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Concrete Connection
A publication of Easi-Set® Worldwide
Winter/Spring 2012
Easi-Set Buildings Pass Level 5 Ballistics Test
In July 2011, Easi-Set passed a Level 5 ballistics test of its standard 3-inch thick building panel.
MGA Research Corporation, an independent testing laboratory, in Manassas, VA conducted
the UL 752 test. In the Level 5 test, a 150 grain 7.62 NATO round is fired at a 12-inch x 12-inch
test sample from a distance of 15-feet. The test requires 6 shots to be fired at the samples, which
are at several different temperatures. Passing this test allows Producers to certify a higher level
of bullet resistance (were formerly certified for Level 3) for the Easi-Set Buildings. It is
anticipated that these tests will be repeated for a 4-inch thick panel. — Jeremy Smith
Béton Provincial Now Offers SoftSound
In January of this year, Béton Provincial became a SoftSound licensed producer. This
company intends to produce SoftSound in their Trois Riviers precast facility near Quebec City
located in the Canadian Province of Quebec. In addition to applying for approval of SoftSound
as a product, the company is also required to seek plant approval from the Ministry of
Transportation of Quebec (MTQ), to produce noise walls for use on Provincial highways. Currently,
Quebec is introducing sound-absorbing noise walls near major metropolitan areas.
Béton Provincial, a family-owned business founded in the 1960’s, supplies ready-mixed concrete,
asphalt paving materials, crushed stone & aggregates, and concrete pipe & infrastructure components from facilities located
throughout Quebec. Some of the infrastructure products include retaining wall, water management products, 3-sided bridges,
and other structural products. — Moffette Tharpe
Chris-Hill Adds J-J Hooks to Keep Highways Safer
In late December 2011, Chris –Hill Construction of Memphis, TN, became Easi-Set’s thirty-ninth J-J Hooks producer. The
company, under the leadership of Craig Christenbury & John Hill, has been in business since 1965. Today the company is a
licensed general contractor and sub-contractor serving the transportation, municipal, and
utility markets throughout Tennessee, Arkansas, & Mississippi.
The company specializes in bridge construction, pilings of all types, shoring & retaining
walls, waste water treatment plants, drainage, demolition, and also provides temporary barrier under a rental agreement.
The company will manufacture J-J Hooks precast barrier in 20-foot and 10-foot lengths.
Notable projects include the Thousand Oaks Bridge over Nonconnah Creek, the Jackson Ave. Viaduct in Memphis, and the
McLemore Bridge. Production training, under the direction of our Ricky Groves, is currently scheduled for late in the second
quarter of 2012 at their Memphis facility. — Moffette Tharpe
Ad Ventures Agency Makeover
On November 1, 2011, Ad Ventures made a strategic switch back
to its original corporate name, Midland Advertising and Design.
Incorporated in 1980, the agency has served all the co-op and corporate advertising, public relations, graphic
design, websites, and marketing needs of Easi-Set licensees, as well as other clients. The name change was
made to brand the agency with a more traditional image and to increase its appeal to national clientele.
Another component in the progression of the agency has been the arrival of Dale Neal as manager. He has accrued over thirty
years of experience in the advertising, marketing and graphics industries. For eighteen years he was focused on business-tobusiness marketing within several highly regarded advertising agencies in Utah and Florida, including four years as a managing
partner and eight years as a Creative Director. In 1999, Dale made the move to Virginia, which allowed the opportunity to learn
the business of consumer marketing and e-commerce while working with two nationally recognized catalog companies.
The agency offers a wide array of services and connections within the marketing and graphics industries. All Easi-Set producers
are encouraged to contact the agency for advice (gratis) or to engage the agency’s services. — Moffette Tharpe
(1)
Producer News
Easi-Set News
StructureCast Building Production Re-Training
Building Producers Seminar 2011
In early January, Easi-Set made a re-training visit to StructureCast’s facility in
Bakersfield, CA, and found they were focused on improving the quality of Building
production and smoothing out all phases of the flow through their plant from initial sales
order to actual installation. Their production Manager, Scott Davis, is concentrating
primarily on standardizing production methods in order to increase efficiency.
StructureCast’s new salesperson, Dean Bagg, brings extensive sales experience in
building sales, and he is seeing an increase in transportable building demand. Dean is
enthusiastic about their sales prospects for 2012 and intends to make it their best sales
year ever for Easi-Set Buildings. — Ricky Groves
Gabled Restroom Wall, Barn Board Finish
Restroom Building Floor
T
Waste Water Treatment Plant
in Paso Robles, California
Electrical and Finishing of Building interior
Virginia’s First Beach Prism Installation
he 27th Building Producers Seminar, held in historic
Fredericksburg, VA, was hosted by Smith-Midland Corporation.
