Manatt Mirror - Manatts, Inc.

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Reflections of Manatts and our Family of Business
Phone: 641.522.9206
P.O. Box 535
Brooklyn, Iowa 52211
Fax: 641.522.5594
www.manatts.com
Return Service Requested
Working Together to Help Find a Cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
All proceeds from this event will be donated to the ALS Association in memory of Elmer Anderson and Gene Manatt!
Please come join us for night of food, friends, and funding the
effort to find a cure!
Spaghetti Supper
Tickets
(minimum donation of):
In Advance:
•Adults (12 & up) - $8.00
•Kids (11 & under) - $5.00
Friday, September 7th
5:00pm-7:00pm
Michael J Manatt Community Center
At the Door:
•Adults (12 & up) - $10.00
•Kids (11 & under) - $6.00
Please contact Pam Benishek, Jim Bim, Diane Kilmer, Deb White, or
Brandie Flathers if you are interested in purchasing tickets!
Reflections of Manatts and our Family of Business
Volume 24 • Issue 3 • Summer 2012
MANATT
MIRROR
PCC Crew with New GOMACO GHP 2800 Paver
2
SUMMER 2012
Inside this Edition
Reflections of Manatts and our Family of Business
Volume 24 • Issue 3 • Summer 2012
Page 4: Manatt ALS Team
Read about how to join the team
to help raise money to find a cure
for ALS!
Page 22: 2012 Mixer Driver
Championship
View photos and results from the
championship.
Page 6: Manatts.com is Dot
Bomb
Check out the new Manatt website.
Page 24: Affiliate Update
Read about what our
sister companies are
up to.
Page 10: Division Updates
Page 27: Kind Words
Read about what each division is
up to so far this season.
Read about nice things
others are saying about us.
Pages 16-17: Views from the
Road
Photos from the job site.
Page 30: The Need for Speed
Read about one employees
“need for speed”
Page 20
Page 32: 2012 is an Election Year
Manatts now has an online store.
View this page to get your discount!
Mona Bond has provided some
great information to help us all
become more knowledgeable.
SUMMER 2012
3
Getting Things Done; Celebrating a Milestone
Brad Manatt, Manatts, Inc. President
This is the
me of year when we get things done. In case you haven’t no ced, we haven’t had a lot of rain days this
year and that is good. That puts a lot of pressure on the es mators and managers to con nue to find work to stay out
ahead of the crews.
A few loca ons are s ll somewhat concerned about the lack of work. I know the concrete pavers and the Newton asphalt
crews are s ll looking hard and bidding everything they can touch. I am confident jobs are s ll out there for us to bid and
get done yet this year.
Our crews are geared up to get a lot done in a day. With the good weather, we are really going to town. Keep up the
good work! The work I’ve seen looks good!
This year marks a milestone for me. My wife, Mary, and I will have been married 40 years on September 16th. It’s been
a great ride. She’s stuck with me through thick and thin. For that, I am thankful and I look forward for many more great
years. She has been a great partner and confidant. Along the way, we have also had some great fun. She even learned to
become a good motorcycle rider because I wanted to buy a Harley Davidson So Tail and told her it was hers. Besides, I
have a certain way of gear shi ing on my bike (rather aggressive) that she didn’t appreciate when riding on the back. We
leave for Alaska July 20 for seven days for a family celebra on. Everyone says Alaska is great! We are about to find out!
We recently lost a long me employee, Nick Clabaugh, in a tragic work related accident in Ames. The accident was preventable but in a way, the possibility of it unforeseen. I may have met Nick on occasion so I didn’t know him well, but I
did know of him well. He took care of many of our night me du es in the Ames shop but mostly keeping the shop clean.
He was always there to help the guys at Ames at the end of the day if they needed any minor repairs done a er the work
day ended. Many in Ames were very close to Nick and his death has touched us all in many ways.
I ask you to use good judgment in all the work you do. Ask for help if you need it. Above all – Think Safety First! M
HAPPY 40TH
WEDDING
ANNIVERSARY,
BRAD AND MARY
MANATT!
4
SUMMER 2012
Join the FIGHT with the Manatt ALS Team
Brad Manatt, Manatts, Inc. President
Please join the Man-att Work
for ALS team and help create
awareness for this debilitating
disease!
As most of you may remember,
last year we lost two long time
employees to the same devastating disease... those employees were Elmer Anderson and
Gene Manatt, and the disease
was ALS (often known as Lou
Gehrig’s disease), which is one
of the diseases in the Muscular
Dystrophy family. This disease
has no known cure and prognosis is bleak, often taking those
that suffer from its symptoms all
too quickly.
After being approached by a
volunteer spokesperson from
the ALS Association, a Corporate decision was made to get
behind the drive to raise funds
to support those stricken by this
disease through patient advocacy, drug research, and to help
find a cure for such a dreaded
condition. Manatts, Inc. has
committed to a $5000 donation to the ALS Association. In
doing so, we have also committed to a Corporate sponsored
team to raise funds for this
cause.
The ALS Walk is October 6th
in Des Moines. As you can see,
our time to raise funds is limited
and we have lots of work to do
before then. We will walk as
a team with team shirts designed just for us. We now need
your help as volunteers for the
team! You do not have to walk
on October 6th to be a team
member.
To kick off the fund raising for
our Corporate team, Mary and
I have pledged up to $10,000
in the form of a match to every dollar our corporate team
raises. JoAnn Manatt has also
taken up the cause with a
$5,000 matching funds pledge.
This means if our corporate
team could raise $15,000, we
actually would be able to donate $30,000 to ALS!! This is a
win-win situation.
We have formed a central
committee for our Corporate
team which includes me, Pam
Benishek, Jim Bim, Brandie
Flathers, Diane Kilmer, and Deb
White. We have met several
times and have come up with a
few ideas for fund raisers: a Coed slow pitch tournament, spaghetti supper, dessert bar and
concession stand at the Elvis
impersonator concert, a 50/50
raffle, and selling ALS awareness bracelets We are open to
other fund raising suggestions,
should anyone have any. Also,
Pam Benishek started a “match
challenge” to encourage you to
help raise money. She pledged
$100 toward the cause and is
challenging you to match that
donation.
If you are interested in becoming a team member, please visit
the following link to register
(web.alsa.org/goto/Manatts)
or let one of the central committee members know that
you are interested. Also, if you
would like to purchase an ALS
awareness bracelet, please
contact one of the committee
members mentioned earlier.
They are $2.00 a piece.
So let’s make the memory of Elmer and Gene proud by working hard for this most worthwhile cause! Hopefully, we will
make a difference in those that
face this devastating disease. M
SUMMER 2012
5
Safety News
Adam Grier, Manatts, Inc. Safety Director
As most of us have learned
the hard way in our lives personally and professionally, doing the right thing is most often
not the easiest thing to do at
that current moment. But in the
long run, it pays off for you and
those you influence throughout
your life. So, what does this
have to do with safety?!?
in SAFELY completing your
project.
Back to doing the right thing…I
consider myself so fortunate to
be associated with honest, hard
working people like yourselves.
A good example of this was a
property damage incident we
had at our Newton asphalt plant
this spring. The incident was
reported promptly and the truck
was quickly fixed. I was at one
of our portable asphalt plants
when a fellow employee came
up and started discussing this
fulfill my verbal commitment to
him and pass along the suggestion. When I arrived at the
Newton asphalt plant, Scott
Mulgrew greeted me and we
started talking about this incident. Before I even offered the
suggestion I got from someone
else, Scott showed me that they
had already taken the initiative
to correct the situation. It was
EXACTLY what Mike and I had
discussed in person, yet the
asphalt crew had the same idea
and acted upon it!
It would be easier for all of us
to show up for work, punch in,
keep our head down and only
worry about ourselves and
This, my friends, is
our duties. If most
a perfect example
of us had that atof how we improve,
titude, Manatts, Inc.
how we work safer
would not be the
and smarter. My
industry and comfellow employees
munity leader that
didn’t just fill out the
our company is
required incident
today. “If you’re not
paperwork and move
improving, you’re
on without a care.
getting worse.” This
They came up with
is all too true in
ways on their own,
the business world
they accepted safety
as a shared reand overseeing our
sponsibility with the
safety program.
company
and ANY
Newton Asphalt Plant Improvement
Complacency and
EMPLOYEE, and corrected
“taking things for granted” are
incident. Instead of pointing
the
situation.
I have more simihuge factors involving preventfingers and playing the typical
lar stories of fellow employees
able injuries and incidents. The
“blame game,” he had good
showing initiative to improve
way we combat complacency
safety. M
solutions to prevent a similar
is following the safety rules
incident from happening in the
and recommendations EVERY
I salute all of you and thank
future. I thanked him for the
TIME, no matter how big of a
you for your
suggestion and told him I would
commitment to working
hurry you’re in, or how tired you
follow up with it in Newton. I
safely—
are. We follow up by visiting job
left the Ferguson quarry and
sites to ensure you all have the
headed down to Newton to
tools and resources to succeed
6
SUMMER 2012
SUMMER 2012
7
Jimmy Buffett and Manatts, Inc - More in Common than you May Think....
by: Tim Douglas
I recently a
ended a Jimmy Buffe
concert in Des Moines and I started
to ponder what does he do that creates such loyalty to his
product? In reflec ng
on the show I came
away with some
undeniable parallels
between the success
enjoyed by Buffe
and by Mana s. Both
started out about the
same me, Mana s
in the late 50’s and
Buffe in the late 60’s and it took a
few years for both to get their legs
under them. Once we hit our stride,
neither has shown any sign of slowing down.
A dis nc ve parallel can be drawn
when you talk about our products.
What Buffe delivers in his concert performances is a top notch,
consistent product designed to the
requirements of his audience. This is
exactly what we strive to deliver at
Mana s, a consistent superior product that meets the specific specificaons of our customers. In today’s
America, where most companies
provide what can only be called
customer disservice and where the
customer is never right, Mana s
provides the total opposite. What
I am talking about is unsurpassed
customer sa sfac on and service.
Along the same lines, we promote
a local, family owned and managed
business that has the ability to satisfy the large commercial customer
as well as serving the needs of the
small customers. Likewise, Buffe
delivers an experience that delights
the young and old.
Buffe has made a career and his
fortune selling a life
style of par es and
beaches. At Mana s
we sell a life style as
well, our small town
wholesome image;
promo ng from within,
servicing the needs
of the communi es
where we are located,
playing key roles in
those local communi es and passing
the reins of ownership and management from genera on to generaon. That image remains and grows
stronger. Our customers don’t see a
big corpora on. They see our people
at local spor ng events, serving on
church and school boards, supporting local civic groups and par cipating in local government.
Our Company vision reflects our
desire to be the best; “To Safely
Do Everything We Do Be er Than
Anyone Else”. Living this vision puts
Mana s head and shoulders above
our compe on as it exemplifies
not only our desire to be “be er”,
but also to achieve “be er” only
through safe means for our employees. We have a great team at
Mana s. Our employees are vitally
important to our success; they are
the backbone that Mana s is built
on. Their crea vity and aspira ons,
coupled with the stable, consistent
management message have helped
Mana s flourish and will con nue to
drive the Company into the future.
Doing everything we do be er than
anyone else personifies what Buffe brings to the stage. How else
could he con nue to pack venues
around the country performing the
same songs he wrote 20 years ago?
Plus, Buffe has a great team; many
members of his band have shared
the stage with him for many years.
Perhaps the biggest parallel I can see
is success. Star ng in a small town
in Mississippi, Buffe has garnered
accomplishments far beyond his
humble beginnings. He stuck with
an idea, a marke ng plan if you will,
and is enjoying the rewards. Likewise, from a small town in central
Iowa, Mana s has built a tremendous construc on opera on ver cally integrated from the mining of
sand and gravel aggregates to the
produc on of ready mix and asphalt
to the placement of these products
by our paving divisions. Some small
town guys named Clair, Merlin and
Junie with big dreams had a plan to
develop a construc on company and
with the help of their children and
their children’s children, Mana s
has achieved success far beyond
anything they possibly imagined.
