The 2005 construction season is finally winding down.  We still have 20,000 SY on the books for this year that won’t be turned over to us until late November.  Coincidently, I’m writing this as snow is falling outside.  The developers in Des Moines don’t know when to call it quits.  The metro has had an exciting year and has something to be proud of.   I said we had a challenging fall ahead of us in my last article.  Well, our crews and drivers stepped up to that challenge and we are now sitting in good shape.  We could have had a few less accidents and we were lucky enough that some of them didn’t turn out worse than they did.

The Des Moines ready-mix market is going to remain competitive next year as the two new concrete suppliers remain in town.  We had some loyal customers decide they were better off with a new concrete supplier.  There is much to be said about our remaining customers.  May we provide them with good service so that their business can continue to prosper.  Special thanks to all of our drivers that make our customer’s lives easier.  You are setting us apart as the best ready mix company in town.  I’ve heard many positive things from customers and owners about our business this past year.  We can only have that reputation through our employees that care enough to productively deliver a quality product.

Paving has had a spectacular year also.  Mike V. and his crew came to town at the end of the season to wrap up one project and do another from start to finish.  This allowed us to put down more SY than we ever had before in the Des Moines Metro area.   Another contributor to our success was the ability to outsource handwork.  RAMMS out of Marshalltown did a considerable amount of work for us this year.  Some of Duane’s old crew headed that operation (Armando and Rene).  Their efforts kept our paving crew paving.  This allowed the Metro crew to have an exceptional year.  Few accidents and very little property damage came from our paving crew this year also there was very little rework on the stuff we put down.  All of this help we had in town meant more coordination and cooperation for everybody.  The majority of summer and fall it seemed like we were spread out on six projects at once.  Good job on keeping track of materials and tools.  Thanks for your push at the end when the weather got cold and days short.  You stepped up to the challenge this year, no doubt.

Next year, we have been awarded an I-235 Mega job.  Although Brooklyn crews will probably do the majority of the work, I’m sure we at the Metro will see a piece of the pie.  There is almost three million dollars of incentive if the project finishes on time.  We will have to come up with creative ways to save days.  With that and a good chunk of carry over, we will be off to a good start next spring.  Until then I wish everyone Happy Holidays and an enjoyable winter.