Owners, production, and sales staff travelled from all corners of
North America to attend this annual Easi-Set Seminar on October 2729th. Wanting to always keep the content fresh and interesting, this year’s Seminar included an expanded Awards Ceremony as well
as several new sessions, which addressed best practices for project flow, developing a sales and marketing plan, and details of an
Easi-Span Building installation with a precast floor. Other sessions covered were an
expanded “Members Only” tab on the Building website, as well as details related to
standardizing submittal packages. Also, the Building Producers shared their success
stories, which, as always, was an informative and important part of the Seminar.
During the opening Awards Banquet, Service Awards were presented and several
producers were recognized for noteworthy accomplishments. Smith-Midland Corp. was
recognized for selling the most buildings, Norwalk Concrete Industries sold the most
restrooms, Lonestar Prestress won the “Big Foot” award by selling an Easi-Span
Building with the largest footprint (24’ x 120’), Shea Concrete Products achieved the
largest increase over the previous year in the number of buildings sold, Brick Tavern
Concrete received the “Quick-Draw” award for the fastest Easi-Set Building installation
(36 minutes), Modern Precast had the “Best Photograph” of an Easi-Set or Easi-Span
Building with an impressive restroom complex in Pennsylvania, and Norwalk captured
the “Most Complicated Building Project” award by conquering a major project for
delivering a Building that exceeded
149,000 lbs. across two states.
Best Picture Winner
Smith-Midland’s plant tour on
Friday began with a “sit down”
buffet lunch in their new break
room. The tour was widely
hailed by the attendees as the
“best one ever.” On Friday
evening the attendees gathered
at the Riverside Dinner Theatre
Smith-Midland Plant Tour
in Fredericksburg, enjoyed a
delicious meal, and were entertained by the Tony award-winning show, Dreamgirls,
a story based loosely on “The Supremes” early days. It was a magnificent evening.
After spending several years “working through”
the Commonwealth of Virginia’s permitting
process, Smith-Midland Corp. prevailed and recently received a permit to
install their first Beach Prisms on the Chesapeake Bay shoreline in Virginia.
Bob and Chris White, of Heathsville, VA, lost much of their bay front property
when Tropical Storm Ernesto roared through on September 1, 2006. After an
exhaustive internet search for a solution to their erosion problem, they found
Beach Prisms! In October 2011, Smith-Midland installed 22, 4-feet high by
10-feet long Beach Prisms. The Whites expect that the installation will either
slow the rate of erosion, stop the erosion altogether, or reverse the erosion by
replenishing sand in front of and behind the Beach Prisms. — Jeremy Smith
Information on the 2012 Building Producers Seminar will be coming soon. Watch
for it on our Seminar website, www.easisetseminar.com. Updated details will be
posted as they become available. — Jeremy Smith
Smith-Midland is Back on
GSA Schedule 56 & Lonestar Seeks Approval
Top - Norwalk, Most Restrooms Award
Bottom - Hy-Grade, 30 Years of Service Award
Recently Smith-Midland Corporation was re-awarded a GSA Schedule 56 contract. As we have discussed
during our annual Building Producer Seminars, Schedule 56 is used for building purchases, FSC 54 is the
sub-category for Pre-Engineered/Pre-Fabricated buildings, while SIN (sub-category) number 361 10A is for
Storage buildings and 361 10H is for Restrooms.
One of Smith-Midland’s first tasks is to prepare and “up load” the building descriptions onto the GSA Advantage site, which
is used by government contracting officers for purchasing. This step requires that Smith-Midland add a GSA Advantage link to
a newly-created, GSA-specific landing page in their company website. Their second equally important task is to prepare and
implement a GSA Marketing and Sales Plan.
Recently Lonestar Prestress Mfg., Houston, TX, submitted their proposal seeking a Schedule 56 contract award. In preparation
for the anticipated award, the company has begun to implement a “call plan” directed toward government contracting officers who
purchase buildings. — Moffette Tharpe
(2) Concrete Connections
Winter/Spring 2012
Effective Sales Workshop
Awards Dinner
Winter/Spring 2012 Concrete Connections (3)
New Building Brochure Released
Recently, Easi-Set announced the release of a new, 16-page, Easi-Set/Easi-Span/Restroom
brochure. The brochure will be introduced in Easi-Set’s booth at The Precast Show 2012 in
Orlando, FL. This comprehensive brochure will enable the Building Producers to display
the full range of the Easi-Set precast concrete buildings and restrooms ranging from the
10-foot x 12-foot plant-assembled Easi-Set to the 50-foot x 250-foot site assembled
Easi-Span Building. — Jeremy Smith
New Easi-Set Building Logo Introduced
Previewed during the 27th Annual Building Producers Seminar in October 2011, the
Easi-Set Building now has its own brand image. The new logo, incorporating the Easi-Span
roof profile, was “rolled out” during the first quarter of
2012 on all national advertising, collateral material and the
Building website. It was created as part of the continuing
effort to build a recognizable national brand for the
benefit of all Easi-Set Building producers. — Dale Neal
The Wide-Wide World of EASI-SET® Licensed Producers
United States
Arkansas
Peterson Concrete Tank Co.
