AWP Safety Acquisitions: A Win for Customers

AWP Safety and its family of companies is a top choice for customers in the broadband, construction and utility industries. The company’s acquisition strategy offers customer access to more equipment, highly trained crews and broader geographic coverage—without sacrificing the local service and personal relationships they expect. 

Ben Wallace of Site Barricades, an AWP Safety company in Texas, and Ron Smits, general manager of AWP Safety in Colorado, dive into the customer benefits of the company’s acquisitions.

A Defined and Deliberate Strategy

For the past few years, AWP Safety has been on an intentional path of expansion through acquisitions, integrating 21 companies across North America. Each acquisition strengthens the company’s ability to deliver safety solutions at scale while preserving the local expertise and outstanding customer service that the utility, broadband and construction industries rely on.

The company’s top priority is delivering uninterrupted, local-for-local service that customers can rely on. To achieve this, AWP Safety acquires established traffic control businesses with strong local reputations—partners that already know and serve their communities well.

Rather than disrupt what’s working, the company takes a deliberate, gradual approach to integration, empowering local teams to continue operating with the same reliability and responsiveness their customers expect, while gaining the added support and resources of a national safety leader.

The Local Advantage, Backed By Scale

Take Site Barricades in Texas, for example. Founded in 2014 by Ben Wallace and Jeff Schuessler, the company was built from the ground up with one truck, one employee and one mission: to serve the utility market better than anyone else.

“We’ve developed genuine relationships with our customers,” Wallace says. “They keep coming back because we thrive on hard work and serve them well.” 

Today, Site Barricades is an AWP Safety company, and it continues to operate in the same manner: with the same team, the same phone number and the same excellent local service. What’s new is that they have access to AWP Safety crews in the region who can help cover more worksites for more customers. 

“We continue to do what puts customers first,” he adds. “We’ve found a slow integration works best.”

Delivering Trusted Local Accountability

WS Barricades in Colorado, founded by industry veteran Ron Smits, has also brought a proven operational model to AWP Safety. After building multiple companies from the ground up, Smits has leveraged his expertise to lead a successful integration of WS Barricades, another AWP Safety acquisition in Colorado — Integrity Traffic —  and AWP Safety. He’s leading the intentional standardization of operations by leveraging the best of all three companies. 

“I have built a legacy at WS Barricades,” Smits explains. “We created something that our customers value and that’s only being enhanced by our integration with AWP Safety.”

Blending WS Barricades’ disciplined approach with AWP Safety’s technology and scale has benefited customers mostly through accurate, fast billing and more local teams to meet growing customer demand.

Company Culture for Customer Value

AWP Safety’s acquisition strategy extends beyond just successful integration. While many owners exit after an acquisition, both Wallace and Smits have stayed deeply involved, taking on leadership roles that extend their impact across the company.  Their commitment personifies AWP Safety’s values of ownership, trust and teamwork, which allow the company to deliver consistent, customer-focused service as it grows.

“We’re doing great work here and I want to ensure that continues,” Smit says. “We owe it to our customers.”