Advanced Concrete Enhancement (ACE): Melding Past Experience into Present Success

Juliet Farmer, ConcreteNetwork.Com Columnist

Blayde Penza founded Advanced Concrete Enhancement, Inc. -- located in Sun Valley, California (just outside of Burbank) -- in 1997 doing mostly exterior work, concrete staining and overlays, never knowing what was in store for his company. "We've experienced over 50 percent growth every year for the last five years," he says. ACE operated out ofPenza's home office, often spilling into the dining room, for the first 5 years. "We now have a 5,000-square-foot shop and a 350-square-foot showroom, with onsite offices which we've been in for about two years now".

Though Penza has made great progress with his company, he admits he didn't get where he is today on his own. Todd Mazer, Vice President of Production (Flatwork Division) and co-owner, is not only a great friend but an invaluable partner as well. "He contributes the same attitude, drive and devotion to the company...it has taken every bit of our combined efforts to get this far," says Penza.

Penza is quick to credit every member of his team, adding, "I'm lucky to have so many key people on the team, people who care about the company and share in its success....working for themselves as well as for me."

Penza has been in construction for over 30 years, working into upper management positions for various construction companies. He has worked on numerous large structural projects, providing concrete formwork equipment and training expertise for the Staples Center, Seven Oaks Dam, and Badger Bridge to name a few, as well as several of the Metro Rail Tunnels and Stations, and high rises throughout the western states and Hawaii.

As for how he got into decorative work, his previous employer had a chemical division that developed a decorative concrete spray-on system, and Penza's curiosity was piqued. "I decided to play with it on weekends and experiment," he says.

Soon Penza could not deny his decorative calling, and although it was a huge risk to take, as the industry at the time was still new and rapidly evolving, he did it anyway. "My background helped me understand the materials", he says. "We are now able to modify many of the products and processes until we achieve the desired result...it's unfortunate, but many of the products that have been introduced to the market by various manufacturers have not been adequately field tested in a real world environment. It's one thing to demonstrate a product application in a classroom environment, and it's quite another to understand how to prevent and address failures when they occur (and they will)."

His early days were a baptism by fire of sorts, one of the first jobs being an $8,000 pool deck that re-cracked through areas that he had previously repaired. Although by contract he was not required to fix the condition, Penza says, "We redid it both to protect our reputation, as well as to learn more about how this problem could be prevented in the future. Learning how to repair failures is surely one of the keys to success in this business."

"The customer was blown away by the fact that ACE went out of their way to fix the deck, actually they (the customer) never even had to ask. We ended up selling over 20 jobs from that one job alone," Penza explains. "We sent potential customers to them and they essentially made the sale (for us)."

Equally important was the fact that ACE learned valuable lessons from the job. "It was a valuable learning opportunity for us – the best training actually. Because of that job, we were able to identify the cause of the problem. We were then able to modify our materials and the processes used to do crack repair." Presently, ACE continuously field-tests all their products prior to actual use on a customers project.

ACE serves all of the Southern California area, and their project mix is 50/50 commercial/residential and 50/50 pre-cast/flatwork. Penza says they work on everything from small homes and offices, to high-end residences and custom projects. The ACE product line includes concrete countertops, sinks, fireplaces and tables, as well as concrete polishing, staining, overlays and stenciling.

One commercial job was the 4,800-square foot interior floor of the Saddle Ranch Restaurant, located at Universal Studios. The project, which took three weeks (working around other trades) to complete, included concrete that was overlaid and made to look like a wood plank floor.

First, they ground the existing concrete and made the necessary repairs. Then they applied a bonding base coat. Next, their ¼-inch overlay process was applied. Prior to the material hardening, the ACE crew used rubber stamps to achieve the wood-plank pattern. Lastly, the floor was detailed, stained and sealed.

Penza says his favorite jobs are the ones in which he collaborates creatively with his clients. One such project involved a client who wanted a concrete countertop that would fit into their very southwestern-style home. Penza took the ball and ran with it, creating an imitation wood slab with what looks to be buckskin leather draped over it, complete with rustic tacks holding the shrunken and torn leather in place -- all done in concrete (except the tacks).

Another such project, required creating a sink cut-out and countertop for a client who desired a rustic look. The customer provided a piece of granite and a clay urn for color reference. The ACE team created a broken stone edge sink with a sloped drain board, brass trivets and two beautiful granite inlays.

"A lot of the collaboration happens when clients come into the shop," says Penza, adding, "They are able to get a better understanding of what we are capable of....then they have the confidence and ability to make informed decisions. When they see actual projects and samples, they can better visualize the design possibilities of concrete. They often leave more excited than when they arrived."

The versatility of concrete appeals to Penza, especially the fact that he can free-form different shapes and styles. "It's amazing to be able to work with basically the same material we use to create massive structures such as bridges and high-rise buildings, and hone it down to a fine piece of beautiful art," he says.

Penza says his team loves the design element of their work, especially being able to create something new and having it work out better than anticipated. "Although some of the pieces we create are similar, each hand-developed piece is different," he says. "The craftsmanship element will never go away."

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