JOHN DIVIZIO General Manager Recon Aggregates Concord, Ont.

When John was offered the opportunity to make the jump from regional sales in the waste disposal sector to overseeing a new mobile crushing and screening services company servicing Southern Ontario, he was unsure at first.

“It got a word of mouth referral and I was pitched the idea. I was hesitant at the time, but then I decided to dive right into it and take the company from the ground level,” John says. “I really had to come in and look at things with a wide lens and see what the next three to five years were going to look like.”

Since John accepted Recon Aggregates’ offer in July 2019, he has taken the company by the reigns and pushed hard to showcase its services in the extremely competitive region.

John’s results in such a short time have been impressive.

“John has turned this company around since his arrival,” says Teresa Nicolo, office manager for Recon Aggregates. “He’s grown the customer base from two clients to 10 in just over 18 months. Gross sales have tripled. He has restructured the company and revamped its equipment as well as our supplier base. We now have a strong network of supplier partners. No one knew who we were two years ago. Now, we crush for the largest players in the market. Our customers and employees love him.”

In addition to exponential increases in clients and revenue, the company has also purchased a new property in Schomburg, Ont., where they will set up a new office as well as accept aggregates to crush and re-sell as recycled materials. The new office is expected to open in spring 2021.

“We’ve grown very quickly. Never a dull moment for sure, which has been exciting,” John says.

“I’ve been given the freedom to go out there and go at it. Be aggressive, take calculated risks and drive this company forward,” John says. “From soliciting new business to managing current clientele, to training, every day brings something different, which I really like. If I was tied to a desk every day, I probably wouldn’t like what I do… it makes waking up at four in the morning a little easier.”

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has created new challenges for John and his team, which has required them to be extremely flexible.

“It’s been an unpredictable season with some customers having yards shut down, changing the schedule. Normally, we have the year booked in quarters, but now we’re almost week to week,” he says.

“People are struggling because they’re closing yards, then opening yards and there’s a mad scramble. No forecasting is happening. It’s been so hard to get any sort of normalcy, so there’s a bit of a juggling act in that sense.”

While the smooth development of Recon Aggregates’ new property is one of John’s current goals, improving workplace safety isn’t far behind. “I think the next short-term goal is CORE certification in the next 12 to 18 months,” he says. “We really want to be the gold standard in crushing and screening in Ontario. It’s one of those boxes I’d like to check for sure.”

John offered a humble response while accepting the Top 10 Under 40 award, saying that it is the result of a great overall team effort.

“I think it’s just a testament of the company. You get pegged as the individual nominated but it comes from the top down, from the ownership to the guys with the boots on the ground,” he says. “It really wasn’t achievable without the individuals within the organization and our partners – Team Float Service, Powerscreen of Canada, Toromont CAT and Luma Lube – they were really critical to our success. There were some tough times that without these strong partnerships, it just wouldn’t have been possible.”