After college, Andrew Cortese took a job with an asphalt milling company as an estimator and project manager. It was there that his passion for the industry took root, as did relationships with many customers.
(Photo courtesy of Prime Milling.)
As construction leaders continue to trumpet the need for new, young talent in the industry, one 27-year-old Colorado man is answering that call in a big way.
Andrew Cortese
Andrew Cortese was 26 with an MBA from Colorado State University in hand when he left a job with an established milling contractor in Denver and struck out on his own. That was just 13 months ago in January 2022. One year later his company, Prime Milling, is rapidly becoming a major player in asphalt recycling on the front range.
"Yeah, the banks thought I was crazy at the time," Cortese said. "They wondered why a guy my age with an MBA and undergraduate degrees in economics and business management would want to get in the construction business."
Now Cortese's Pueblo-area company has a fleet of four Wirtgen milling machines as he looks forward to continuing the impressive growth curve in 2023.
"Fortunately, I did have a lot of support and encouragement right from the start," Cortese said. "My family certainly encouraged me to do this, and they remain involved in the business to some degree today. My stepmom Virginia, for example, is our office manager. I also found some very supportive equipment partners, particularly 4Rivers Equipment's Pueblo branch."
Just a Matter of Time
Cortese grew up on a farm, so a strong work ethic had been entrenched in him from childhood. Extended family members were mostly business owners, so the entrepreneurial spirit also was encouraged.
After college, Cortese took a job with an asphalt milling company as an estimator and project manager. It was there that his passion for the industry took root, as did relationships with many customers.
"I was fortunate that with my previous employer I was given the latitude to make decisions and function largely independent from upper management and ownership," he said. "However, the company was sold in 2021 and I quickly realized that it would be difficult to perform as I had before. More importantly, the company's customer base noticed a difference in operations, and that bothered me."
After only a week under the new management, Cortese decided to take the plunge, in part because, "I didn't want to let the customers down," he said.
"Our first piece of equipment was a Wirtgen 210 Fi cold milling machine from 4Rivers," Cortese said. "Rich Naylor, their branch manager in Pueblo, has been a family friend for a long time. He was able to locate the machine at 4Rivers' branch in Albuquerque, and we were in business."
Cortese remembers the very first job, the Eagle Crest high school parking lot in Aurora.
"We ended up having to do the job on a Sunday," he said. "It needed to be completed during spring break, and the weather did not cooperate on the other days. Our first billing was for $6,500, but it was for customer from my previous experience, Straight Line Saw Cutting, so it had special meaning for us."
A Business About People, Machines
It would be difficult to imagine a more positive first year than what Prime and Cortese experienced. The company's fleet of milling and cold planning machines has grown to four, all from Wirtgen because, as Cortese said, "I trust the machines."
In addition to the original 210, Prime operates a 120XTi, a 220Fi and a 250Fi, allowing for milling from 4- to 12.5 ft. widths.
The fleet also includes water trucks, skid steers, street sweepers and brooms.
"We like to say we can do it all, from parking lots to road projects," Cortese said. "But like most businesses, this one is about people. I have a great cast around me … Jordan Hill, our operations manager, is rock solid fantastic. It took me two months to coerce him to work for me, but he's made a huge impact on our operations and growth."
In its first full year, Prime was able to secure the largest CDOT project in terms of tonnage for calendar year 2022 — approximately 100,000 tons.
Chad Parker, the 4Rivers representative who works with Prime, said he's known the Cortese family for years.
"I've done business with the Cortese family for a decade," he said, "but what amazed me about Andrew after getting to know him was his maturity and attitude about the business. His knowledge is beyond his years. We have actually learned a lot about the market from Andrew. I see big things happening for him."
The respect is reciprocal.
Parker calls Cortese "a visionary with no fear. I like hanging out with him."
Cortese calls the 4Rivers organization an invaluable asset in maintaining Prime's customer satisfaction.
"We were on a CDOT project on Highway 50 in Pueblo when a machine went down at the end of a shift Friday morning. We made the call to 4Rivers at mid-day and said we needed to be up and running by Sunday. When we got to the job site on Sunday, it was up and running 100 percent.
"Both in terms of employees and vendors, I believe in surrounding yourself with good people. 4Rivers has done a great job of taking care of us, and we consider them good people," he added.
Pay It Forward
The construction industry has so far been good to Cortese and he endeavors to offer similar opportunities to others that are contemplating what career to enter.
"This industry does a great job in relaying real life skills," Cortese said. "There are real-life takeaways like having to go to work rain or shine. And there are lots of growth opportunities. In this industry, if you work hard, the world is yours for the taking."
"I want to make this a sought-after career path," he added. "I want people to look forward to retiring from Prime Milling."
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