Erie Firm Wins $5 Million Contract To Plow Snow At Winter Games

Monday, May 13, 2002 ERIE FIRM WINS $5 MILLION CONTRACT TO PLOW SNOW AT WINTER GAMES By JIM MARTIN, Staff Writer John Allin might be the only Erie area snow removal contractor with much to smile about these days. While owners of other local firms wait anxiously for something to plow, Allin's Erie-based Snow Management Group has won the $5 million snowplowing contract for the 2002 Winter Olympics in February in Salt Lake City. Like an Olympic athlete, Allin's company had to earn its trip to the Games. His firm, founded in Erie in 1977, was one of 140 that sought permission to bid on the project. Games organizers narrowed the field to 40 companies and then to 25, Allin said, before 10 firms were invited to a pre-bid conference in Utah this summer. Six of those 10 companies — including Allin's —were invited to make presentations. Allin was notified in August that his company had won the contract. The bid process "centered on our ability to manage the entire process and was not price-driven," Allin said. "It's quite a feather in our cap," he said. "It validates what a lot of people have thought over the years about our organization and how we operate." The way Allin operates bears little resemblance to the bulk of the region's snow removal companies, many of which are one- or two-person operations. With more than 6,000 plows, loaders and snow blowers moving snow and melting ice in 15 states, Allin's company is one of the nation's largest snow removal companies. Allin "is widely regarded as the authority on snow and ice management in the United States," according to Lawn & Landscape Magazine. The Allin Cos., the parent of Snow Management Group, also provides landscaping and irrigation services from its headquarters at 1406 W. 21st St. It employs between 48 and 55 employees in Erie. The vast majority of the company's work force, however, is employed by a group of about 2,000 subcontractors across the United States that clear snow for thousands of clients, including major airports, an IBM plant in New York, malls in New Jersey and 1,300 locations of First Union Bank Corp. In most cases, Allin said, price is a secondary consideration. "They are hiring us based on experience, background and our ability to manage a site the size they have," Allin said. "We also have the insurance coverage they require. ... And we have so many guys working for us that we can mobilize more equipment." It was his company's management plan that helped it win the Olympics contract, Allin said. To keep snow under control, Allin said, his company uses everything from shovels and walk-behind snowblowers, to giant truck-mounted plows and loaders capable of filling big trucks with a single scoop. More than 250 pieces of equipment will be at the ready for the Olympic Games, where Allin will be responsible for clearing snow at 13 Olympic venues, numerous transportation sites and 35 park-and-ride facilities. While the project is being managed from Erie, Allin said he travels to Utah every two weeks. He also transferred one Erie employee to Utah and hired two full-time employees in Salt Lake City to assist with the project. Allin said he's hoping to attend a couple of Olympic hockey games, but he isn't sure how much time he will have. "If it's snowing like a son of a gun, I'm not going to have any opportunity," he said. Allin, a 1976 Gannon University graduate, started his business with a single truck and a snowplow. He said his firm has succeeded beyond his expectations. It didn't happen overnight. While Allin quickly built a substantial Erie-based plowing and landscaping business, it wasn't until 1996 that he went regional, forming the Snow Management Group to take on major, multi-location plowing contracts. That led to hiring hundreds of subcontractors and allowed Allin to take on clients such as JFK International Airport in New York City and the New Jersey Port Authority. But he hopes the behind-the scenes role at the Olympics will be the company's finest moment. "It's a prestigious project," he said. "When you think about it we are going to have literally billions of people looking at our work, only they're not going to see us do it." JIM MARTIN can be reached at (814) 724-6397. Send e-mail to jim.martin@timesnews.com.