A new arrival to the Internet is DirtMarket (www.dirtmarket.com), a northern California regional “dirt store” that allows contractors to find suppliers and/or potential users of dirt in proximity to job sites. Says David Rossi, DirtMarket’s CEO, “On projects requiring large amounts of dirt–either export or import–contractors that have the cheapest source to take or to obtain material are the ones best suited to secure the job. Information in the early stages about others projects in the area, either in planning or under construction, can be the single biggest factor in determining what to bid on. I know contractors that track up to 300 projects at any given time to see what to bid on and what not to.” Members pay an annual fee of $1,200 to use the site. This allows them to post their needs to the system, which seeks matches and alerts users to opportunities.
DirtMarket, which launched in March 2001, is concentrating on the northern California area for the present–”Dirt is local,” explains Rossi–but plans call for systematic growth nationwide.