This may be the most important
thing we have accomplished that
Buffe has not. Where Buffe ’s
value re res with him (and the Parrotheads all hope that re rement
never comes); we have developed a
succession plan for ownership, and
more importantly, for management
that will lead the Mana s companies into the future. M
8
SUMMER 2012
2012
Manatts and Affiliated Companies held their Annual Adventureland Day on July 22nd. With a record breaking 2,480 in attendance, a good time was had by everyone despite the 104 degree temp. (By the way, this
was not a record breaking temperature. The record was set in 1901 at 109! Aren’t you glad we didn’t have
Adventureland that day??!!) This year we decided to do our prize drawing a little differently. Instead of drawing an employee’s name out and just giving them a prize, we made them work for it a little bit. We drew 14
employees’ names and formed 2 teams of 7, Brian Manatt’s team and Adam Manatt’s team, and held our
own Minute to Win It game. One employee from each team participated in a game against another employee
with the winner picking their choice of 2 prizes. Team captains, Brian and Adam, had a brother rivalry going
on and thought their team members were really going to decide the winning team. SURPRISE! It was not
that way at all. They had to compete in the final feat to determine the winner and their game was “Junk in
the Trunk.” Each of them had a kleenex box tied around their waist with 6 ping pong balls inside they had to
shake out. The one to do it the fastest would be the winner. They appeared to have tied and the winner was
determined by audience applause. Adam was named the winner and Brian got to wear a “Loser” hat and
vest around the park the rest of the day that said, “I lost to my brother. I’m the LOSER.” Obviously, no one
was really a loser but it was a fun competition for the participants as well as the audience. Thanks to all the
participants for being a good sport and a HUGE thank you to the companies for having this fun filled day for
our employees and families!! M
Game
Prize
Employee
Employed By
Face the Cookie
IPad
$100 Lowe’s Gift Card
Paul Grove - Winner - Brian’s team
Nick Riley
Manatts
United Concrete
Johnny Applestack
Play Station 3
$100 BassPro Shop Gift Card
Rob McFarland- Winner-Brian’s team
Todd Barth
Manatts
Manatts
Defying Gravity
19” Flat Screen TV
DeWalt 20 V Drill
Mark Swanson-Winner-Adam’s team
Mike McDonald
Manatts
Manatts
A Bit Dicey
Brute Power Washer
Ice Cream Maker
Wayne Daniels-Winner-Brian’s team
Wendy Ungs
Manatts
Allied Manatts Group
Noodling Around
Canon Digital Camera
George Foreman Grill
Josh Schulze-Winner-Adam’s team
Josh VanWinkle
Basic Materials
L.L. Pelling
Chocolate Unicorn
Hawkeye Grill Set
Dual Portable DVD Player
Joe Reese-Winner-Adam’s team
Garvin Shaw
Manatts
Manatts
Dizzy Mummy
Blue Ray DVD Player
Ryan Streets -Winner-Adam’s team
Tim Nefzger
L.L. Pelling
Bard Materials
Spouse’s Guess $ Jar $78.91 - Digital Picture Frame Carmen Angel - spouse of Jaime Angel
- Applebee’s giftcard
(guessed $79.26, Great Job!)
Mark Swanson and Mike McDonald
compeƟng in ‘Defying Gravity”
EaƟng lunch in The Palace Theater
Manatts
Brian ManaƩ in the “losing aƫre”
SUMMER 2012
9
A Short Story Made Long....
by: BB
Once upon a time, in a galaxy
about 1600 miles away, a spirit
came to be. His came to be
bringer inners called him Ecurb
Nibla Koorc. In your speak, this
loosely translates to Brother
Bruce. It seems he somehow
slipped through space and time
and escaped that galaxy. It was
known as Sal Selegna, which
kind of translates to California.
He was one of the lucky ones.
For 36 years, he wandered this
new galaxy learning the ways
and culture of these friendly
beings. Some things, like learning of “the opposite sex” blew
him away. Some things kind
of freaked him out, like how
his body leaked all over learning how to work. He found
that working with others that
laid long ribbons on top of
this world, would let him survive here. So he found his own
“the opposite sex”, they had
their own “came to be” and he
thrived.
In his 37th year, he found
Manatts, Inc. BANG! Twentythree years gone.
Now, what does this have to do
with these pictures? Beats the
hell out of me but that sure is
one cool saw trailer!
Many thanks to those involved
in the purchase of this trailer.
Many thanks to cabinet guru,
Dave H, tie down, Dean R, decal
dude, Steve R, wonder welders, Double D and Jerry, Chris
“get outta my head” K. and Lon
Fisher Signs. M
May We Introduce...
Jim Sprague
Brother Bruce and Chris Kramer
I am a father of three kids; a stepson, Chance, who is 10; a daughter,
MaKayli, who is 6; and a son, Dain,
who is 4. I have been married to my
wife, Kelly, for 6 years. As a family,
we enjoy camping and fishing, as
well as spending time with family
and friends. In my spare time, I like
to hunt and play airsoft. I also play
bass guitar. I have played in a couple
of bands for a short time and I own
and operate ‘The Players’ DJ service
on the weekends. I have been a DJ as
long as I have been in the ready mix
business, which was 14 years in May.
In the ready mix business, I started
out as a driver. While driving, I
worked my way into batching, as well
as other office tasks. After driving for
a couple years, I moved to a Central Dispatch office where I mainly
answered phones and batched. I
was then put in maintenance where
I worked with our maintenance
manager to setup a low-pro batch
plant. Shortly after completing the
setup of the plant, I worked in Quality Control where I got certified in
Agg I & II, PCC I, II and III in Iowa
and Illinois. I am also ACI certified
as a level I field grade technician. I
worked as Quality Control Manager
for a couple years, moved to dispatch
manager, and then to Quality Control Manager. I am pleased to become
a member of the Manatt team as a
plant manager, servicing Maquoketa
and the surrounding areas. M
10
SUMMER 2012
Asphalt Update
Ames Division
by: Duane Hassebrock
The 2012 year looked to be a good one for all parts of the Ames Division., but things can really change in a
hurry. The loss of Nick Clabaugh has been devastating to all of us. Nick worked full time at George White Chevy as
a mechanic and part time for us as a janitor in the evenings. Nick was one of a kind. He always had a smile on his
face and would help anyone out with whatever they needed. He is greatly missed by all of us.
The rest of the season is looking great as far as work for us. Our Ready Mix Division has been very busy
with Mary Greeley, Webfilings, Gilbert High School, and Ames City paving to mention a few. They have been doing
a great job making all of the customers happy.
The Concrete Crew looked a little slow at first but picked up an ISU patch job that has filled the gaps
between the rest of their work with the City of Ames jobs, Kohl’s and the Boone Walmart. They have done a great
job working through the heat to keep everything on schedule.
The Asphalt Crews knew they had a busy year from the start. This is the most state work we have had in
years. They have been focused since the beginning of the season. Tim and Steve at the plant, Cindy and Jamie at
the Lab, all the truck drivers and crews as well as the dirt crews run by Robert and Kyle have hit it hard to get work
done. These are the guys that keep the Concrete and Asphalt Crews moving. Without them, the schedules would
not look so good. Thanks to them for their efforts!!
Safety is the most important part of what we do. However, after a fatality it is really hard to talk about.
With that being said, let’s take care of each other and finish the season safely. M
Ames crew paving DMACC parking lot
in Boone
Newton Commercial crew paving Hwy
117 north out of Colfax
Ames crew working ISU improvement
project
Newton Division
by: Jeff Steinkamp
Hello to all. The Newton Division started the year in Jasper County on Hwy 14 and in Greene County
on HWY 4. With the lack of commercial work again this year, both crews will be working primarily on state
and county jobs. The portable guys went from Greene County to Crawford County, which was 55,000 ton
overlay project, and from there they will be going to Mahaska County on HWY 17 south of Grinnell. This is a
nice 17 mile stretch that was cold-in-placed. The commercial guys finished HWY 14 and are now working on
HWY 117 north out of Colfax and will finish up their county work in Carroll County.
With a hot, dry summer we have been able to eat up a lot of work without much delay due to
weather. We will be focusing on the later state lettings to, hopefully, finish out the season strong.
Stay safe and hydrated! M
SUMMER 2012
11
Metro Business is Booming
by: Cameron Green
There’s no other way to say it,
Des Moines Metro Division is
busy. We hit the ground running
this spring and haven’t looked
back. The Metro PCC Paving
Division has made quick work out
of some early season projects.
What would have taken us just
under 6 months to complete, has
been done in 3 months. Ready
mix has remained busy, even
seeing some +2000 cy. days.
The weather has certainly been
in our favor, but more importantly, we have our paving managers, field crew members, ready
mix team, and mechanics support to thank for their efforts.
The following letter was forwarded to me by Paul Moritz, the
Public Works Director for the City
of Ankeny, on the tail end of a
$2.3 million dollar project we are
slated to complete a month and
half ahead of schedule for the
City. The project consisted of
just under 28,000 sy. of 8” and
9” PCC, 6700 sy. of PCC trail/
sidewalk, utilities, earthwork,
pavement markings, landscaping, and a signalized intersection.
The letter was sent to the city by
a resident near the project and
then forwarded on to us.
“I want to say how
pleased I have been with
the NW18th St and State
St construction. It was a
huge project, and I think
it was done in a timely
manner with minimum
disruption.
I found the workers to be
respectful of and alert to
traffic.
I also liked the timely
emails and road signs
so I could plan around
what was happening.
Not for the first time, I
wanted to say I think
you do a great job!
Pat Moore
Greenwood St.
The whole Metro team can take
great pride in this recognition!
Furthermore, one of our coveted
customers, the City of Ankeny,
shines today in the eyes of their
residents (tax paying bosses),
from whom they typically take
heat. It is a good day when not
only we shine but our customers
shine as a direct outcome of our
efforts. As a result of our team’s
commitment to efficient, quality, safe, and respectful project
completion, we continue to build
on the reputation of being the
preferred prime/paving contractor
and ready mix supplier.
Metro ready mix supply has seen
a strong increase in business and
will take great pride in the supply to some nice showcase projects this fall: Toro (7500 cy.),
Old Dominion (28,000 cy.), and
Irvinedale (11,000 cy.). We are
running with about 30 drivers now
with the ability to increase to 35
with help from our mechanics. I
don’t know how they balance it all
but dispatchers, Rod Erickson and
Corey Patton, have done a great
job in navigating prompt delivery
with the increasing ready mix demands from our paving crew and
valued customers. At times, it can
be difficult to say the least.
We have had some help this
summer from both Brooklyn PCC
Paving Crews. Both crews figured in on the completion of three
subdivisions. It’s encouraging to
know that we can assist each
other in such a way as was also
displayed last year when Brooklyn
PCC graciously invited us to join
them on I-680 and Eddyville PCC
projects. Thanks, Fellas.
To our crew members, mechanics, drivers, and supervisors, each
and every one of you are a critical
component to the success of the
Metro operations and the Company at large. Please keep things in
perspective by prioritizing safety
first as we continue through the
2012 season. M
12
SUMMER 2012
North Ready Mix Report
by: Chris Manatt
Hot and dry! We have heard
those three words almost every morning on the news for the
last three months. Clearly, it is a
drought year. I can tell by looking out the window and seeing the
brown, burnt grass. We have already had 25 days that were over
90 degrees this year and it is only
mid July. Combine that with being
6” under our precipitation average
and it is miserable outside. These
conditions have caused many unsuitable days for pouring concrete
this year. We have been working
hard to educate the customers on
hot weather concrete and steps that
need to be taken. Even with these
conditions, our volume has actually
increased greatly at all the North
locations.
Thus far, the greatest volume
change is at our Traer location.
