GRANT — When Porous Pave Inc. began in 2008, the manufacturer of permeable paving technology had trouble tapping into the commercial market.
While the Newaygo County company, based in Grant, had luck marketing to backyard landscaping projects, general contractors were hesitant to use the largely untested permeable pavement technology on larger commercial projects.
“Because our product was new, when we first went out to the Rockford Constructions, they all liked it, but it was like, ‘Who else has done it?’ It was kind of the chicken and egg deal,” said Dave Ouwinga, president and founder of Porous Pave. “It took us a little while to be noted and recognized. Many of the projects we did early on, we just had to get it in the ground. We had to wheel and deal and do it for no profit.”
The company eventually found that it had better luck marketing directly to the architects and engineers rather than general contractors, according to Ouwinga.
“It seemed the best way in was going from the top down,” he said.
That strategy seems to have paid off as the company recently completed a contract for 22,000 square feet of pavement for a 4.2-acre public park adjacent to the U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. Porous Pave also recently completed a contract at “one of the premier golf courses in the country,” which Ouwinga declined to name.
In particular, Porous Pave plans to focus on the municipal and golf course markets — both of which present the company its largest opportunities for growth, Ouwinga said.
As municipalities become more invested in stormwater management, Ouwinga believes more cities will turn to his product to reduce runoff as water drains through the material and is then absorbed by the soil beneath it.
Porous Pave’s product has already been used to provide a permeable barrier surrounding 900 trees along city sidewalks in Grand Rapids. The product has been written into the construction specifications for the city so it will be used in all new sidewalk tree installations.
Ouwinga also sees the East Coast as a “hotbed” for more stormwater management.
“As stormwater regulations become more and more standard in the U.S., which I’m sure over the next five to 10 years they will, a product like ours is sitting in the perfect spot to help out with a lot of those situations,” Ouwinga said.
The company is also targeting the golf course market, where Porous Pave is used to smooth rough or damaged cart paths and can serve as a flexible barrier under sandtraps to keep the expensive sand from mixing with the native soil.
Currently, golf courses use a mixture of stones and other material that drain water from the sand traps, but those often break down over time, causing costly repairs.
“That’s a new segment we’re going after. Six months ago, I had no idea such a thing existed,” Ouwinga said of using Porous Pave under sandtraps. “These markets just keep coming to us now, which is fun to see it come into its own and not have me knocking on doors everyday begging for people to look at my stuff. Now, we can sit back and they’re coming to us.”
MANAGING GROWTH
Porous Pave’s product is made from a mixture of recycled rubber, chipped granite and a liquid binding agent. The raw materials are delivered, mixed and poured on site.
While Porous Pave’s facility in Grant serves as the company’s headquarters and warehousing space, it often ships raw materials directly from its suppliers to larger projects to avoid doubling down on transportation or warehousing expenses.
“It keeps it really lean and allows us to pass the best pricing along without redundant shipping and handling,” Ouwinga said.
The company has partnered with Sturgis-based Cobalt Holdings LLC to provide the recycled rubber, while the granite and binding agent come from suppliers in Wisconsin and West Virginia, respectively.
Porous Pave generates annual sales of approximately $3 million and employs 16 full-time workers, including a salesforce. Ouwinga expects sales to double in the next year or so as the company wins more contracts and as more industries embrace permeable surfaces.
The market for permeable material has continued to expand in recent years, according to trade reports. For example, the permeable interlocking concrete sector — a different form of material than Porous Pave — grew 25 percent in 2015 over the previous year, according to an annual report by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute. The material — which resembles pavers — makes up only 4 percent of the total concrete pavement market in the U.S. and Canada.
For Porous Pave, that means more opportunities to grow, Ouwinga said.
“We’re just coming to the tail end of that ‘proving ourselves’ period,” he said. “We know there’s a market out there.”
