A Woman's Calling For The Asphalt Industry

It isn’t that rare to have a company passed down through the family for decades to come but it isn’t an easy feat. The only problem is that if a family-owned company no longer has an expert in the industry who wants to run it, it often falls away and disappears. That’s what happened to Jenning’s Asphalt & Construction.

The determination and commitment of a grandchild is the only thing that revived a family-owned asphalt business. With the help of a few supportive people and a very ambitious woman, Jenning's Asphalt & Construction is thriving today.

Asphalt Calling

Ebony Jennings has her grandfather to thank for her interest in the asphalt industry. Jenning’s Asphalt & Construction was started by her grandfather, John Lee Jennings, back in 1984. He did mostly sealcoating and the majority of his work was on driveways and small parking lots. 

“When I’d hear his truck coming down the street with the big seal tank on the back, [I’d] be running after it," Ebony Jennings recalled fondly. Jennings Asphalt & Construction

When John Jennings passed away in 1996, the company was left with nobody to run it. The equipment was sold and the company went stagnant. Not long after, Jennings felt compelled to start her grandfather’s asphalt company back up. Unfortunately, a family member who had worked with her grandfather dissuaded her from pursuing this drive. She was told by that family member that it would be too much work and it was not the kind of job she should be doing. 

Jennings explained, “He was like no, no, it's too hard of a job. That's not for women, it’s too much work. And so I went on to do other things.” 

Jennings never let go of the idea that she wanted to revive her grandfather’s business. But she would have to start teaching herself if she wanted to pick the asphalt company back up. 

“Something always was in me to start this business. And once the pandemic happened, that was my shot. I didn't quite know exactly what I was doing, but I just knew it was my purpose. So I just went after it, I did my research and I got into different groups on different social media platforms. I've been rocking with it for three years now,” said Jennings. 

Learning on her own was not the only thing that helped propel her forward. During her research, Jennings came across a big asphalt company that she found to be impressive and she would stay up late watching the company's videos. This company was American Pavement. 

Jennings said, “Something told me to call them. I called and it was a cell phone. I couldn’t believe it. Bill’s [the owner of the company] wife answered. I told her about myself and she could not believe it either. She had Bill call me back, and he gave me so much knowledge, and in just a phone call. I did exactly what he told me to do.” 

Jennings’ father told her that if she really wanted to run the business, she needed to go find Karen - the woman who runs Eaton Asphalt in Wisconsin. 

Jennings said, “She took me under her wing. She taught me about estimating. She taught me about bidding jobs. I got in the field with the guys. [I was] shoveling and raking, and I was taught how to operate the roller. I learned so much. So all the pieces to the puzzle just kept coming together.”

With the help of these two asphalt companies, Jennings was able to learn what she needed to know in able to bring her grandfather’s company back to life.

Versatility

Jennings Asphalt & Construction does a little bit of everything but it mostly does paving. Jennings said that Jennings Asphalt & Construction is mainly city and county work but that the company never forgets where it came from and acknowledges that driveways and small parking lots got it to where it is now, three years in. Jennings Asphalt & Construction

“I am certified to do non-highway work, streets, and parking lots. So what I focus on with my business is to always be a subcontractor for bigger companies because it's super hard to try to come in as a prime while you're so new. You're still considered new even if you're 10 years [old] because these are like six, seven, eight generation companies. So I focus on small parking lots,” said Jennings.

The company is willing to get in and help out where it can, even if it's just for smaller projects or it’s helping a bigger company on a project. This flexibility and versatility enable the company to continue to thrive. 

Woman-Owned

Jennings pointed out that the areas that are so unique about her company are its size and the fact that it is woman-owned. The asphalt industry and the construction industry in general are not known for their women employees.Ebony JenningsJennings Asphalt & Construction Women are often deterred from working in the industry or don’t have enough available to suit them and keep them safe and happy. Due to the disparity of women in the industry, having a woman-owned business within it is enough to easily set the company apart from the rest. 

Small construction companies are also a somewhat unique commodity because of the large companies that tend to overpower and shadow any other companies. Jennings reflected that by being a small company, her business can do a lot more within its community. 

Jennings said that she is able to work with the prime contractors that are doing work within the communities around her since many are looking to subcontract minority or women-run companies. 

“These bigger companies, they're all on the freeways, they're out there doing private roads. And so, for Jennings Asphalt, we are able to do a whole lot more. No, it's not the big highways, however, is still doing community-based work,” said Jennings. 

Well-Deserved Recognition

While the journey was a very tough one for Jennings, the outpouring of support that she has received from other women has been well worth it. 

Jennings said, “I get so many women that are laborers or they do milling or just any level of construction - they message me, they DM me on all my platforms [saying] you inspire me so much. And I'm just advertising about the business.”

Jennings reflected on how proud she was of her accomplishments. Coming from where she started and then getting to the point where she is receiving recognition from other women in construction is a milestone to be proud of. Jennings Asphalt & Construction

“Coming from laying in bed watching American pavement on YouTube to being able to bid on city and government projects and state projects and just having the recognition of women seeing me or other small minority contractors seeing me and [feeling inspired],” said Jennings. “That alone is more than the money I get for the project - just knowing that my story and my journey, inspire so many people.”

Although the journey wasn’t easy, Jennings has made a lot of progress and holds high hopes for the future. Jennings wants to keep getting bigger and start competing in the same leagues as the larger companies and prime contractors.

“We want to be able to be in the same arenas as these bigger prime contractors. I want to be able to do state projects and that's the way that we're going. We're doing bridges, we're doing highways, we're doing private roads - and still never forget where we come from. Even though we have this huge capacity to still be able to say we’re still going to do driveways, we're still going to be able to do small parking lots because those jobs got us here,” said Jennings.

Jennings has a strong driving force and a deep-rooted loyalty to the community and the smaller jobs that got Jennings Asphalt & Construction back on its feet. With her devotion to the community and the company founded by her late grandfather, Jennings Asphalt & Construction has a lot of pavement it can trek.