Through the end of June, Traer has
done five times as many yards as
last year through June. Traer got
off to a great start thanks to projects at the Dysart Co-op, Pioneer,
and a new shop for a trucking
company. Al and his crew in Independence are also off to a great
start. This is due partly to being
open all winter and covering for the
other plants that are closed during
the cold months. Some projects that
Indy has been working on include
a large patching project through
town, a project on Highway 20,
and supplying concrete to the new
high school in town. Readlyn and
Grundy Center have both doubled
their volume from 2011. Dale in
Readlyn is always busy, whether
he is supplying agricultural projects
from his plant or helping out Danny
in Oelwein. Dan and his crew in
Grundy started the year supplying a bridge project Southwest of
Hudson. They have done a few
agricultural projects as well. They
will soon be starting two large projects in Parkersburg. Darrin in Jesup
is up 40% so far this year. He has
been doing some hog units very
close to the plant. The majority of
the work we have on the books in
Jesup is yet to start. We have a
roundabout/paving project starting
soon between Jesup and Fairbank
that our Jesup plant will supply.
Danny and his crew in Oelwein
have been busy since he opened
and it doesn’t look like it will slow
down anytime soon. They have supplied a paving project in town and
have several ongoing agricultural
projects. Oelwein is up 20% so far.
Waterloo is having a very good
year; both Manatts and United
Concrete are well ahead of last
year. Our Manatts plants in Waterloo are up over 40% compared
to this time last year. We have our
downtown Manatts plant, a portable Manatts plant (Shaulis Road)
and the United Concrete plants
(Elk Run and Airline) all working
together and staying very busy.
We have been working on the following large projects here in the
metro area: a large bridge over
the Cedar River, two apartment
complexes at UNI, two elementary
school projects, and new parking
lots at two high schools. We have
also been spending a lot of time on
a project at the Cedar Falls Wastewater treatment plant. The specifications are very unique and have
taken up countless hours of time for
Mike Watson, our salesman, quality
control and several suppliers assuring that we are putting out the best
product possible. Some projects
that will be beginning shortly include a paving job in Waterloo, as
well as, a paving job close to the
portable plant. We have two drivers that have stepped up to help in
dispatch occasionally, Josh Eastman at the downtown plant and Ed
Niedert at the Elk Run plant. These
guys have learned quickly and are
a great help to the other dispatchers.
This weekend, we will be having
our 2nd Manatt Companies Mixer
Rodeo. The drivers from each division vote for their peers that they
feel will best represent them at the
rodeo. This year the North Ready
Mix will be represented by Ronnie Hocken from the Independence
plant and the Waterloo representative will be Josh Eastman.
We look to be very busy for the
rest of the season. Please continue
to look out for each other and think
of safety first. M
SUMMER 2012
13
Subdrain-Sealcoat-Stabilization
David Schinckel, Division Manager
Hot, Hot ,Hot! Is it ever going to
break? It has been an interes ng construc on season so far from Mother
Nature. With the mild winter and an
early start this year, we have gone
through a ton of work already. The
subdrain crew started in early April
and has been going strong all year. As
usual, this crew has been pre y much
covering all ends of the state. We
did have a couple of large jobs close
to home south of Grinnell and over
by Colfax. My concern now turns to
having enough late fall work to finish
the year out with. We have been busy
with several mobes in and out of the
Des Moines Airport which makes it
difficult to keep our other subdrain
projects on schedule. With some help
from Bre Strong’s guys and Chris
Sawin, they filled in to keep everything on track at the airport. I have
been lucky enough to pick up a couple
of projects in each month’s le ng and
keep adding them to the pile to keep
this crew working con nuously. If I
can keep that trend going in August
and September, they will be good up
in to November. At this point, they
have placed more subdrain to date
than they did all of last year!
The Sealcoat crew started
out in early April as well. This crew
makes several adjustments on the fly
going from sealcoa ng to stabiliza on
projects as the schedule builds. Normally, I am concerned with keeping
the schedule full but this season I am
concerned with how they are going
to get everything done! At this me,
they are working on the Audubon Airport doing Fly Ash stabiliza on on the
re-constructed runway. The next two
months will involve more stabilizaon projects in O umwa, Clinton, and
Fremont County, with a hand full of
sealcoat projects mixed in. Currently,
they are full up to October; I am looking for work other than sealcoat a er
that, to finish the season out with this
crew.
As the heat bares on, we s ll
have solid push to safely finish the
season. Keep an eye on each other for
heat stress. There has been an up- ck
in accidents recently and I can’t help
but think as you are taxed with the
heat, we are not thinking about our
surroundings. It is mes like these
that we need to take more breaks if
needed and clearly check your surroundings. Look twice and three
mes before backing, take me to
wear gloves when working with your
hands. Check widths for equipment to
pass through. We can always do hand
work around ght areas rather than
have a piece of equipment down for
a month. We are entering the me of
year that we seem to fall asleep and
the incidents take a rise. It’s like playing the lo ery. If you play it enough it
will hit! The same goes for safety. You
make enough small mistakes there can
be a big hit coming. We need everyone to make an extra effort to work
the remainder of the season accident
free!
Virg and Jeremy’s crew did a
flood repair project early this spring
down in Fremont County. It is about
as far southwest in Iowa as you can
get. The project was west of Hamburg approximately 3 miles on L40.
The Missouri river had this area
flooded for about 5 months last year.
It is incredible to see how high and
expansive the water level was for such
a long period. The project itself was
not that large but involved grading
with some equipment that this crew
doesn’t work with on a regular basis.
The exis ng sealcoat roadway had 3
large scour holes washed out in the
roadbed. The project involved removing silt that had been deposited in the
ditches, re-shaping the roadway in the
scour holes to then be back filled with
1850 ton of macadam stone placed
on a filter fabric that was placed prior
to the stone. The macadam was then
capped off with roadstone, which then
became the new surface to apply the
new sealcoat. Dirt shoulders were also
constructed next to the new roadway.
I’m sure this is one of those projects
that Virg and Jeremy wonder what I
got them in to but they always step
up to the plate and complete a great
project! We have another project that
is a four mile stretch of roadway that I
gave the dirt work to a sub-contractor
as it is a lot larger project than what
I wanted to e this crew up on. We
will move back in to pulverize the
remaining sealcoat roadway and then
apply a double sealcoat surface to it in
mid August. Just to the south of this
project by about 2 miles, is the Missouri State Line. While I was down for
one of the weekly project mee ngs,
I drove down to an area that looked
like the surface of the moon. There
were probably 50 to 60 tractor scraper
units working up and down the river
corridor removing the silt and sand
that washed across the farm fields. I
pulled up to what was le of a farmstead that had been basically washed
away. It is hard to imagine how we
go from being 10 feet under water to
now begging for rain. As they say, we
Iowans are resilient people as several
of the farms have new buildings back
in place and most of the ground had
been planted this year. M
Photos on page 39
14
SUMMER 2012
PCC Division Update
by: Brian Manatt
Things are in full swing on the
Des Moines Airport project. The
contracted work began the last
weekend in May. Reilly Construction from Ossian, IA began
the process of removals, grading,
crushing and placing rock. Other
than shoulder paving that needed
to happen during an 84 hour closure, we did not start our portion
of the work until July 16th. The
first part of our portion of the
work was to place cement treated base (CTB). Roy Piper and
crew used the Hetzel plant to
mix the CTB, a porous concrete
material that is used for base.
Brett Strong’s crew is tasked with
placing the material. John Perry
and Travis Downs are operating
a CAT AP 1055 Asphalt Paver
to place CTB 20’ wide. It is then
compacted with a vibrating roller,
a similar process to placing asphalt. Kenny Alexander and crew
then pave concrete 16” thick
and 18.75‘ wide on top of the
CTB. This is a very impressive
looking slab of concrete. As a
comparison: a typical residential
driveway is 4” thick, what we are
paving is 4 times as thick! The
specifications are also extremely
stringent. Our thickness must
be within less than an 1/8” and
the finished surface cannot have
more than an 1/8” bump or dip
in 20’.
Chris Sawin is the project manager for this project. He has
spent more time with a spec
book on this project than he
cares to talk about. Chris is
continually working with the
airport authority and contracted engineers on this
project to ensure that we
give them the product they
need. Manatts has 185
calendar days to complete
this project. When it is
completed, we will have
placed more than 75,000
cubic yards of concrete
which is about one mile of
taxiway. We will have built
the entire 16” thick taxiway
stringless.
This project is next to the
Iowa Air National Guard.
At first, everyone enjoyed
seeing the F16’s take off,
as they do almost daily.
However, as impressive as
the sight of one of those
aircraft is, the sound is
almost deafening.
PCC has two large projects
for the second half of the
season. Kevin Hogan and
crew are paving Highway
71 north of Spencer in
Clay County. Mike Viedorfer is the project manager.
It is a 9 mile long 6” mainline
overlay and 8” shoulder
widening project that will
be constructed stringless.
We will be paving this project with our new Gomaco
2800 4 track paver. This
machine has all the latest
technology from Gomaco.
It has the latest control
system called G+. The
Paving at Des Moines Airport
Paving at Des Moines Airport
Gary Bacon delivering first load of concrete
to new paver in Clay Co.
continued on page 36...
New Gomaco 2800 4 track paver
SUMMER 2012
15
MIS Happenings
by: Nate Hopwood
It doesn’t seem like summer is
almost over. We have had the
busiest June and July I can ever
remember and it doesn’t look like
things will be slowing down this
fall. Obviously, the severe weather
we had at the beginning of July
threw our IT operations for a loop.
Our network has always been
resilient and the amount of effort
we put into preventative maintenance went a long ways towards
making this as tolerable as it was.
We have already begun working
on some architecture plans to see
the next iteration of our network
scheme to fruition.
Budgeting time is approaching. I
usually begin laying out the fall/
winter work schedule sometime
in August. John and I do a lot of
auditing of our systems during this
time frame and identify the greatest needs to address when it gets
cold out.
One of the bigger developments
we’re dealing with this summer is
the adoption of a new reimbursement program for our cell phones.
The cellular market is always
changing and it’s been obvious for
some time that we are moving towards data enabled smart phones
for almost every user. This makes
it very tough for an organization
like ours that doesn’t need those
added features on most of our
phones. As a result, we’ve seen a
very limited selection of basic level
“feature phones” available to us.
The most common request I get
re: our cell phones are employees
that would like to carry their per-
In Sympathy...
sonal phone and use it for work.
Quite frankly, many of you carry a
higher quality phone for your personal needs than we issue you for
your work needs. So, as a result,
Manatts has adopted a new policy
offering a $7 per week stipend to
those employees who would like
to give up their company phone
and carry their own. This program
is available to you at the discretion of your division manager. If
you carry a Company phone and
have interest in signing up for
this program, please contact your
manager or division head to go
over all the finer details. I am
also available to explain or answer questions if you have them.
Ultimately, I think this plan will be
very popular, especially for those
that are currently carrying two
phones or have interest in getting
a smartphone but don’t have one
issued by the Company.
Family and Friends of
Nick Clabaugh
Gary Bacon – Brother
Travis Snodgrass – Son
Dean Roth – Brother
Stan Anderson – Brother
Jamie Boughner – Grandfather
Jamie Boughner - Grandmother
Trudy Eads – Mother
Todd Bowers – Mother
Tim Fisher – Grandmother
Gerardo Perez – Mother
Joe Gorecki – Mother
Jane Cline – Sister-in-law
Larry Allen – Mother
Michael Hunt – Sister-in-law
Travis Shelley – Grandmother
Dar Viall – Daughter-in-law
Justin Olson – Grandmother-in-law
Sandy Durr – Step-father
Brad Swan – Wife
Mike Henry – Father-in-law
Dan Boyer – Sister
Jon Muntz – Mother-in-law
Chase Kaufman - Great-Grandmother
Willie Marvets (UC) - Father
Lacy Olson -Grandmother
We still have a few summer projects to complete. There are some
audio/video improvements going
into the Brooklyn board room this
week. I intend to complete some
work in the big meeting room as
well. Hopefully, improvements that
will keep eyelids from getting so
heavy during spring meetings!
