Black Star of Chicago, Ill., conducted a retirement dispersal sale for J.A. Johnson Paving of Addison, Ill. Customers were invited to view items up for bid April 10-16, 2025, at J.A. Johnson's paving yard with all items sold in a live, online auction April 17.

Dale Johnson, president and owner of the family-owned and operated asphalt paving company is retiring, although it was not an easy decision.

"My father started the company all by himself in 1954," said Johnson. "I was born in 1960, and this is all I've ever done. We just finished 70 years in business."

The company worked on a variety of paving projects throughout the Chicagoland area, including subcontractor work at O'Hare International Airport and a variety of Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois Tollway projects.

"We've had up to 100 employees with as many as three paving crews, two to three grinding crews and a couple of prep crews," said Johnson.

The auction included 251 lots of paving equipment, attachments and smaller shop items, including Wirtgen milling machines (purchased from Roland Machinery), Cat asphalt pavers and rollers (purchased from Altorfer CAT), Sakai rollers (purchased from Finkbiner Equipment), Hamm rollers (from Roland Machinery), compactors, skid steers, trucks and trailers. All items sold unreserved.

In choosing Black Star to conduct the sale, Johnson said he has known them for years and they offered him a dedicated auction.

"They constructed a personalized plan based on my goals and timeline, without ever making me feel pressured," he said.

Black Star, a family-owned and operated company, specializes in dispersement auctions, whether retirement or turning over a fleet. The company prides itself on working with customers to achieve — and exceed — their goals.

"Choosing Black Star was absolutely the right call," said Johnson. Their representation — both onsite and off — was outstanding. The entire team stood by me from start to finish. What began as a big step I was unsure about, ended up being the right move. I'm grateful, and honestly, I'm very happy with how everything turned out."

Black Star reported that bidders participated from 12 countries and 41 states, with many units exceeding auction/market expectations.

"It's hard not to feel a wave of emotion watching all the equipment being loaded out. Seeing the yard so empty is quite surreal," said Johnson. "Choosing to retire was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make, and it's deeply bittersweet. The company holds decades of memories, hard work and heart — but the time is right to let go."

For more information, visit blackstaraca.com. CEG

(All photographs in this article are Copyright 2025 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)

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Lynn Schroeder (L) of Black Star and Dale Johnson, president and owner of J.A. Johnson Paving, with the Wirtgen milling machines that were part of the sale. (CEG photo)

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