non-profits, schools, HOAs, and condo associations with asphalt and concrete services, we believe he’s reached his goal. With over 13,212 paving jobs completed, 14 industry awards won, and 22 Pave It Forward Events completed, we’re celebrating Bob’s well-deserved retirement.
Did The Company Always Look Like It Does Today?
It’s hard to believe it all started with a typewriter and yellow legal pads as a way of keeping track of customers, projects, and placing bids. In the early days, Bob had to get creative with the machinery they needed as the business grew. From the back of a 1955 Chevy pickup truck, he invented a way to effectively sealcoat a parking lot to get away from having to spread the material by hand with squeegees and push brooms. Next, Bob invested other ways to help the company become more efficient as well as provide a better experience for his team members and customers. For instance, instead of continuing to shovel asphalt, he looked at ways that it could be installed with pieces of equipment that would attach to a dump truck. Today, like most companies, Bob has fully embraced the power of leveraging technology to better serve customers and create more efficient processes necessary to run a multi-million dollar company.
Bob’s exit strategy includes making sure A&A Paving continues on for years to come.
Bob started planning for his retirement 8 years ago and wanted to create a solid exit plan for himself as well as ensure what he and the team had created over the years, stayed intact. Over the last 61 years, Bob has enjoyed watching the company grow into an industry leader and how it truly serves, as well as invests, not only its team members but the clients and community! As the company grew, Bob focused on investing in people. This has paid off in more ways than one as the same team members who came on board during that initial period of growth have been with the company ever since.
In 2013 Todd Eichholz became a 50% owner of the company, and after spending several years working side-by-side with Bob, Todd became the sole owner in 2018. Bob is very proud of the leadership team he has seen grow and knows he has put the right people in place to continue A&A Paving legacy for many years to come.
What’s Next For Bob Olson?
Congratulations! Our Founder Bob Olson retired in March of 2021! We are celebrating Bob’s retirement this week as we also celebrate A&A Paving turning 61 years old! Although this chapter has come to a close, Bob is looking forward to doing more traveling and enjoying time with friends and family. Keep an eye out for Bob at his favorite breakfast spots, at church, on a beach, or a golf course. Please be sure to say hi!
