Las Vegas Traffic Control Company Celebrates 10 Years

MOB Traffic plays an important part of everything in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA, November 2, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Masters of Barricades (MOB Traffic), the largest privately owned traffic control management and barricade company in the region around Southern Nevada, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Originally a company of five, MOB Traffic has grown to staff more than 100 technicians, 70 flaggers, and a planning department that can turn plans in around three days.

Working on special events like Life Is Beautiful, Mint 400, Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas marathon, and upcoming Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix helped put MOB Traffic on the map, but it’s daily construction utility services that make this 24-7 company one of the busiest barricade companies in the nation. It’s not uncommon for MOB Traffic to complete 100 to 140 tickets a day, which is easily twice as many as its founders used to oversee while working with national barricade companies. 

“We are setting new records but focusing less on growth and more on efficiencies to streamline our service,” said Terry Alo, general manager of MOB Traffic. “There are a few areas where we still can make some small improvements, but the company is really humming right now. It feels great to reach a milestone. Only about 35 percent of all startups celebrate their 10-year anniversary.”

The MOB Traffic startup is something of a Cinderella story. When the national company three of its founders worked for in 2013 began unexpectedly closing its doors without an exit strategy, they decided to step up and do the impossible.

“I had just finished lunch with a customer, and the company credit card was declined. So, I paid with my personal card,” explains Jeff Pritchett, founder and CMO. “After lunch, I discovered my gas card had been canceled too. It wasn’t just me. It was every employee. And then the company we worked for wouldn’t take our calls.” 

The problem was two-fold. None of the employees knew what would happen next, and all of the customers who had major construction jobs in progress would discover they had no traffic control management in place the next day. While most managers might have walked off the job, Jeff Ames, Jason Woods, and Jeff Pritchett did something different.

“We didn’t know what was happening, but stayed up all night anyway. We called smaller traffic control providers and other area competitors — dividing various jobs to whatever companies were best equipped to handle them,” said Pritchett. “After that, the next few days and weeks were unreal. We were tasked with dismantling everything we had worked so hard to build.”

While most would have considered this the end of the story, it was only the beginning for Ames, Woods, and Pritchett. Ames’ father heard what had happened and how these three co-workers managed what could have been a regional crisis. Impressed by their tenacity, he offered to help them start a business, providing enough capital to purchase a small traffic control operator and the equipment they needed.

“He didn’t even have any papers drawn up to make him an owner,” said Pritchett. “He just gave us installments on the principle of karma and a handshake. We added a fourth founder, Scott Palmer, and things took off very quickly from there and we were able to pay him back within the first two years.”

Special events work provided MOB Traffic with a solid foundation because not every company was capable of providing signage, equipment, and manpower on the weekends. The founders’ reputation provided the rest. Every customer that Ames, Pritchett, and Woods had referred out to competitors returned to their new company.

Today, MOB Traffic now owns a fleet of close to 40 trucks, with about half of them flatbeds plus two minivans for flaggers. The size of the fleet corresponds to the equipment in the yard. MOB Traffic owns more than 8,000 42-inch cones alone, quadrupling the number of deliberators the company owned at startup.

“It’s incredible to think about,” said Alo. “We started as a mom-and-pop shop with one flatbed, a few personal pickup trucks, and an occasional rental with a logo magnet. We worked fast and loose, sometimes even bringing a friend along to finish the job. Today, we’ve grown up into a real company.” 

While MOB Traffic has adopted many corporate practices over the years, some elements still make it feel like family. Along with Alo and the founders, Mandy Frazier, Paul Ames, and Bill Shepherd were recently recognized for helping MOB Traffic become the company it is today. All of them have been with the company since its first year of operation.

Masters of Barricades is its region’s largest privately owned traffic control, special event, pedestrian management, and barricade provider. It is known for responsive, world-class customer service in Nevada, Arizona, California, and Utah. The company sometimes provides remote management consultation and special event services beyond its Las Vegas barricades service area. For more information about Masters of Barricades or MOB Traffic, visit mob-traffic.com

Jeff Pritchett
Masters of Barricades
+1 702-792-2008
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