In the work world, people are constantly working their way up to attain more and become more successful. No matter where they come from, if they have the right mindset, they can work their way higher up the ladder. With diligence and dedication, they work up to a more optimal position. For Rick Dillaman, this is a piece of his company’s origin story — hard work and determination.
Pave Care LLC was founded on a strong will and a mountain of resolve. Even as the company was put on hold for many years, the Dillaman family held tight to what they wanted. Without the excellent work ethic and perseverance that Dillaman and his company held, Pave Care might not have continued on to thrive the way it is today.
A Magazine of Inspiration
Rick Dillaman, managing member and founder of Pave Care, started his journey in the pavement industry after buying a magazine back in 1989. The magazine was Entrepreneur.
Dillaman recalled, “I can still visualize, there is this one-page advertisement. It was kind of an aerial view of a little … parking lot sweeper. It was going through a parking lot and essentially it said, ‘buy this truck, make money’.” 
Pave Care Founder Rick Dillaman (white hard hat) and Pave Care employee Joe Dillaman (background) oversee a sub-contracted milling crew for a paving project at Clarion University.Pave Care LLC
Although he had never used a parking lot sweeper before, he presumed he could figure it out - and that’s just what he did. Starting in 1989, Dillaman began cleaning parking lots with a used street sweeper — giving way to Pave Care LLC. About three years later, in New Orleans, Dillaman attended his first trade show.
After attending his first National Pavement Exposition (NPE), Dillaman realized he had a wider path ahead of him. At NPE, he was introduced to a variety of different pavement maintenance equipment.
“It exposed me to line painting machines and seal coating machines and cracked sealing machines and some paving, and this whole industry that I was unaware of,” explained Dillaman.
Dillaman started line striping with a used machine and continued getting jobs. From there, he proceeded to grow his company and add to the equipment he had. The sentiment of “Buy this truck, make money,” extended past his first look at the magazine. Dillaman kept augmenting his machinery fleet and developing the jobs that his company could complete. 
Pave Care employees Joe Dillaman (on the mini paver), Claude White Side (in orange hoodie), and Todd McConell patching a walking trail at Slippery Rock University.Pave Care LLC
Deploying Phase Two
Before he began cleaning parking lots, Dillaman had been in the Air Force. Being in the Air Force in addition to growing up in a farming community set him up to be mechanically inclined — this is what led him to have the confidence to operate a street sweeper with zero prior experience. When Dillaman left the Air Force, he started to grow his pavement company and gained a following.
When Dillaman left the Air Force, he remained part of the military by being a member of the National Guard.
“[I] just thought that the maintenance industry is where I wanted to be,” said Dillaman.
Everything was going smoothly until the 2001 attacks on September 11. At this point, Dillaman was called back to duty
“January of 2002, put an abrupt stop in our business because I got called back to active duty. I got remobilized … and ended up going overseas. That process took about four years,” said Dillaman. 
Pave Care employee Joe Dillaman (walk behind compactor), and Christian Shaffer (hand tamper) at a Paving project for Eire Veterans Home.Pave Care LLC
Dillaman explained that after four years, he didn’t know what to do as he felt that all of the clientele that he had built up as a subcontractor had all moved on. Dillaman's wife Kathy, secretary and treasurer for Pave Care, worked to keep the company alive. Having grown up on a dairy farm herself, she had gotten accustomed to working in unfavorable conditions since she was young. Although his wife and his son had kept up the snow plowing contracts, in 2007, they essentially had to start all over with their clientele — but that didn’t stop him and his family from mobilizing their company for a second time.
Growing the Dream Team
Dillaman shared that Pave Care started securing larger and larger striping jobs and soon needed to also provide patching, then some paving. From there, Pave Care did what it was doing all along — it continued to grow and improve. Even as it grew, the company’s personnel stayed small. In addition to operations employees, the company has sales and administration employees with a total employment average of eight or nine employees.
"We've always used some subcontractors and in the last five or six years, our business has gone through some significant growth. We've grown into a full-fledged asphalt paving company now,” said Dillaman.
Dillaman explained that there are lots of paving guys who are eager to work with them as a team, so there is no need for Pave Care to hire more workers for paving when they can subcontract a crew specialized in paving. The company wanted to focus on the areas of the job that they were most interested in.
“We've always been centered on the marketing aspect or selling those jobs, whether it be universities or places that require a lot of submissions. We've done Army Corps of Engineer jobs, we've worked for municipalities. Some of my colleagues who are paving contractors don't want to do that degree of paperwork,” said Dillaman. 
Pave Care employees Claude Whiteside and Christian Shaffer seal coating at Beloved Disciple Catholic Church.Pave Care LLC
The company knew what jobs it wanted to pursue and as it got more of a reputation, it had more of an opportunity to reach those jobs.
Dillaman said, “99% of our work is governmental and commercial, and it requires a lot of back and forth, coordination, submittals, and we have the capacity to do that.”
Family-Owned and Veteran-Owned
Pave Care is a company that was put through the wringer when Dillaman was deployed in early 2002 and despite this, the family held it together. Since the company's creation, Pave Care has gained more and more family members working for it. Over time, each of the company's faithful workers has started to become a special sort of family as well.
Dillaman has committed to taking his crew to tradeshows like PAVE/X and he has found it to be money well spent.
Dillaman said, "It cost our business a lot of hard-earned cash to take the crew to the trade shows, however, I can visually see that each one wants to learn more and be a better-skilled professional in the field, whether it be ... crack sealing or a better way to compact asphalt. And they, in turn, transfer that knowledge to the newbies."
The company's commitment to continuing education for each crew member proves its experience and drive for excellence. Over the years, Dillaman has taken his crew under his wing and led his company toward success.
Pave Care crew's completed new Pickle Ball courts at Titusville, Pa.Pave Care LLC
Without realizing it, Dillaman and his family had reached heights that they had never thought they would attain. Through the company’s ups and downs, Dillaman learned a few things — some that still hold true for him today.
“Concentrate on doing good work, being the best in your career, and being a good provider. If you pursue excellence, the money will come. You won't know it, it'll just eventually come because the work follows excellence,” said Dillaman.
