Manatt's Mirror - August 2003

New Ames Asphalt Plant on Dayton Ave

Tom asked me to write an article in recognition of the employees that started with Manatts in 1982 when they bought Iowa Road Builders and are still here today.

When I hear the words “Dedication – Devotion – Determination”. There are seven names that come to mind - John Hugen, Tim Peterson, Randy Hugen, Steve Sansgaard, Ron Larson, Russ Jordan, and Tom Hostetter.

These guys have given immeasurable amounts of time and energy over the years to help this company grow into what it is today.

These guys have worn many, many hats over the years. In fact, it’s difficult to even give them a job description or classification because these guys have “done it all”. For example, one might start the day in a mixer, hop into the lowboy, run the loader and fire up the asphalt plant to make some mix. They’ve also been known to spend their days doing everything from batching and delivering concrete to repairing equipment and machinery (Poor Earl Brown, retired mechanic, didn’t even have a chance of keeping up on all the repairs as the “lone” mechanic on the premises, especially when he also had to run the soil crete plant).

These guys have seen jobs through from bidding to doing. So you can see, it was a one for all and all for one operation. These guys gave a new meaning to the phrase “Team Work”!

These guys were all about work, but they also had their fun. The old plant site on Hwy 69 offered many ways for these gentlemen to relax after work. I’m told there was a great fishing hole just to the south, plenty of ducks and geese for target practice, a monster sweet corn patch just north of the scale (not to mention the asparagus patch and morel mushrooms waiting to be hunted and devoured).

I asked some of these gentlemen for a “good ole story”. Some said they had stories but sure didn’t want them put in print and others said, “seen a lot, done a lot and forgot a lot.”

These guys have grown with Manatts – Ames Division. We’ve gone from producing less than 50,000 ton of asphalt a year to over 200,000 ton, and from 16,000 cy of concrete to 100,000 cy.

Once again THANKS to the guys for their years of dedication and hard work to help make this company prosper and grow!