N. Little Rock; J-J Hooks®
California
StructureCast
Bakersfield; Buildings
Colorado
SEMA Precast, Inc.
Englewood; J-J Hooks®
Florida
Florida Rock and Sand
Prestress Precast Co. Inc.
Florida City; J-J Hooks®
J.E. Hill Precast
Leesburg; J-J Hooks®, Buildings,
Farm Products
Leesburg Concrete Co., Inc.
Leesburg; SlenderWall
Seminole Precast Mfg., Inc.
DeBary; J-J Hooks®
Georgia
Seminole Precast Mfg., Inc.
Macon; J-J Hooks®
The Industrial Co.
Savannah; J-J Hooks®
Illinois
Utility Concrete Products
Morris; J-J Hooks®
Indiana
Independent Concrete Pipe
Indianapolis; J-J Hooks®
Indiana Barrier Wall, LLC
Ft. Wayne; J-J Hooks®
Kentucky
Independent Concrete Pipe
Louisville; J-J Hooks®
(4)
Oldcastle Precast, Inc.
Lexington; J-J Hooks®
Massachusetts
Shea Concrete Products
Wilmington; Buildings, J-J Hooks®
Michigan
Kerkstra Precast
®
Grandville; J-J Hooks
Mississippi
Jackson Precast, Inc.
Jackson; SlenderWall®
Nevada
Rockway Precast
N. Las Vegas; Buildings
New Jersey
Jersey Precast Corp.
®
Trenton; J-J Hooks
New York
Brick Tavern Concrete Products
Hudson; Buildings
Champion Materials, Inc.
®
Carthage; J-J Hooks
Fort Miller Co., Inc.
®
Schuylerville; J-J Hooks
Kistner Concrete Products
®
E. Pembroke; J-J Hooks
L.C. Whitford Materials Co., Inc.
®
Wellsville; J-J Hooks
Roman Stone Const. Co.
®
Bay Shore; J-J Hooks
North Carolina
Hanson Precast Concrete
®
Dunn; J-J Hooks
Smith-Carolina Corp.
®
Reidsville; J-J Hooks , Buildings, Farm
Products, Beach Prisms™
Ohio
Norwalk Concrete Ind.
®
Norwalk; J-J Hooks , Buildings
Oklahoma
GNC Concrete Products, Inc.
®
Catoosa; J-J Hooks
Pennsylvania
Eagle Concrete Products, Inc.
®
Somerset, PA; J-J Hooks
Faddis Concrete Products
Kutztown, New Castle*,
®
Downingtown; J-J Hooks
* Sublicensed by Eagle Concrete Products
Modern Precast Concrete
Easton; Buildings
Tennessee
Chris-Hill Construction
Memphis; J-J Hooks®
Texas
Lonestar Prestress Mfg., Inc.
Houston; Buildings
Tricon Precast
Houston; J-J Hooks®
Valley Prestress (Williams Bros.)
Houston; J-J Hooks®
W.W. Webber, Inc.
Houston; J-J Hooks®
Vermont
SD Ireland Concrete Const. Corp.
Williston; J-J Hooks®
Virginia
Smith-Midland® Corp.
Midland; J-J Hooks®, Beach Prisms™,
SlenderWall®, Buildings, SoftSound,
Farm Products
West Virginia
Eastern Vault Company
Princeton; J-J Hooks®
Canada
Nova Scotia
The Shaw Group
Lantz; J-J Hooks®
Ontario
C J Pink, Ltd
London; J-J Hooks®
Hy-Grade Precast Concrete
St. Catharines; Buildings, J-J Hooks®
Quebec
Bétons Préfabriqués Du Lac Inc.
Alma; SlenderWall®
Béton Provincial Ltee
Quebec City; Beach Prisms™ ,
SoftSound
Lecuyer et Fils Ltee
St. Remi; Buildings
Mexico
OptiCretos, S.A. de C.V.
Monterrey; SlenderWall®
Australia
Australian Road Barriers
Victoria; J-J Hooks®
Belgium
Oude Firma DeClercq Ed
Gent; J-J Hooks®
New Zealand
B.S. Developments, Ltd.
Auckland; J-J Hooks®
Easi-Set Staff:
Moffette Tharpe - Managing Director
Jeremy Smith - Deputy Director
Brian Stock - National Sales Manager
Ricky Groves - Technical Services Director
Anne Smith - Administrative Manager
Concrete Connection is published quarterly for the benefit of our licensed producers, their staff, our suppliers, team members,
and selected interested parties. It is available in both print and electronic form. Moffette Tharpe, Editor
Easi-Set®, J-J Hooks®, and SlenderWall® are registered trademarks of Easi-Set Worldwide.
© 2012 Easi-Set® Worldwide . PO Box 400 . 5119 Catlett Road . Midland, VA 22728 . (540) 439-8911 . www.EasiSet.com