Buying a site work company in Treasure Coast

• A mix of customers (several developers and general contractors, maybe some public work), not one builder whose next subdivision may not happen.
• Well-maintained equipment with service records, and a sensible balance of owned and financed machines. Idle financed equipment drains cash fast.
• Careful estimates, real job costs, and production rates the company tracks (pipe laid or paving placed by a crew in a day).
• Experienced foremen and operators who are staying.
• Enough bonding capacity for the jobs it wants to bid.
• A safety record that keeps insurance affordable and customers comfortable.
• Its own yard, with room for equipment and material.

• An equipment list with age, hours, condition, liens, and whether each machine is owned or financed. Have a mechanic inspect the major pieces.
• Equipment loans and leases, and whether lenders must approve a sale.
• Backlog by job, with expected margin, and how much sits with one customer.
• Job cost reports for finished projects, especially the losing ones.
• Retainage and other money owed, and how long customers take to pay.
• Environmental issues at the yard: fuel tanks, spills, stockpiled material.
• Utility strikes, safety incidents and OSHA history, including trench and excavation safety.
• Bonding capacity, and the surety's view of a new owner.
• Fill and material sources: whether it relies on one pit or supplier, and on what terms.

• Who are your biggest customers, and how much of last year's work came from each?
• What licenses does the company hold, and who's the qualifier?
• How old is your equipment, and what would you replace next?
• How do you estimate jobs, and which kinds make the most money?
• How much public work do you do, and how is your bonding set up?
• Who runs the crews, and which foremen would stay?
• Have you hit any buried lines or had serious safety incidents?

This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.

The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.

The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.

Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.