No storm too big for Case

SHOVEL READY: Owner Jason Case started out in the construction industry, where he worked for a decade after joining the family business, before striking out on his own with Case Snow Management. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
SHOVEL READY: Owner Jason Case started out in the construction industry, where he worked for a decade after joining the family business, before striking out on his own with Case Snow Management. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

In September, Case Snow Management announced it would be hiring 500 seasonal employees as the winter approaches.

Openings included operations managers, administrative staff, field managers and equipment operators – most to battle the unpredictable New England winter, said owner Jason Case.

Employees remove snow and ice for 70 clients at 1,500 locations across New England, New York and New Jersey each winter. Case explained the annual employee hiring anticipates worst-case scenarios. This way if someone is unavailable after a storm, the company has enough reserves to cover all its clients.

Case said the number of hires has not dramatically increased each season; the largest hire was 800 workers in 2014 when New England witnessed some of the worst weather on record.

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“You never know what kind of snow is coming, despite the forecast. … In terms of revenue it’s like throwing a dart and I’m not that good at darts,” said Case, whose business’ success depends on the amount of snowfall each winter.

He explained the past two winters have brought what he called “weather anomalies,” with storms that drop 24-36 inches of snow each.

Case didn’t start out in the snow- and ice-management business.

After finishing school, he joined the family business, a third-generation construction-site company founded by his grandfather in 1951. After a decade in the construction industry, Case decided he was ready to branch out on his own and went into business for himself in 2009.

That first winter, Case recalls four workers servicing less than 20 clients in Rhode Island, southeastern Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts.

Learning from the lean, early days, Case said he now prioritizes “people, processes and technology” to grow his business in an unpredictable industry.

For a company with such high seasonal employment, training is essential, he said.

“Our goal is to hire and deploy trained professionals throughout our existing footprint – the better job we can do with that, the more successful we will be,” he said.

In addition, he says Case Snow Management is the first company in the world to be ISO SN 9001 certified, a quality-management designation created by the Accredited Snow Contractors Association to help snow-removal companies streamline their processes and reduce paperwork.

“ISO helped us build a strong foundation of internal processes built around customer satisfaction – monitoring, measuring and improving the organization from within,” said Case.

Looking forward, Case would like to extend his hiring practices to recent college graduates, citing a previous internship program offered by the company.

“It’s a good opportunity for any kind of local, young, entrepreneurially incentivized college student to come have a hands-on experience,” he said. •

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