JVB Ventures
ADDRESS
PO BOX 597 HOLLIDAYSBURG, PA 16648
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© 2013 | James Van Buren
Interview in Altoona Mirror
Van Buren “dreaming bigger” thanks to Disney
Jamie Van Buren is always in search of a business edge, whether it deals with a previous experience or drawing on the innovation of others. As President/CEO/Owner of PennStress, Van Buren has used his educational background from Juniata College and St. Francis University and his years as COO at New Enterprise Stone & Lime Company to fill a vital niche in the transportation infrastructure industry. The 51-year-old Philadelphia native and his wife Kim have two children: Brenden, 27 and Megan, 25.
The Chamber: What is PennStress and what were the circumstances that led to its founding?
Jamie: PennStress is a manufacturer of precast and pre-stressed structural and architectural concrete products. Its manufacturing facility is located in Roaring Spring, PA with its corporate office in Hollidaysburg, PA. PennStress began with the acquisition of the Newcrete Products division of New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc. in December 2014. Its core products were bridge beams and parking garages. PennStress has added a third core product offering, total precast bridge structures. PennStress will also manufacture precast stadiums, prison cells and other miscellaneous structural building components. We are very excited to be involved in the development of the total precast bridge market in Pennsylvania. We have taken a new and innovated approach to the construction of highway bridges. We manufacture the entire bridge in our facility and then ship it to the construction site. The site construction, instead of pouring concrete into forms at the site, is more like assembling giant Lego blocks. It has reduced bridge construction time from months to weeks. This greatly reduces the impact to the traveling public adding significant value to project.
The Chamber: What would people in Blair County be surprised to know about PennStress?
Jamie: We are not generally approached about the work that we do at our facility and most people don’t have access to the construction site so not much is known about what we do. Where the public does see us is when we travel with our very large beams up and down the highway. So we generally get most of our questions from people about hauling these massive beams. I would guess that most people would not be aware that PennStress recently hauled the longest heaviest beams in the state. They were 170 feet long and weighed 120 tons. We shipped them from Roaring Spring to Leighton, PA. The hauling equipment that we used requires the drive to steer both the tractor as well as, with a joy stick, the trailer unit.
The Chamber: You were a staunch supporter of Pennsylvania’s Transportation Funding Reform Legislation. Why was that legislation so important and how much grief have you taken for supporting it?
Jamie: I was and remain a staunch supporter of and an advocate for the passage of what is known as Act 89. Act 89 passed in December of 2014 and was ground breaking legislation which has been of vital importance to Pennsylvania. It will provide long term resources to improve the safety of Pennsylvania’s roads, bridges and highways. Our mobility is what fundamentally provides us with the quality of life that we enjoy and treasure. Without a safe and efficient roadway network our quality of life would suffer. Everyone intuitively understands this but few people every really talk about or think about it. I have not ever taken any grief for the increase in taxes for the sole benefit of improved safety and economic development through the highway and bridge program. But it could be coming soon because despite our legislators’ votes to put more the money in the Motor License Fund for the expressed benefit of “fixing roads and bridges,” the money is now being siphoned off to pay for other statewide services.
The Chamber: What other business ventures are you currently involved in and how have those ventures impacted the local community? Anything else on the horizon?
Jamie: Some partners and I have been involved in several real estate development projects in downtown Hollidaysburg. We have refurbished some of the smaller spaces and some apartments in town which has been helpful in attracting some new business and people to Hollidaysburg. As for other ventures, my team and I are always looking for other opportunities that can bring jobs and new businesses to the area.
The Chamber: Who are your business role models and why?
Jamie: Walt Disney was a master of innovation, applying a different use for existing products and processes, not to be confused with inventing something where you come up with a completely new product or process. I don’t really have the mind for inventing things but I think I have tried to learn about what products or process have being used successfully in a given application and applying it to a completely different use. I have read about some of his exploits in innovations and they are inspiring. Additionally, Disney was truly a visionary which I think all great leaders need to be. He began with the simple drawing of a small mouse and ultimately saw greater possibilities than most people could ever dream. He was a business man who could take a dream and turn it into a reality. I like to think that he has inspired me to try to dream bigger than I might realistically think would be possible.
The Chamber: What’s the best book or business publication you’ve read during the past year? What made it worthwhile?
Jamie: I have just recently finished the book “Subliminal, How Your Unconscious Mind Rules your Behavior” by Leonard Mlodinow. I suppose by the title you might see that I have a broad view of what I would reference as a “business book”. The book deals with how one’s unconscious mind works relative to your conscious mind. It is a rather science intensive book. I think if you would endure the reading of it you would come away with a much better appreciation of your own personal interactions, which is such an important component of business.