Pensacola, FL. – Panhandle Grading and Paving Inc. has been serving the Northwest Florida market for over 25 years, providing the quality work that the Long family continues to pride itself on offering.
Johnnie Long, President of Panhandle, has been in the business since the 1960’s, getting his start with Dixie Grading and Paving. Johnnie made the most out of his time with Dixie learning the trade. In the early 1970’s, he and his two partners started their own business, Gulf Coast Grading and Paving. By the late 1970’s, Johnnie’s two sons, Jerry and Donald, were beginning to take an interest in the business. The decision was made to exit Gulf Coast Grading and Paving to start fresh.
Created in 1979, Panhandle had modest beginnings as most family businesses do. Driveways and small parking lots were where the company cut its teeth, but as Jerry and Donald became more involved the business began to pick up. Donald Long, Vice President of Panhandle and in charge of the Paving operations, remembers running his first paving crew back in 1984, “I ran that crew for three to four years, we were a smaller crew and mostly supported bigger jobs going on around the area.”
Times have changed as Panhandle has become one of the more respected contractors in northwest Florida. In 2000 and 2006, the Public Works Association named Panhandle their “Contractor of the Year” - no small feat considering the number of contractors in the state of Florida. Jerry Long serves as the other Vice President of Panhandle, and he tends to deal more with the grading division. Betty Long is the Secretary/Treasurer, but more importantly the wife/mother and the backbone of the day to day operations at Panhandle Grading and Paving.
Panhandle has grown to approximately 130 employees. The paving side of the company has roughly 30 employees split between two crews and two asphalt plants. The two paving crews are headed by superintendent Earnest Millender, who has been with the company for over 20 years. Panhandle’s two asphalt plants are located in Milton, FL and north of Cantonment, FL on Quintette Road. The plants were a necessity as the size and scope of Panhandle’s jobs began to increase, “The asphalt plants were really a natural progression. As the size of our jobs began to grow, it was the next logical step for our company,” Donald says. Each plant is fed a Caterpillar 962G wheel loader. The plant on Quintette Road is in a perfect location for Panhandle’s current job, reclaiming and paving nine miles of US Hwy 29 from Cantonment, FL north to Molino, FL.
Panhandle made the move to Caterpillar Asphalt Pavers in 2005 when they purchased an AP-655C for their job repairing State Rd 399 - the beach road stretching from Pensacola Beach, FL to Navarre, FL. The road was washed away by Hurricane Ivan in September of 2004, and Panhandle was contracted for all the earthwork, site prep, and paving. The soft and sandy underfoot conditions made the job extremely difficult; the site was so bad, the decision was made to feed the paver using articulated trucks (off-highway dump trucks). The AP-655C was chosen for its flotation provided by the Mobil-trac™ Undercarriage. The track system was the optimal choice for the soft, sandy underfoot conditions. After laying 70,000 of the 100,000 tons they were contracted for, the job was terminated due to damage from Hurricane Dennis.
After the beach job, Panhandle purchased an AP-800D in 2006 and another in 2007. In March, Panhandle traded in the AP-655C for their newest paver, an AP-1055D. The AP-1055D was purchased due to the need for a larger highway class machine that would be heavier and better suited for their Hwy 29 job. A new CB-634D compactor, two CB-634C compactors and a skidsteer with an asphalt cutter can also be found on Panhandle’s paving projects.
Other pieces of Caterpillar equipment used by Panhandle’s Grading division include a D5G LGP, a D6M, two D6N’s dozers, a 613 scraper, a 12G motorgrader, two D250E’s articulated trucks, a 416C backhoe loader, a multi-terrain loader, and a CS-563 compactor. David Irwin, HE Salesman, Pensacola branch, has been calling on Panhandle for over 10 years. Brian Laughlin, Thompson Tractor Paving Specialist, has also helped to develop the relationship between Panhandle and Thompson Tractor Company by offering training on initial setup and maintenance on the Caterpillar Asphalt Pavers.