Interview with Roklin Systems: Meet Mike Fusco

From Roklin's Asphalt and Concrete Resources blog, originally published July 27, 2011 by Tamar.

Meet Our Distributors, a new blog series: Mike Fusco

Michael Fusco of FillPro is our distributor for downstate New York, New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Mike is married with three children and has lived in Middle Island, NY for 17 years. He has always lived in New York. “I started off in Brooklyn and kept moving East,” he said.

He became a distributor because he was so pleased with the success of Roklin's products.

“It's a funny story. We are a general contractor. We were renovating the Marriott in Plainview and the prices were too expensive to redo the whole parking lot. I went online and found your product. I used one bucket (of FloMix) as a demo and loved it. We saved $80,000 on a parking lot just patching it with FloMix,” he said. Now Mike is a stocking distributor.

Mike chose to distribute Roklin's products because they were his favorites. “I chose to work with Roklin because I believed in the product when I used it.”

On the topic of favorites, Fusco's favorite food is Italian, pasta in particular. One hobby keeps him busy: he plays bass guitar in a band called Second Shift, and has played since he was 14 (31 years). “We average about two times a month. We play out in local bars, and in the Hamptons,” Fusco said.

What makes FillPro different from others in the field is its construction background. Fusco believes his 29 years of experience have given him a strong foundation. “The construction knowledge that I have helps in the application of FloMix,” said Fusco.

One of Mike's pet peeves is dealing with people who don't listen. That is one reason he makes a good distributor, and one of the benefits of using a distributor. Buying from a distributor rather than the manufacturer opens up a dialogue and provides additional support. According to Fusco, there are multiple benefits: “They could find a distributor closer to their locale and save on the shipping charges, which are astronomical now. We can do a demo and teach people how to use the product.” This communication gives customers support and guidance they might not otherwise have.

FillPro generally does demonstrations once a month and is open to doing them whenever customers ask. “All it takes is a phone call to get a demo,” said Fusco.

Fusco likes what he does and the products he works with. “What I like about Roklin's products is the fact that they perform exactly the way Roklin says they will perform. The product does everything that Roklin says it's going to do.” Overall, he likes the industry because of the feeling of accomplishment. “The feeling of having accomplished a good job makes you like what you do. We're just willing to do what it takes to make the customer happy and I think we're doing a good job of that,” Fusco said.

Fusco can be reached at FillPro Industries, 347 Knickerbocker Avenue, Bohemia, NY 11716, 1-855-9FillPro (1-855-934-5577).