Northern Concrete Construction, Inc. was a finalist in the medium sized business category of the 2013 Wisconsin Family Business Awards held in Madison on Thursday. The nomination process included an extensive history of the company, including a number of mulit-generational businesses dating back to the early 1900′s.
While we didn’t come away with the trophies, I think we came away with a little inspiration. Hearing the stories of perseverance, the challenges of mixing business and family, and some of the hurdles and hiccups of ‘keeping it in the family’ for decades, we realized that many of the challenges we face in our day to day are not exactly uncharted waters.
Surviving into posterity requires patience, dedication, and planning, all mixed with a little luck, but mostly it takes the efforts of the people who show up every day to help make it happen.
In the end, just about every business is made up of people, and the people are what make these organizations so special.
We were honored to be a finalist for these awards, and look forward to many more years, and maybe even generations, of serving the good people of Wisconsin.
A family affair
May 14th, 2013 by admin
Diggin’ it
May 6th, 2013 by adminWell, it appears the warm days of spring have finally broken through the permafrost. All the trends are indicating that housing is up, by twenty percent or more my some estimates. While the numbers are still below what the industry saw in the early 2000’s, industry capacity is also not what it was at that time.
Some builders, subcontractors, and others whose businesses relied on the housing markets have pulled up stakes and closed their doors. That said, those in the housing industry who have survived are now poised to be in-demand as new housing starts are on the rise.
Now, with a late start on the season, we here in northeast Wisconsin are feeling the pressure to make the most of the opportunity.
Excavators are working seven days a week to dig holes and concrete companies are doing the same to keep up with rising demand.
My advice to folks considering building a new house this year is to get started sooner versus later. I don’t know about all of the builders in the area, but I have seen a few who have more work on the books than can be done, at least in the near term.
Things are definitely looking up in the housing sector, and hopefully that trend continues. I predict that housing will recover, and hopefully at a more moderate pace so that we don’t experience another ‘bubble’ like the one that rocked the economy a few years ago. I think we all know how that story goes.
What’s a cement truck?
April 19th, 2013 by adminWell, there is really no such thing. What you see driving around with the big cylinders on the back and dumping grey mud out of the back are concrete trucks.
Cement is an ingredient of concrete, much like eggs are an ingredient in cake. You can’t make a cake out of eggs any more than you can make concrete out of cement. The other key ingredients in concrete are sand and stones, also known as aggregate, and, of course, water.
Now, the question is, what is cement? Well, that question is a little more complicated, and there are multiple correct answers.
Joseph Aspdin, a British bricklayer, is considered to be the originator of portland cement, which is the name applied to just about all modern cement products. ASTM C 150 defines portland cement as “hydraulic cement (cement that not only hardens by reacting with water but also forms a water-resistant product) produced by pulverizing clinkers consisting essentially of hydraulic calcium silicates, usually containing one or more of the forms of calcium sulfate as an inter-ground addition.”
Not that that helps much.
Basically, you take pulverized limestone with a little bit of clay, shale, sand, iron ore, bauxite, fly ash, or slag, and fire it all in a kiln at 1450 degrees Fahrenheit, take it out and grind it up nice and fine and you got yourself some cement. As previously mentioned, add some aggregate and some water and you got concrete.
Big, beautiful, and the second most consumed material on Earth after water. Which, as an ingredient in concrete and all living things, is going to be hard to surpass.
‘Like’ Northern Concrete Construction–and Bring Your Friends!
April 8th, 2013 by admin
We at Northern Concrete are big on social media—Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, our blog, our website. As part of our efforts to increase our presence in northeast Wisconsin, we are proud to announce another Facebook contest! We want you to invite your Facebook friends to ‘Like’ our fan page, www.facebook.com/NorthernConcreteConstruction .
To add a little incentive to the mix, we are offering a $400 gift card to Menard’s Home Improvement stores to the ‘fan’ who brings the most new ‘Likes’ to our page.
Here’s how it works:
1) Go to our Facebook page via the link above or click here http://bit.ly/16IAnUM
2) Click ‘Like’ at the top of the page. (If you are already a fan, skip to step #3)
3) Click on the ‘Refer Your Friends’ tab to sign up
4) We will need your first and last name and email address (We are not selling any of your information!)
5) You will be given a unique link to the contest. Post it on your own Facebook page, tweet it to your followers, or send it out via email. The more people you send it to, the better your chances of winning!!
That’s it. Help us spread the word about all we do here at Northern Concrete. 
Jobs report-Record low unemployment at Northern Concrete Inc.
April 1st, 2013 by adminWhile the unemployment rate nationally hovers around eight percent, here in Northeast Wisconsin Northern Concrete is looking to do what we can to chip away at it, even if only one job at a time.
With the construction season set to begin ramping up, we are looking for a few good men and women to fill positions in our company. Over the last several months, Northern Concrete has already added over ten new full-time employees to the payroll, and we are looking to add anywhere from thirty to fifty new regular full-time positions to our ranks.
Whether you have construction experience and haven’t been called back to work, don’t have construction experience but enjoy working with your hands and welcome the chance to work outdoors, or are new to the workforce and haven’t quite figured out a direction for yourself, consider coming to our open house job fair on April 20th to talk with decision makers about our jobs, benefits, advancement opportunities, and more.
Over the last several years Northern Concrete has continued to grow and expand despite slowdowns in the construction field. We have done this through innovation, taking on new challenges and opportunities, and a willingness to continually strive for improvement. What that means, given positive indicators for construction across the board, is that we are positioned to grow even more as the economic recovery continues.
We offer competitive compensation and exemplary benefits including health, vision, dental and life and disability insurance, retirement plans with company contributions, and we take pride in promoting our leaders from within our ranks.
So make a plan to come down and visit us, tell a friend, bring a friend, or share this with anyone you know who is looking for a new opportunity.