Chris and Katie Sawin –
Baby girl: Brynlee Sawin
Please stop in, call, or email us
when you have trouble or questions with anything technology related to your job. John, Candace,
and I enjoy working with everybody and getting to visit when the
chance comes up. Work safely. M
Miracles...
Duane and Vickie McDonald –
Grandbaby: Brynlee Sawin
Adam and Jamin Manatt –
Baby girl: Margaret Manatt
JoAnn Manatt –
Grandbaby: Margaret Manatt
Rob McDonald & Melissa MoyerBaby boy: Laine McDonald
Justin and Melissa Strahan –
Baby boy: Harrison Strahan
Troy and Emily Balderas
Baby boy: Karter Balderas
Jamie & Wes Boughner –
Grandbaby: Penny Grindley
16
SUMMER 2012
Views from
SUMMER 2012
the Road...
17
18
SUMMER 2012
Make a Difference
by: Adam Manatt
As the summer cooks on, it seems
that everyone is talking about the
weather. The heat. The lack of rain.
I never thought that I would hear
people in Iowa looking forward to a
break in the heat where the average
temperature drops 10-15 degrees…
and it’s still in the low 90’s!
The thing about the weather that
makes it such a common discussion
point is that it affects everyone. No
one (yet) can control the weather.
We are all subject to what we get.
This year the weather may seem like
its good for construction but as we
all know, this heat is very dangerous for all of the people working
outside, day-in and day-out. Please
be safe and take extra care in these
extreme temperatures.
The extreme heat and lack of
moisture is even more damaging to
farmers. Crops are struggling in the
drought of 2012. Why is this important in a construction company’s
newsletter? Why is the ready mix
guy writing about it? Because agriculture is one of the largest-- if not
the single greatest--driver of our
economy. Iowa depends on farmers
to produce our largest exports, and
to be among the largest consumers
of goods and services.
While the entire country has been in
a recession, as is Iowa, two sectors
remained somewhat strong. Those
were government spending—due
largely to the stimulus program—
and agriculture. While the government spending helped our construction side, it was agriculture that
helped buoy our production side, ie.
Ready Mix. Agricultural profitability
is directly linked to benefits for our
company and our state.
While we cannot do much to create
relief for the farmers, other than
send our hopes and prayers for rain
and cooler weather, we can impact
government spending within our
industry.
It was very disappointing to me to
find that in informal surveys conducted amongst our drivers and
supervisors at training meetings
this winter, many people within
our Company are opposed to an
increase in the user fee on fuel (gas
tax). Opposition to this is tantamount to biting the hand that feeds
you. The majority of our work for
our construction divisions, and a
significant portion of the work for
our production divisions are dependant largely on state and federal
funding for roads, bridges and
infrastructure.
Simply put, more funding for
infrastructure means greater job
stability in our company. Take time
to learn about the issue. The average cost per family is very low on
an annual basis. Much of the burden is borne by out of state drivers. Everyone uses our roads and
bridges. Everyone depends on them
to get themselves and their loved
ones where they are going safely.
Every business depends on them
to transport their goods—whether
its homegrown foods or imported
electronics. Improved infrastructure
is necessary to creating a better
environment to attract new businesses.
Lack of sustained funding will result
in deterioration of our infrastructure
and likely in an increase in bonding—borrowing future money to
pay for present needs. I would hope
that all of us know that this is not
sound economic practice. Living
beyond one’s means never ends in
positive results. Pay as you go is the
only sustainable way to maintain
our infrastructure.
We can impact what happens! By
voting, and by contacting our legislators, we can make a difference.
We can’t change the weather, but
we can change the climate in both
the Des Moines state house and the
Washington Capitol. Please take the
time to look at the issues. Please
contact your legislators. Most of
all, please take the time to vote this
November. It is your civic duty, your
right, and your means to impact the
direction of our state and country.
A long-term federal transportation bill and an increase in the
user fee on fuel in Iowa, improve
the safety and quality of our roads
and bridges. They make travelling
safer, more comfortable, and more
fuel efficient. (Really!) Investment
in infrastructure also creates and
maintains more jobs than any other
sort of government spending. Jobs
like yours and mine.
There are many important issues
facing all of us. Please learn about
them. Ask questions. Share your
opinions. Vote. While we can’t
change the weather or help the
farmers, we can make a difference
in our government and our livelihoods.
M
SUMMER 2012
19
A Lasting Partnership
by: Brandie Flathers
One of the quali es Mana s,
Inc. is known for in the industry
is building and maintaining great
rela onships with other companies, contractors and individuals.
Many of their rela onships have
developed into great partnerships
and have grown over the years. A
key example of this is the partnership Mana s has built with Kimball
Midwest.
From the beginning, this partnership was one that just made sense.
There are many similari es between Mana s, Inc. and Kimball
Midwest in terms of structure,
culture and their core values.
Both organiza ons were founded
by a member of the family and
con nue to this day to be familyowned. Currently, both companies
are phasing in the third genera on
to take over opera ons. Kimball
Midwest is a strong believer in
American-made products. Eightyfive percent of their items are
made in the United States, which is
very important to Mana s as well.
Kimball Midwest is headquartered
in Columbus, OH. They are one
of the largest distributors in the
industrial maintenance a ermarket in the United States. Kimball
Midwest has three distribu on
centers strategically located to
ensure fast delivery for all clients.
The loca ons of the distribu on
centers are Columbus, OH; Dallas,
TX; and Reno, NV. Kimball Midwest
prides itself on the promise of fast
delivery and its excellent customer
service provided by their sales
people. More than 600 sales repre-
senta ves across the United States
work hand in hand with Kimball
Midwest’s customers to ensure
their clients’ needs are met.
The Mana s, Inc./Kimball Midwest
rela onship began because of a
sales representa ve that went
above and beyond. In 1979, Jim
Bim came to work at Mana s in
the Parts Department. He had
John Sams was well known for his
extensive knowledge and service
skills but also for his great personality. Each and every person at
Mana s, Inc. that was associated
with Sams speaks of his storytelling and likability. They also bring
up the complimentary peanuts
that Sams was known to bring on
each service stop. Mike Mana ,
a second genera on owner of
Mana s, was very fond of these
peanuts and would give Sams a
hard me if the supply were to
get too low. John Sams worked
very hard to cul vate the rela onship through the years.
When the partnership first began,
Sams was making service visits to
the Brooklyn loca on only. Over
me, Mana s has grown to inDave Kimbell and Tony Sorenson provided clude many other loca ons. With
lunch for the Brooklyn office and prethat expansion, the partnership
sented Brad Manatt with a framed copy of
with Kimball Midwest has grown
this story.
as well. One of the first tasks that
Sams undertook when beginning
worked with the renowned Kimhis work with Mana s was orball Midwest representa ve, John
ganizing and cleaning up a parts
Sams, in the past and decided he
room that was, in the words of Jim
wanted to con nue the rela onBim, “an absolute disaster.” Sams
ship at Mana s. Bim describes
brought in metal bolt bins to help
Sams as being honest, respectable
store and organize the nuts and
and an all around great guy. Acbolts he supplied, making the according to Bim, Sams’ dedica on
to Mana s included nightly service cessibility much easier. This in turn
helped the shop to operate more
work and running on-site instrucefficiently, elimina ng down me.
onal classes on fluid flow products along with his primary respon- John Sams passed away five years
ago and Tony Sorenson stepped in
sibility of supplying nuts and bolts.
to become the sales representaIn 1986, when Greg Ollinger came
ve for Mana s. He has worked
to the Parts Department, there
very hard to carry on the tradi on
wasn’t any ques on that Mana s
would con nue working with Sams of unparalleled service and connuous improvement John Sams
at Kimball Midwest.
..Continued on page 26
20
SUMMER 2012
GRMC Initiates Extreme Reed Street Makeover
In May, Grinnell Regional Medical Center started the process of razing five of the six houses on Reed Street
between Third and Fourth Avenues. The project, dubbed “Extreme Reed Street Makeover” by GRMC leadership, was a collaborative effort between GRMC, Habitat for Humanity of Mid-Iowa, the City of Grinnell, and
Manatts, Inc.
Habitat for Humanity of Mid-Iowa, now working as a multi-county affiliate in Jasper, Marshall, Poweshiek, and
Tama Counties, deconstructed the houses through a Solid Waste Alternatives Program grant funded by the
Iowa Department of Natural Resources. This grant supports activities that reduce targeted waste shipped to
land fills.
At the beginning of June, Manatts, Inc. removed the remaining housing materials and foundations as well as
backfilling the basements. Manatts, Inc. donated their services to GRMC for this effort.
“We are appreciative of Manatts and the donation of the labor and equipment toward this project,” Ness says.
“Their donation allows the organization to use funds toward providing healthcare that we would otherwise have
to spend on the Extreme Reed Street Makeover. Manatts has always been a strong supporter of our mission.”
GRMC is grateful for the excellent working relationship we have with the City of Grinnell, Manatts, and Habitat
for Humanity to make the first phase of the Extreme Reed Street Makeover a reality.” M
Before
During
After
New Online Apparel Store
EXCITING NEWS! There is now an online store to purchase Manatt or United Concrete logoed
gear! The store offers a wide variety of items, all of which will have the company logo either screen printed or
embroidered on them. Plus, your purchase will be sent directly to your home!! The online store offers shirts,
sweatshirts, jackets, hats and many other items to choose from. They have items for men, women, and children!! To check out this awesome new store visit the Manatt website (www.manatts.com). You will find a link
to the store on the top right of the website. You can also visit the site directly by going to www.manattsstore.
com.
As part of the “Grand Opening” for the online store, there is also currently a 15% discount being offered! Once
you have selected the item(s) you would like to purchase, you will simply need to enter the coupon code at
check out. These codes are valid August 1 – September 15, 2012. Please see codes below.
Coupon Code for Manatt logoed items:
Start: 8-1-12 End: 9-15-12 @ 11:59pm
Enter code: Manatts
Coupon Code for United Concrete logoed items:
Start: 8-1-12 End:9-15-12 @ 11:59pm
Enter code: UnitedConcrete (no space)
A 15% discount will be deducted from the subtotal, not the grand total. There will not be a discount on the tax
or shipping/handling charges.
SUMMER 2012
21
Warren Buffett’s Ten Rules
Submitted by: Joe Manatt
No. 1: Reinvest Your Profits
When you first make money, you
may be tempted to spend it. Don’t.
Instead, reinvest the profits. Buffett
learned this early on. In high school,
he and a pal bought a pinball machine to put in a barbershop. With
the money they earned, they bought
more machines until they had eight
in different shops. When the friends
sold the venture, Buffett used the
proceeds to buy stocks and to start
another business.
No. 2: Be Willing to Be Different
Don’t base your decisions upon what
everyone is saying or doing. When
Buffett began managing money in
1956 with $100,000 cobbled together from a handful of investors, he
was dubbed an oddball. He worked
in Omaha, not on Wall Street, and
he refused to tell his partners where
he was putting their money. People
predicted that he’d fall, but when he
closed his partnership 14 years later,
it was worth more than $100 million.
No. 3: Never Suck Your Thumb
Gather in advance any information
you need to make a decision, and
ask a friend or relative to make sure
that you stick to a deadline. Buffett
prides himself on swiftly making up
his mind and acting on it. He calls
any unnecessary sitting and thinking
“thumb-sucking.”
No. 4: Spell Out the Deal Before You Start
Your bargaining leverage is always
greatest before you begin a job –
that’s when you have something to
offer that the other party wants.
Buffett learned this lesson the hard
way as a kid, when his grandfather
Earnest hired him and a friend to dig
out the family grocery store after a
blizzard. The boys spent five hours
shoveling until they could barely
straighten their frozen hands. Afterward, his grandfather gave the pair
less than 90 cents to split.
No. 5: Watch Small Expenses
Buffett invests in business run by
managers who obsess over the tiniest
costs. He once acquired a company
whose owner counted the sheets in
rolls of 500-sheet toilet paper to see
if he was being cheated (he was). He
also admired a friend who painted
only the side of his office building
that faced the road.
