January 2008 Industry Leader:

Q&A With Colorado Hardscapes' John Buteyn

By Juliet Farmer, ConcreteNetwork.com Columnist

Photo John Buteyn Colorado Hardscapes Denver, CO

After 32 years with Colorado Hardscapes and 15 years in charge of production, John moved into his current role as senior technical manager, which includes product development, quality control and technical liaison between product suppliers, designers and installers.

We caught up with Buteyn recently to talk about his work, both in his company and the decorative concrete industry, as well as where the industry is headed.

Here's what he had to say:

Q: What led you to Colorado Hardscapes?

A: I started as a laborer at the age of 18 installing ordinary gray concrete.

I learned how to do concrete flatwork, and as the industry evolved, I learned about colored concrete and stamping as well. In the early 80s, we became a licensed Bomanite contractor, and that opened up the opportunity to work with designers.

In my years with the company, I've been a laborer, finisher, supervisor, operations manager, salesperson and now technical manager.

Q: What does your job entail?

A: I'm responsible for three main areas.

First, I help and manage sample making, which has some research and development involved. I try to stretch the limits of our products during sample making, which spills into product development.

For example, our Sandscape Texture™, which we developed within our company and is a significant part of what we offer here in Colorado, was the result of our sample-making and R&D process.

Second, I consult with crews on technique and problem solving.

Third, I work with clients and designers and help them develop their ideas. We often refer to our company theme, "imagine," so I encourage people to imagine what they can do with concrete.

Q: Where do you get your ideas/inspiration?

A: It's a collaborative effort. Imagination often comes from the challenges the designers present to us—they ask for it and we figure out how to deliver.

The Sandscape Texture came from a supplier's product and morphed from there. Our ideas come from anywhere and everywhere.

We recently completed two projects for a local school district, and for one, they had the theme "Ages of Time." We created a sedimentary wall for them, which is something we'd never done before.

Q. Do you prefer to work off of completely new ideas or tweak things you've done before?

A: I've been in this business for many years, and what's kept me in it are the new challenges—creating something that hasn't been done before. It doesn't matter if that means adapting something or a brand new, never-seen-before idea.

Q: Where do you see decorative concrete heading?

A: We will likely see things that are unique and innovative may become more mainstream.

Concrete countertops, for example. They are now generally accepted as a real option for countertops. We will continue to see that with floor finishes, too, particularly interior concrete flooring.

Instead of a passing fad, we are making decorative concrete more acceptable, affordable, and unique. A lot of the innovations over the last decade will be accepted as mainstream in this decade.

Q: How do you reach your audience?

A: The Internet plays a big part, obviously. Customers are now educated because of it.

For our company today, a lot of the things we do and how we communicate what we do is through samples and our showroom. We do samples for almost every job, from a small example to a large mockup.

People need that physical stimulation to better understand the product.

Q: What are the benefits of using samples?

A: The best benefit we get from using samples is that they are an effective communication tool.

They market what we do, and help facilitate the selection process.

We also use samples as a way to communicate to the crew—we sell a job and make the sample, and the crew then recreates that look for the whole job.

The samples are also used as referees—they set the standard for the job, so we can see if the customer got what he/she wanted, and they also help us work all the kinks out before the project begins.

Q: What kinds of kinks?

A: It's about managing customer's expectations.

It's very easy to go down the wrong path—does the concrete crack, what's the texture like, did we get the color right, do we use a release agent or not, are there stamps involved? These are all things you can't describe so much as you can show in a mockup.

There is a drawback, however, and that is that the samples can be too good. Making a small sample and replicating it for a 2,000-square-foot job can be very different.

I tell the guys that make the samples to do it in a way they feel the guys can replicate in the field. Don't make the samples too "perfect."

Q: What's coming up for Colorado Hardscapes this year?
A: We challenge ourselves to always been the cutting edge, and we consider ourselves to be leaders in the industry. We're always looking for ways to do things better, and to introduce new products to the market.

Q: What do you look forward to this year?

A: The thing that's been really gratifying to me over the years is the caliber of people I've come across. People in the industry are so committed to doing a good job, both in our own company and the industry at large.

The people I've had the pleasure to work with are great. It's a pretty conscientious industry. There are committed contractors who will do whatever it takes, and passionate people are what the decorative concrete industry needs to be successful. It's a pleasure to work with and around people like that.

Q: Any advice for the coming year?
A: An area of growth for me has been my associations with other contractors. We can all benefit from the expertise of others, and there's definite growth through sharing. We challenge each other to stretch to another step in the industry.

I will admit that it's easier to share with those in other markets, those who are not likely to directly compete for work. But in the end, promoting ideas helps encourage others and drives the industry as a whole.

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