The last ten years or so, we have made some impressive improvements in our ready mix facilities. Thanks to the owners recognition that these 30-40 year old facilities need attention, we have been able to justify the investment necessary to build first class plants that are tailored to their individual markets and position Manatts very well for the future.

We try to replace one plant per year with the thought that the first one done will be ready to be replaced again when we get back to it in the cycle. Although we didn’t replace one last year, two are in the works for this year (Grundy Center and Ankeny).

We have so many of our people contribute each time we replace a plant that it would be impossible to name everyone. All our crews come in and do a top job on everything they do. It never ceases to amaze me how versatile our employees are. Although we do hire a lot of things done, we have at one time or another handled almost all items ourselves. For example, John Beaderstadt will probably be mad that I let his secret out, but one of the best electrical installations we have had done was the one John did on the Grinnell plant with absolutely no plan to guide him.

Different people contribute every time but two that are a constant on all the jobs are Steve Beck and Garvin Shaw. They are always involved from the start and understand what it takes to do the job right. Everyone that supervises people wishes they had several more like them. You can explain what needs to be done and walk away knowing it will be done right. There is never any complaining about the tough or dirty jobs; just the attitude of let’s get it done safely.

I think the one area that makes our new facilities stand out from others is the attention to details. Building ready mix plants can get very frustrating towards the end. You eventually reach a point where every item that is finished leads to three more to do. It’s very tempting (and commonplace) to get the plant into production, neglect the details and never look back. The result is plants that look unfinished, dirty because of neglected dust issues, and unsafe because of overlooked hazards. Steve and Garvin work very diligently to be sure this isn’t an issue with our facilities.

We are very proud of all our new plants and grateful to everyone with a hand in making them what they are, especially Steve and Garvin. Thanks guys!