No. 6: Limit What You Borrow
Buffett has never borrowed a significant amount – not to invest,
not for a mortgage. He has gotten
many heartrending letters from
people who thought their borrowing was manageable but became
overwhelmed by debt. His advice:
Negotiate with creditors to pay what
you can. Then, when you’re debt-free,
work on saving some money that you
can invest.
No. 7: Be Persistent
With tenacity and ingenuity, you can
win against a more established competitor. Buffett acquired the Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983 because
he liked the way its founder, Rose
Blumkin, did business. A Russian
immigrant, she built the mart from a
pawnshop into the largest furniture
store in North America. Her strategy
was to undersell the big shots, and
she was a merciless negotiator.
No. 8: Know When to Quit
Once, when Buffett was a teen, he
went to the racetrack. He bet on a
race and lost. To recoup his funds, he
bet on another race. He lost again,
leaving him with close to nothing. He
felt sick – he had squandered nearly
a week’s earnings. Buffett never
repeated that mistake.
No. 9: Assess the Risks
In 1995, the employer of Buffett’s
son, Howie, was accused by the
FBI of price-fixing. Buffett advised
Howie to imagine the worst- and
best-case scenarios if he stayed with
the company. His son quickly realized
the risks of staying far outweighed
any potential gains, and he quit the
next day.
No. 10: Know What Success
Really Means
Despite his wealth, Buffett does not
measure success by dollars. In 2006,
he pledged to give away almost his
entire fortune to charities, primarily
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He’s adamant about not funding
monuments to himself – no Warren
Buffett buildings or halls. “When you
get to my age, you’ll measure your
success in life by how many of the
people you want to have love you actually do love you. That’s the ultimate
test of how you lived your life.” M
22
SUMMER 2012
2012 Mixer Driver Championship
Vehicle Inspection
Written Exam
Waiting to begin
Vehicle Handling Skills
The Manatt Family of Businesses Mixer Driver Championship, or Mixer Rodeo, was held on July 21, 2012. This
event is held biennially to recognize the “best of the best”
mixer drivers from three states. This year, we had representatives from Manatt’s, BARD Materials, United Concrete,
and Allied Ready Mix.
Out of some 300 ready mix drivers amongst our companies,
15 were chosen to compete against defending champion
Todd Brown (Manatt’s—Newton). We consider our drivers
to be the best anywhere. Those chosen to represent their
companies and regions are excellent representations of the
quality and ability that sets our family of businesses apart.
Ready mix drivers are truly the faces of our companies.
They have the highest contact with our customers and
products. They are our ambassadors and spokesmen.
Their actions and reactions are what define us and make or
break our reputation. Seeing the excellence among all of
the competitors in this year’s championship, we can all be
proud to have such great representatives.
The competitors are tested in three areas: vehicle handling
skills (a “challenge course”), vehicle inspection (identifying
equipment problems and failures), and a written examination. The three components test a competitor’s knowledge
of concrete, trucks, plants, customer service, and
safety.
In addition to being tested, the Rodeo is meant to be a
fun and rewarding experience for each participant. The
event is family friendly, with activities for children young
and old. All participants were recognized with gifts
from the sponsoring companies and recognition as a
Driver Championship participant. Many of our competitors also took advantage of a complimentary room at
the Adventureland Inn to relax and unwind between the
Rodeo and Manatt’s day at Adventureland.
Contestants were chosen based on nomination by their
fellow drivers, as well as based on their safety record,
and consideration from plant and corporate management.
Contestants from the previous Rodeo were not
eligible (they will be eligible next time), other
than the champion who was allowed to defend
his title.
This year’s competition was held at Housby
Mack in Des Moines. Housby was an incredible host and a very heartfelt thanks go out to
everyone at Housby for all of the time, effort,
and accommodations they gave to help make
our event a success. They truly went the extra
mile, and then some, for all of our participants.
The driver’s families joined them for the day and
had a great time!
SUMMER 2012
23
The participants in the 2012 Manatt Family of Businesses Mixer Driver Championship were: (in order they
randomly drew for the competition)
Josh Eastman, Manatt’s Waterloo
John Bucklin, Manatt’s Metro
Shane White, Manatt’s Walford
Matt Weir, Allied
Todd Brown, Manatt’s Newton (Defending Champion)
Rob Kucera, Manatt’s Tama
Brian Kelley, Bard Strawberry Point
Ronnie Hocken, Manatt’s Independence
Robert “Bub” Hurst, Manatt’s Brooklyn
Bob Ambrosy, Bard Dubuque
Hollis Hathaway, Manatt’s Ames
Gerald Wilkins, Manatt’s Ankeny
Joe Theilen, Allied Nora Springs
Dale Ginter, Bard Dickeyville (WI)
Willie Marvets, United Waterloo
Al Berntgen, Bard Platteville (WI)
Awards were given to the top scorer in each area
tested, as well as cash prizes and trophies to the top
three scorers overall. Additionally, the top two finishers
will represent our family of businesses at the National
Driver Championship in Washington, DC, in September.
Judges
Adam Manatt presenting Champion Trophy
to Todd Brown
The top scorer for each discipline was:
Vehicle Handling: Brian Kelley, Bard Strawberry Point
Vehicle Inspection: Todd Brown, Manatt’s Newton
Written Examination: Hollis Hathaway, Manatt’s Ames
The top three finishers over all were:
3rd place: Dale Ginter, Bard Dickeyville (WI)
2nd place: Brian Kelley, Strawberry Point
1st place: Todd Brown, Manatt’s Newton
Adam Manatt congratulating Brian Kelley
on his 2nd place finish
Congrats to everyone selected to participate in this
year’s championship, especially to Brian and Todd who
will be representing us at the national competition in
D.C.! M
Drivers receiving instruction before
competition began
24
SUMMER 2012
by: Todd Powers
Greetings from Camanche. I can’t
believe that it is already August.
The season thus far has been a
blur. I am not sure if it is because
we have been busy or because it
has been so darn hot out that you
can’t think straight.
So far this season, we have gotten off to a great start. We chose
to start our year off with our
biggest job. This allowed us to
take advantage of a great spring
and build a little bit of a back log
to work from for the rest of the
summer. Our shoulder project for
the Iowa DOT is now complete
and with the help of Illowa we
were able to do it in a little over a
month. As with any project, there
were some highs and lows. Lucky
for us, the good outweighed the
bad and we were able to put together a nice job. I would like to
thank and congratulate everyone
involved in the project. Not only
did Determann finish its largest project in its history, we also
broke almost every mix record as
well, (most mix laid in a day, most
mix produced in a week, most
mix produced in a month.) Hats
off to everyone!
Currently, we are staying busy
on a couple different projects.
We are in the middle of the City
of Clinton’s paving program. It
includes a wide variety of work
(mill and fill, reconstruct, reclaim,
fly ash, chip seal) in all parts of
town. During my time at Determann, I have grown to love and
hate the challenges of these
projects. We never know what is
lurking beneath the pavement
in Clinton! Our full depth paving
project for the City of Camanche
is also moving along nicely and it
is approx. 1/3 complete.
On the horizon, is a nice 6,000
ton mill and fill through downtown Clinton and another 4,000
ton mill and fill for the City of
DeWitt. So far this year, we have
already paved 63,000 ton! This is
150% of the total tons from 2011
and we are knocking on the door
of a 100,000 ton season. However, the larger scale of our projects
is still allowing some room in our
schedule. Hopefully, this fall the
commercial side of things picks
up and fills our schedule.
Be safe! M
Determann Asphalt crew paving a shoulder
on Hwy 30 near DeWitt, IA
Milling machine on Hwy 30
shouldering project
Asphalt crew on Hwy 30
shouldering project
SUMMER 2012
by: Brian Armstrong & Randy Soedt
Well, it’s been a challenge to keep
work in front of the asphalt crew the
first half of this season to say the
least.
The season kicked off in mid May
with some work that local businesses needed done before we made our
trek to Clinton County with Determann.
One project in par cular was a parking lot for the Hon Company in Musca ne, the Genva Plant. Those folks
down there have a lot of employees
and never anywhere to park. However, I can say with great pride there is
now smooth, recyclable, perpetual,
sustainable, hot mix asphalt on every
square inch of that facility.
Another project we were low bid on
was the Tipton City Street Program
for 2012. On this project there were
some new curbs (in areas), sidewalk
and subbase prep. Obviously, who
be er to get that subbase back in
shape than the Mana s guys, Virg
and Jeremy! They completed one
street for us already and have one
more to go at this point.
In the June le ng, we were awarded
a good sized cold in place and overlay project for IDOT in Musca ne
County. This project has a li le work
for everybody. Once again, Mana s
sub-drain crew was right there to get
this started for us. This really helped
us out because we were star ng
to run out of commercial work and
the cold in-place recycler had a slim
window they could knock this job
out for us. So, ge ng this job going
was what we needed to keep people
working. Once the CIP that just
started today (7/20) is finished we
can move in and start base widening.
In the July le ng, we took a nice
sized shouldering job for the IDOT in
Musca ne County on HWY 61. If you
remember in 2010, we helped Donn
and the Newton guys do the East
bound side of this highway.
I also need to thank Jeff and the
guys for hanging in there for me.
They’ve done a lot of running
around and wearing many hats do to
our light work load at the beginning
of the season.
Sealcoat News
Larry Senger, along with Mike Tacey,
got started sealcoa ng parking lots
and driveways in early June. Some of
the larger jobs they have completed
are the Clarion Hotel in Musca ne
and North High School in Davenport.
They have a lot of work on the books
including the new head quarters for
the Kent Corpora on in Musca ne,
as well as maintenance work at John
Deere Headquarters in Moline, IL.
Mike Tacey is doing a fine job ge ng
the work done.
Crack Sealing News
Larry Sammon started the year close
to home with an emulsion crackfill job on Hwy 30 in Cedar County
which also had him working in Clinton County on HWY 136 and Hwy 13
north of Marion.
He and his crew have a couple of
large projects which will keep him in
Eastern Iowa most of the summer.
Currently, they are west of Cedar
Falls on Hwy 57 and will work their
way up to the furthest NE Highway
26 in Allamakee County, north of
Lansing.
Mike Weir and a small crew painted
8 tennis courts for the Be endorf
25
Parks Department in April, as well
as, crack sealing in Musca ne and
Johnson County. They have also
painted a couple of courts for the
City of Davenport Parks Department
and are currently pain ng 9 courts at
Davenport West. He will be in Ames
in the fall working on 4 new courts at
Brookside Park with Brad Schweibert.
Thanks to everyone who has been
keeping the work going in this very
hot summer. Stay hydrated and
keep an eye on your co-workers for
signs of heat exhaus on.
Our thoughts and prayers are with
Kyle Go schalk and Mellissa Lange
and their families and hopes for a
fast recovery. M
Anthony Rurherford at
Davenport West High
Augustin Lara &
Mike Weir
26
SUMMER 2012
..Partnership continued from page 19
by: Chris Manatt
United Concrete is off to a very
good start thus far this year.
The weather has been challenging this year; very hot, dry, and
often very windy. These conditions make pouring concrete
very difficult, from the customer
standpoint, as well as ours.
The volume here at United, is up
almost 20% over this time last
year! We had very nice weather
in March with temperatures in
the eighties. This helped us in
having our largest volume March
in ten years. Some projects we
have been working on this year
include a large lift station project
in Cedar Falls that has doubled
in concrete volume since we
started it, a new Hilton Garden
Inn in Cedar Falls, and a paving
job in Hudson. We have ongoing reconstruction jobs in Waterloo and Cedar Falls as well.
Using the four plants (2 United,
2 Manatts) in town together
helps us service the market better, as well as being very efficient. The customers notice
and appreciate the fast callback
turnaround time since we load
out of all four plants.
United also sells concrete washout bags. As the cities here in
the metro area have grown more
strict, our sales have climbed
each year. This year, keeping
with that trend. We have been
selling large bags for several
years and started selling smaller
bags a few years ago. This
year our large bag sales are up
70%, close to the total that we
sold in all of 2011. The small
bags, which are convenient for
smaller jobs, have become very
popular. We have sold four
times as many bags this year
than all of last year. These
numbers should continue to
increase as other communities
start to enforce concrete washout.
The Mixer Driver Championship
will be held this weekend and
we are expecting a great event
again this year. The drivers of
United Concrete selected Willie
Marvets to represent them at the
championship. We look forward
to enjoying a day with all the
drivers and their families.
We have many of our larger jobs
that are yet to begin and we are
continuing to quote jobs on an
almost daily basis. The rest of
the year should be busy here at
United Concrete. Please continue to think safety first. M
ins lled in the partnership years
ago. Sorenson has made constant
enhancements to Mana s’ shops
in several loca ons, some of which
are: Newton, Ames, Johnston,
Independence and Waterloo. He
also services all of Mana s’ numerous loca ons along with the service
trucks, job trailers and portable
plants during construc on season.
As with any company over me,
Kimball Midwest has developed and
integrated technology to help make
processes easier and more efficient. Kimball Midwest and Mana s
have systems that are compa ble
for ordering parts that are needed
by the shops, making this process
very smooth and proficient. Kimball
Midwest will send a spreadsheet to
the Parts Department at Mana s
and it can simply be uploaded into
the system saving the department
me and helping with accuracy. The
parts department doesn’t have to
enter any por on of the order manually. Kimball has also implemented
a barcode system for their parts.
With the great organiza on that
is in place, it is easy to label and
assign a barcode to each part. The
sales representa ve can then simply
scan the barcode of the items that
are needed. These improvements
also help with invoicing, making it
prompt and accurate.
Mana s, Inc. and Kimball Midwest
have formed a true partnership.
Kimball Midwest provides service
and quality that is second to none
in the industry and Mana s recognizes that. This is a partnership
that has been built on trust, great
service and dedica on and con nues to be today. This partnership is
one that will con nue for years to
come. M
SUMMER 2012
27
Kind Words...
Virg Heishman’s crew:
We in Corydon, Iowa are glad to see
your crew working on one of our
streets. I live on Anthony, the street
your crew is working on. Just had a
nice talk with one of your guys. It
looks like they are doing a good job,
friendly and hard working. Thanks.
Rev. John D. Boatman
I am on Indianola Road Des Moines Iowa right in
the middle of the construc on. Most generally all
people do is complain! I would like to offer some
praise for 2 of the nicest young men working cut
saws on this project I have ever met in my life. I'm
pushing 70 and they are the best young men.
These 2 young men are definitely a credit to your
company. I was trying to get in the garbage can
across the new paving, they stopped an assisted
me to get it across for dumping . I just wanted let
you know you have some great people!
Sealcoat Gang,
I want to thank you for doing my
driveway. I should of done it a long
me ago. I love it. I appreciate the
crew and their hard work on such a
hot day! Be sure to thank them for
me!
Customer at Holiday Lake
Randy Cooper in Ames’ crew
Mana s, We just wanted to compliment
Randy Cooper and the crew who did our
driveway work. Randy stayed in good
contact with us, worked our li le job into
a very busy schedule for you and also
came out to review the completed job.
The crew who did our job did a great job
– very professional and courteous. We are
thankful to have a new driveway-pleased
with the results.
Customer in Ames
Ready Mix
I would like to thank you for your dona ons and
help in acquiring our concrete needed for our
park project. It is companies and people like yourselves that make it possible for our small town to
succeed in projects like this. Your delivery drivers
are top notch; they were great to work with were very professional and helpful! Again, thank
you and your employees for your help in making
all this possible!
Mayor Allan Lindsey (City of Garrison)
Below are a few notes we received after the 4th of July holiday. The Ready Mix Trucks painted with the armed forces themes were featured in a couple local parades.
•Bob Gannon and I were the spacers at the
start of the IA veterans parade on Sat in Des
Moines. We got to talk with and see all of the
parade entries. None were be er looking or
be er honored all of the vets and their
company than the Mana mixers painted
to honor each of the military branches. I
realize it cost a lot of money and me to
get them at the site cleaned up and standing tall. Your drivers all did a great job and
were fine representa ves for your company. Please thank them for taking their
Saturday morning to be in a parade.
Thanks again
Cork Peterson
Peterson Contractors, Inc.
•We saw the parade in Marengo on Tuesday, July 3. We thank you for paying tribute to the Five Sullivan Brothers on your
mixer. Thank you for honoring our men &
women in uniform, who have helped to
make this the best na on on God’s green
earth!
Ci zen of Williamsburg
•We saw the parade in Marengo on Tuesday, July 3. Our thanks and apprecia on
to Mana s for depic ng all five branches
of our military on their fleet of mixers. It
was very humbling and heartwarming to
see.
Thank you for honoring our men &
women in uniform, past and present,
who have helped to make this the greatest na on on God’s green earth. To those
who say, “god bless all na ons, no excepons,” I’ve got news for them.
DMR - Williamsburg
•Thank you! Last week I watched the
Marengo parade on July 3 and saw your
5 wonderful truck tributes to our Armed
Forces. How inspiring! You deserve accolades for such a tribute and I greatly appreciate your sharing with the communi es
of Eastern Iowa.
Marilyn ‘A Proud American’
28
SUMMER 2012
Geology Merit Badge
by: John Tuthill
by: Tony Manatt
I start this issue’s ar
cle with a
heavy heart. At WQI, we have
had some serious accidents and a
couple of our brothers were hurt.
It bothers me and our whole group
so much; we are just not the same
right now. I’m sure some me will
help heal all of us and the feelings
we have towards these great men
but for now, we just hope and pray.
I just hurt for those families whose
lives are disrupted by these events.
Please keep Craig Hoyt and Kyle
Go schalk and their families in
your thoughts and prayers. When
events like these happen, I reflect
on our safety training and wonder
if we do enough. Are we the kind
of Company that has the culture of
caring or the kind of Company that
just gets by? I can tell you that the
statement of just “ge ng by”, is
not the case. The environment in
which WQI exist is built on the very
premise of safely doing every job
we do, be er then the next company. Accidents do happen but we
all have to con nue to watch out
for each other. May God help the
healing process for all those involved in these misfortunes.
On June 7, 2012, Wendling Quarries sponsored a Geology
Merit Badge class in association with the DeWitt Troop 29’s
merit badge clinic that they put on during early June each year.
Twenty-seven boys from the Illowa Council Area of Eastern
Iowa and Western Illinois participated, along with a number
of interested adults and leaders. The class was organized and
taught by John Tuthill, Wendling Property Manager, who was
assisted by Ray Anderson and Jean Prior Sandrock. Ray and
Jean both have spent their entire careers as geologists with the
Iowa Geological Survey and Water Bureau in Iowa City, Iowa.
Special thanks go to Sherm Lundy, Basic Material’s geologist
for helping to put together the course outline.
The day began in a classroom at St. Joe’s Catholic School in DeWitt
with definitions, rock and mineral identification/testing, and a power
point presentation on mining and how geology plays into the field of
construction materials. Ray introduced the boys to bedrock mapping
and Jean explained the roll that glaciers have had in forming our land
surface here in Iowa. We all loaded onto a school bus and headed out to
Behr Quarry where Wendling’s home office and shop facility are located. The kids toured our core library where we catalog stone, sand, and
gravel collected by our exploration drill department. We had a quick
sack lunch under the shade trees and then we took a tour of the quarry.
Our field trip ended up at Witte Ready Mix, which is supplied with sand
and stone products by Wendling. The boys watched as sand and stone
was conveyed and mixed with water and cement to form concrete.
We believe in supporting the communities from which we sustain our
business. A great deal of time and effort goes into sponsoring a class or
an open house but it’s a small price to pay for the good that can come
from these activities. I am pretty sure that in a couple of years we will
see some of these kids applying for jobs or going into educations and
careers in geology or the construction industry.
May we all have a safe rest of the
season. M
DeWitt Troop 29
SUMMER 2012
29
Recycle Yard in Muscatine
by: Tom Sturms
• It would allow concrete and asphalt materials to be collected
and crushed for use in various projects.
• The city of Muscatine will bring their asphalt/concrete tear outs
to us if we crush and provide materials back to them at $5.00
per ton. The city has crushed twice and have a 4” ballast material,
¾ “road stone, and a 3/8” minus material that they currently use.
• A recycle yard would provide a place for Illowa to store asphalt
millings when they overlay streets in the Muscatine area. The
City has agreed to allow Illowa to take enough of the millings off
the street to put back into the mix for these overlays.
• A recycle yard would discourage other contractors in the area to
start their own recycle areas (Heuer/ Sulzberger).
• A recycle yard would keep pricing favorable at the Moscow
quarry by limiting the availability of broken concrete mainly for
sub base materials.
• A recycle yard would provide an area in the southern part of the
City to stockpile some road stone products/gravels from Moscow
for sale. It would also provide future sites to receive other recyclable materials such as asphalt shingles.
• A recycle yard would provide an advantage to the Moscow quarry if
a major construction project needed an area to place tear out
materials. We could tie the tear out materials to aggregates sold
from the quarry specific to that project.
• A recycle yard could better relations with the City/ contractors by
providing a proper site to gather these materials. I think the site at
Steward Rd./Dick Drake Way offers a better site than what is
currently available
• A recycle yard would be the next step in the Companie’s initiative to
become a more green company.
The CPU Dance team had a great
me riding in the parade truck at
the Center Point Pork Days celebra on on June 23. Included in the
photo is Kaitlyn Fruehling, daughter of Howard and Tia Fruehling.
The dance team is looking forward
to a fantas c year with compe ons scheduled in August and November, including a state compe on in November. Thank you, Tony
and WQI, for the use of the truck.
Order from left to right: Co-Driver:
Breckin Knutsen Dance Girls: Savanna
Crandall, Kaitlyn Fruehling, Ashlee
Beck, Riley Francis, Cora Santolin,
Courtney Perry, Cori Hite, and Hannah
Lynch
Work has begun on Recycle Yard in
Muscatine
30
SUMMER 2012
The Need for Speed
by: Morgan Schuler
My name is Morgan Schuler
and I’m the Environmental Specialist at WQI. John Kulper and I
ensure WQI stays in compliance
with the ever changing Federal,
State, and local environmental
regulations. I also race karts on
the weekends.
The two most asked questions:
How fast does it go and how much
does karting cost? I’ve touched
110mph at Road America in the
draft but, normally, 70ish mph on a
normal kart track. Both are hauling
the mail an inch off the ground. As
for cost, you can get started for as
little as $1000 but the old cliché
holds true: “Speed costs money,
how fast do you want to go?”
My uncles raced
dirt modifieds at
Adams County
Speedway and
my cousins and I
would hide under blankets in
the back of the
hauler to sneak
into the pits every
Saturday night.
Thundering small
blocks and the
smell of race
gas firmly set the
racing hook at a
young age. For
me, racing is the
most exhilarating thing I could
ever do. I love the race track, the
road trips, the preparation, the
work you have to put in, and win-
ning! Racing is the ultimate punch
in the face and kick in the ass. It’s
filled with the highest of highs and
lowest of lows. Everything is worth
it when you win. I’ve caught touchdown passes and knocked down
three pointers but nothing compares to the adrenaline and the
excitement racing wheel to wheel
provides. Everyone is going hard
and everyone is coming fast and
no one is backing off. The whole
spectacle is just awesome. You’re
on the gas and sliding and bouncing and shaking every inch of the
way. Talk about controlled mayhem and intensity. It really, truly is
an awesome display of nerve, grit,
guts, and big cajones.
Morgan Schuler racing karts
I thought 61 Kartway in Delmar,
IA was a baseball field when I first
drove by. Little did I know a kart
track was sitting right in my backyard. I wanted to go racing and
without a doubt karting provides
the most bang for your buck of all
motorsports. You simply can’t go
faster for cheaper. Tony Stewart,
Jamie McMurray, Danica Patrick
and countless other pros: they
all started in karts. 4 years ago
I bought my 125cc 2 cycle, 33
horsepower, liquid cooled, electric
start, TAG (Touch And Go) powered kart and haven’t looked back.
I’m now racing in the Route 66
Sprint Series, the regional touring series, hitting tracks in Illinois,
Wisconsin, and
Indiana.
When and where:
61 Kartway holds
races every Saturday with rentals
available during
the week and Sundays. The world’s
largest karting
street race is held
right here in the
Quad Cities! Come
check out the Rock
Island Grand Prix,
Labor Day weekend, and watch us
fly down the city
streets over the manhole covers
and brick crosswalks! The cooler
in the trailer is always full. M
SUMMER 2012
31
Walking for Fitness
by: Rita Crist
Wendling Quarries is a sponsor for the Skeffington Memorial Run which was held on Saturday, June 16 in
DeWi . Fourteen people from WQI par cipated in the 2-mile walk/run. This was one of the days we actually
received rain – it did not “dampen” anyone’s spirit. Prizes were won by several employees. It was a great me
and we hope even more will par cipate in 2013.
Walking is a great wellness exercise. Walking reduces health risks and has various overall health benefits. Did
you know that walking reduces your chances of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and depression?
Life expectancy is increased even for individuals suffering from obesity or high blood pressure. Walking also
increases bone health, lowers cholesterol, burns calories, and helps your memory.
You can walk with your dog, your spouse, your friend, your kids or by yourself. Walking is simply one of the
easiest and safest ac vi es for burning calories and tuning up the cardiovascular system. Walking can give you
be er health, fitness and a tude.
So, dust of your walking shoes because these shoes are made for walking!!
Shawn Trenkamp, Roger Trenkamp,
Robin Sokol, Kathy Tague
Tammy Petersen, Madison Petersen,
Samantha Petersen, Danica Eberhart
Todd Miller
Sympathy...
Miracles...
Congratulations...
Paul McDermott on the loss of his
father-in law
Laura Dudek on the loss of her father
Karen Harris on the loss of her mother
Greg Croson on the loss of his father
Matt Petersen on the loss of his
grandfather
Trent Sieverding on the loss of his
grandfather-in-law
Jonathan Timothy Dowil
Born 6/4/2012
Grandson of Kathy Tague
Brian and Yvonne Paup
Married June 28, 2012
Kinsley Marie Skrivseth
Born 6/15/12
Daughter of Cody & Kelly Skrivseth
Tatum Anne Petersen
Born 7/7/12
Daughter of Matt & Tammy Petersen
32
SUMMER 2012
2012 is an Election Year!
by: Mona Bond
Included in this magazine is a list of Iowa legisla
ve candidates as of Aug. 1, 2012. The candidates par es are
iden fied. Mana s does not endorse candidates but does encourage employees to educate themselves on the
candidate in their community. It is advised that you get to know that candidate so that when you need your
voice to be heard, the candidate will know who you are.
While the Company respects your right to disagree with the following posi ons, we want to share the specific
issues important to Mana s, Inc.
1. Mana s supports an increase the Iowa excise fuel tax. (Gas Tax) This money is exclusively put into
the Road Use Tax Fund (RUTF) and can only be used for bridges, roads, and infrastructure. Addi onally,
the money is cons tu onally protected and is not a part of the State of Iowa general fund.
2. Mana s supports a review of the commercial property tax system in Iowa. Reducing commercial
property taxes allows businesses to use that money to hire addi onal people and/or expand their business. Mana s supports this reduc on being done over a period of years, thus minimizing the impact to
ci es and coun es allowing them me to plan for the changes within their governments.
We strongly encourage you to exercise your right to vote and if you have any ques ons about candidates or
would like more informa on, please contact Mona Bond at 515-202-9222 or monabond@mana s.com.
Below and on the following pages you will find a list of the 85th General Assembly
Candidates.
You can see that the house candidates are listed on top, followed by the senate candidates below them. If
you have any questions on these, please contact Mona Bond.
To see what district you live in, visit this website: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/find.aspx
House District 1
Rep. Jeff Smith (R)
House District 2
Megan Hess (R)
Jeff Bomgaars (D)
Senate District 1
Senator David Johnson (R)
House District 5
Rep. Chuck Soderberg (R)
House District 6
Rep. Ron Jorgensen (R)
Senate District 3
Senator Bill Anderson (R)
House District 3
Rep. Dan Huseman (R)
House District 4
Rep. Dwayne Alons (R)
Senate District 2
Senator Randy Feenstra (R)
House District 7
Tedd Gassman (R)
Rep. John Wittneben (D)
House District 8
Rep. Henry Rayhons (R)
Senate District 4
Dennis Guth (R)
Bob Jennings (D)
SUMMER 2012
House District 9
Matt Alcazar (R)
Rep. Helen Miller (D)
House District 10
Rep. Tom Shaw (R)
Senate District 5
Senator Daryl Beall (D)
House District 13
Rep. Jeremy Taylor (R)
Rep. Chris Hall (D)
House District 14
Gregg Grupp (R)
David Dawson (D)
Senate District 7
Senator Rick Bertrand (R)
House District 17
Rep. Matt Windschitl (R)
House District 18
Rep. Jason Schultz (R)
Kasey Friedrichsen (D)
Senate District 9
Senator Nancy Boettger (R)
House District 21
Rep. Jack Drake (R)
John Rose (D)
House District 22
Rep. Greg Forristall (R)
Senate District 11
Senator Hubert Houser (R)
House District 25
Rep. Julian Garrett (R)
Katie Routh (D)
House District 26
Steve McCoy (R)
Scott Ourth (D)
Senate District 13
Rep. Kent Sorenson (R)
House District 29
Gabe Swersie (R)
Rep. Dan Kelley (D)
House District 30
Jim Carley (R)
Joe Riding (D)
Senate District 15
Senator Dennis Black (D)
House District 33
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D)
House District 34
Patti Branco (R)
Rep. Bruce Hunter (D)
Senate District 17
Senator Jack Hatch (D)
House District 37
John Landon (R)
Neal Tracy (D)
House District 38
Rep. Kevin Koester (R)
John Phoenix (D)
Senate District 19
Senator Jack Whitver (R)
House District 11
Rep. Gary Worthan (R)
33
House District 12
Barney Bornhoft (R)
Rep. Dan Muhlbauer (D)
Senate District 6
Mary Bruner (D)
Mark Segebart (R)
House District 15
Rep. Mark Brandenburg (R)
George Yaple (D)
House District 16
Rep. MaryAnn Hanusa (R)
Heidi Guggisberg-Coners
Senate District 8
Al Ringgenberg (R)
Senator Mike Gronstal (D)
House District 19
Rep. Ralph Watts (R)
Ken Herring (D)
House District 20
Rep. Clel Baudler (R)
Greg Nepstad (D)
Senate District 10
Jake Chapman (R)
House District 23
Mark Costello (R)
House District 24
Rep. Cecil Dolecheck (R)
Senate District 12
Senator Joni Ernst (R)
House District 27
Rep. Joel Fry (R)
House District 28
Greg Heartsill (R)
Megan Suhr (D)
Senate District 14
Dick Schrad (D)
Amy Sinclair (R)
House District 31
Rep. Rick Olson (D)
House District 32
Joe Corbin (R)
Rep. RuthAnn Gaines (D)
Senate District 16
David Edwards (R)
Senator Dick Dearden (D)
House District 35
Terrence Williams (R)
Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (D)
House District 36
Jeff Ibbotson (R)
Marti Anderson (D)
Senate District 18
Senator Vicki Stogdill (R)
Rep. Janet Petersen (D)
House District 39
Jake Highfill (R)
Kelsey Clark (D)
House District 40
Mike Brown (R)
John Forbes (D)
Senate District 20
Senator Brad Zaun (R)
34
SUMMER 2012
House District 41
Clarke Davidson (R)
Rep. Jo Oldson (D)
House District 42
Rep. Peter Cownie (R)
Senate District 21
Senator Matt McCoy (D)
House District 45
Dane Nealson (R)
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D)
House District 46
Stephen Quist (R)
Rep. Lisa Heddens (D)
Senate District 23
Senator Herman Quirmbach (D)
House District 49
Rep. Dave Deyoe (R)
Kevin Ericson (D)
House District 50
Rep. Pat Grassley (R)
Senate District 25
Senator Bill Dix (R)
House District 53
Rep. Sharon Steckman (D)
House District 54
Rep. Linda Upmeyer (R)
Senate District 27
Senator Amanda Ragan (D)
House District 57
Nancy Dumkel (D)
House District 58
Rep. Brian Moore (R)
Former Rep. Tom Schueller (D)
Senate District 29
Senator Tod Bowman (D)
House District 43
Rep. Chris Hagenow (R)
Susan Judkins
House District 44
Rob Taylor (R)
Eric Brenneman (D)
Senate District 22
Senator Pat Ward (R)
Desmund Adams (D)
House District 47
Rep. Chip Baltimore (R)
Former Rep. Don Olson (D)
House District 48
Sen. Rob Bacon (R)
Becky Perkovich (D)
Senate District 24
Senator Jerry Behn (R)
Shelly Stotts (D)
House District 51
Rep. Josh Byrnes (R)
Eric Hungerford (D)
House District 52
Rep. Brian Quirk (D)
Senate District 26
Senator Merlin Bartz (R)
Senator Mary Jo Wilhelm (D)
House District 55
Michael Klimish (R)
Rep. Roger Thomas (D)
House District 56
Rep. Bob Hager (R)
Patti Ruff (D)
Senate District 28
Michael Breitbach (R)
Former Rep. John Beard (D)
House District 59
James Kenyon (R)
Rep. Bob Kressig (D)
House District 60
Rep. Walt Rodgers (R)
Bob Greenwood (D)
Senate District 30
Mike Reisetter (R)
Senator Jeff Danielson (D)
House District 61
Lyn Tackett (R)
Rep. Anesa Kajtazvoic (D)
House District 62
Rep. Deb Berry (D)
Senate District 31
Senator Bill Dotzler (D)
House District 65
Rep. Tyler Olson (D)
House District 66
Rep. Renee Schulte (R)
Former Rep. Art Staed (D)
Senate District 33
Senator Rob Hogg (D)
House District 69
Rep. Kirsten RunningMarquardt (D)
House District 70
Rep. Todd Taylor (D)
Senate District 35
Senator Wally Horn (D)
House District 63
Sandy Salmon (R)
Former Sen. Bill Heckroth (D)
House District 64
Jim Givent (R)
Bruce Bearinger (D)
Senate District 32
Elliot Henderson (R)
Senator Brian Schoenjahn (D)
House District 67
Rep. Kraig Paulsen (R)
Mark Seidl (D)
House District 68
Rep. Nick Wagner (R)
Daniel Lundby (D)
Senate District 34
Senator Liz Mathis (D)
Republican Candidate Expected by 8-15
House District 71
Allen Burt (R)
Rep. Mark Smith (D)
House District 72
Dean Fisher (R)
Nathan Wrage (D)
Senate District 36
Jane Jech (R)
Senator Steve Sodders (D)
SUMMER 2012
House District 73
Bobby Kaufmann (R)
Dick Schwab (D)
House District 74
Rep. Dave Jacoby (D)
Senate District 37
Senator Bob Dvorsky (D)
House District 77
Steve Sherman (R)
Sally Stutsman (D)
House District 78
Rep. Jarad Klein (R)
Senate District 39
Senator Sandy Greiner (R)
House District 81
Blake Smith (R)
Rep. Mary Gaskill (D)
House District 82
James Johnson (R)
Rep. Curt Hanson (D)
Senate District 41
Senator Mark Chelgren (R)
House District 85
Rep. Vicki Lensing (D)
House District 86
Rep. Mary Mascher (D)
Senate District 43
Senator Joe Bolkcom (D)
House District 89
Bill Edmond (R)
Rep. Jim Lykam (D)
House District 90
Rep. Cindy Winckler
Senate District 45
Senator Joe Seng (D)
House District 93
Mark Nelson (R)
Rep. Phyllis Thede (D)
House District 94
Rep. Linda Miller (R)
Maria Bribriesco (D)
Senate District 47
Senator Roby Smith (R)
House District 97
Rep. Steven Olson (R)
House District 98
Rep. Mary Wolfe (D)
Senate District 49
Andrew Naeve (R)
Rita Hart (D)
House District 75
Rep. Dawn Pettengill (R)
Sandra Cronbaugh (D)
35
House District 76
David Maxwell (R)
Rachel Bly (D)
Senate District 38
Senator Tim Kapucian (R)
Shelley Parbs (D)
House District 79
Rep. Guy VanderLinden (R)
Chris Wilson (D)
House District 80
Larry Sheets (R)
Joseph Judge (D)
Senate District 40
Ken Rozenboom (R)
Tim Tripp (D)
House District 83
Rep. Jerry Kerns (D)
House District 84
Rep. Dave Heaton (R)
Senate District 42
Lee Harder (R)
Rich Taylor (D)
House District 87
Andrew Wilson (R)
Rep. Dennis Cohoon (D)
House District 88
Rep. Tom Sands (R)
Sara Sedlacek (D)
Senate District 44
Brad Bourn (R)
Senator Thomas Courtney (D)
House District 91
Rep. Mark Lofgren
John Dabeet (D)
House District 92
Rep. Ross Paustian (R)
Former Sen. Frank Wood (D)
Senate District 46
Senator Shawn Hamerlinck (R)
Chris Brase (D)
House District 95
Quentin Stanerson (R)
Kristin Keast (D)
House District 96
Rep. Lee Hein (R)
Senate District 48
Dan Zumbach (R)
Rep. Nate Willems (D)
House District 99
Paul Kern (R)
Rep. Pat Murphy (D)
House District 100
Rep. Charles Isenhart (D)
Senate District 50
William Johnson (R)
Senator Pam Jochum (D)
36
SUMMER 2012
...PCC continued from page 14
new control system allows for
several of the individual systems
to talk each other. This allows us
to automate more functions on
the paver. The paver pan is an
updated model called the 5400.
We have the paver set to pave
34’ wide. It also has 3 PTA’s
(PTA’s are the mechanism that
allows the pan to bend). One of
the PTA’s is in the center of the
pan to control the crown of the
mainline, one 6’ from the edge
of the outside lane, and one 4’
in from the inside edge for the
shoulders. When the paver is going in a straight line, the mainline
is sloped at 2% while the shoulders are at 4%. When the paver
was moved from the Gomaco
factory to our job, it was 57’
long on the trailer. On our first
day of paving, there was a lot of
help from Gomaco. We paved in
full incentive from the beginning
and everything worked flawlessly.
I know that everyone at Gomaco
put a lot of time into this machine from Gary Godbersen
down. A special thanks to Mark
Brenner and Matt Morrison.
This project began with crossover
paving and traffic control. Brian
Wacha (Muffin) then came in to
profile mill the project. The milling on this project had its own
challenges. The design was difficult due to several of the tolerances that the IDOT specified.
Some of which were impossible
to meet. Tim Tometich worked
with the IDOT to best meet all
the specs. Brian and crew milled
between 1.5” and 2.5” to cre-
ate a smooth profile and helped
control the yield of the concrete.
A concrete overlay can over run
by 20% - 30%. When we profile
mill, it can lower the over run to
5% - 10%. The milling crew also
had to meet a spec that required a smooth driving surface.
To achieve this, they milled with
their standard head first but left
the surface a ¼” to ½” high. The
crew then milled with a head that
had 3 times as many teeth as
a standard head to produce the
desired surface.
Some of the largest challenges
for the paving of this project
have little to do with the paving itself. Steel bars must be
nailed down in front of the paver
on both sides of the pavement.
These bars tie the shoulder
widening to the mainline. We
have nine people in front of the
paver placing bars as we pave.
The bars also limit the lane the
trucks can back down to get to
the paver. The other challenge
is sawing the concrete. Randy
Test has a crew of ten to saw
every night. This overlay requires
five longitudinal saw cuts and a
transverse cut every 6’.
This project is a good reminder
of why the traveling public needs
to slow down and pay attention
in work zones. There have been
multiple accidents at the intersections on this project. Mostly
due to motorists who are used
to Highway 71 being a 4 lane
road and only looking one way
before they pull out into traf-
fic that is now 2 way because
of the construction. Manatts and
its subcontractors are doing an
outstanding job of monitoring the
traffic control but all the signs
we place cannot make motorist slow down and pay attention.
For your safety and the safety
of all the men and women working hard to provide new and safe
roadways, please “Give’em a
Brake!”
SUMMER 2012
37
celebrar un hito
Brad Manatt, Manatts, Inc. Presidente
Esta es la época del año cuando las cosas se hagan. En caso de que no lo hayas notado que no hemos
tenido un montón de días de lluvia este año y eso es bueno. Eso pone mucha presión sobre los estimadores y
los administradores para continuar en busca de trabajo para permanecer por delante de las tripulaciones.
A pocos lugares todavía están un poco preocupados por la falta de trabajo. Sé que los adoquines de concreto
y los equipos de asfalto de Newton siguen buscando duro y hacer una oferta todo lo que se puede tocar. Estoy
puestos de trabajo seguros aún están por ahí para nosotros para hacer una oferta y que se hagan aún este
año.
Nuestras tripulaciones están preparadas para hacer mucho en un día. Con el buen tiempo, que realmente se
va a la ciudad. Sigan con el buen trabajo! El trabajo que he visto se ve bien!
Este año marca un hito para mí. Mi esposa, Mary y yo hemos estado casados 40 años el 16 de septiembre.
Ha sido un gran viaje. Ella se me quedó en las buenas y en las malas. Por eso estoy agradecido y espero que
por muchos años más grandes. Ha sido un gran compañero y confidente. En el camino, también hemos tenido
algunos muy divertido. Incluso aprendió a convertirse en un motociclista bueno porque me quería comprar una
cola Harley Davidson suave y le dijo que era de ella. Además, tengo una cierta forma de cambio de marchas
en mi bicicleta (y no agresivo) que ella no apreciaba al montar en la parte posterior. Dejamos para el 20 de
julio de Alaska durante siete días para una celebración familiar. Todo el mundo dice que Alaska es grande,
estamos a punto de averiguarlo!
Recientemente hemos perdido a un empleado de tiempo largo, Nick Clabaugh, en un accidente de trabajo
relacionados con trágica en Ames. El accidente era evitable, pero en cierto modo, la posibilidad de imprevistos
de la misma. Puede que haya conoció a Nick en la ocasión, así que no lo conozco bien. Pero yo sabía de él
también. Él se hizo cargo de muchas de nuestras funciones nocturnas en la tienda de Ames, pero sobre todo
mantener la tienda limpia. Siempre estuvo ahí para ayudar a los chicos de Ames como el final del día si es
necesario alguna reparación menor importancia realizados después de la jornada de trabajo terminó. Muchos
en Ames estaban muy cerca de Nick y su muerte se nos conmovió a todos de muchas maneras.
Le pido que use su buen juicio en todo el trabajo que haces. Pida ayuda si la necesita. Por encima de todo Piense en la seguridad primero!
desde el departamento de recursos
humanos
En movimiento?
No te olvides de dejar a los Departamento de Recursos Humanos en
Brooklyn sabe cuando se mueve y / o tener un cambio de número
de teléfono! Varias veces durante todo el año tenemos el correo para
enviar o pueden tener que llamar. No podemos ser responsables de los
artículos enviados por correo a una dirección incorrecta o mensajes a
la izquierda en teléfono de otra persona si no se dan las actualizaciones tan pronto como sea posible.
38
SUMMER 2012
Noticias de Seguridad
Adán Grier, Manatts, Inc. Director de Seguridad
Como la mayoría de nosotros
hemos aprendido a la fuerza en
nuestras vidas personales y profesionales, haciendo lo correcto
no es lo más a menudo la cosa
más fácil que hacer en ese momento actual. Pero en el largo
plazo, vale la pena para usted y
los que influyen en toda su vida.
Entonces, ¿qué ene esto que
ver con la seguridad??
Sería más fácil para todos nosotros que se presentan a trabajar, un puñetazo en, mantener
la cabeza hacia abajo y sólo se
preocupan por nosotros mismos
y nuestros deberes. Pero si la
mayoría de nosotros tuvimos
esa ac tud, Mana s, Inc. no
sería la industria y líder de la comunidad que nuestra empresa
es hoy en día. “Si usted no está
mejorando, está empeorando.”
Todo esto es muy cierto en el
mundo de los negocios y la supervisión de nuestro programa
de seguridad. La complacencia
y “tomar las cosas por sentado”, son factores que implican
grandes lesiones evitables e
incidentes. La forma en que lucha contra la complacencia está
siguiendo las normas de seguridad y recomendaciones de cada
vez, no importa que tan grande
de la prisa que se encuentre, o
lo cansado que estés. Seguimos
visitando los lugares de trabajo
para asegurarse de que todos
enen las herramientas y recursos para lograr el éxito en forma
segura de terminar su proyecto.
Volver a hacer lo correcto ...
Me considero muy afortunado
de estar asociado con la gente
honesta y trabajadora como
ustedes. Un buen ejemplo de
esto fue un incidente de daños
a la propiedad que tuvimos en
nuestra Planta de Asfalto de
Newton esta primavera. El incidente fue reportado con prontud y el camión se resuelvan
rápidamente. Yo estaba en una
de nuestras plantas de asfalto
portá les cuando un compañero de trabajo llegó y empezó
a discu r esteincidente. En lugar
de señalar con el dedo y tocar el
pico “juego de la culpa”, tenía
una buena solución para evitar
un incidente similar vuelva a
ocurrir en el futuro. Le di las gracias por la sugerencia y le dije
que seguiría con él en Newton.
Salí de la cantera de Ferguson y
se dirigió a Newton para cumplir
con mi compromiso verbal
con él y pasar a lo largo de la
sugerencia. Cuando llegué a la
planta de asfalto de Newton,
Sco Mulgrew me saludó y nos
pusimos a hablar sobre este
incidente. Antes de que incluso
se ofreció la sugerencia que
recibí de alguien más, Sco me
mostró que ya habían tomado
la inicia va de corregir la situ-
ación. Era exactamente lo que
Mike y yo habíamos hablado en
persona, sin embargo, la tripulación de asfalto tuvo la misma
idea y actuó en consecuencia!
Esto, amigos míos, es un ejemplo perfecto de cómo podemos
mejorar, cómo trabajamos más
segura e inteligente. Mis compañeros de trabajo no sólo ene
que rellenar el papeleo requerido incidente y seguir adelante
sin un cuidado. Ellos vinieron
para arriba con maneras por su
propia cuenta, aceptaron la seguridad como una responsabilidad compar da con la empresa
y cualquier empleado, y corregir
la situación. Tengo más historias
similares de sus compañeros de
trabajo que muestran la iniciava para mejorar la seguridad.
Saludo a todos ustedes, y
Gracias por su compromiso
de trabajar de forma
segura-
SUMMER 2012
Photos from Subdrain-Sealcoat-Stabilization
Fremont Co. road L40, prior to any re-construction. The water washed away the road.
One of the silt/sand removal operations
on a farm field.
Jeremy Rucker blading prior to
sealcoating.
A farmstead that was washed away
by the floodwaters.
39
Fremont Co. L40 sealcoated and back
open to traffic.
The floodwater washed the walls away
from the structure.
From the Human Resources Department...
On The Move??
Don’t forget to let the Human Resources Department in Brooklyn know when you move AND/OR have a
phone number change! Several times throughout the year we have mailings to send or may need to call
you. We can’t be responsible for items mailed to a wrong address or messages left on someone else’s
phone if we aren’t given updates as soon as possible.
Employee Discount Program
We have recently partnered with the Iowa Events Center, managed by Global Spectrum, to offer to our
employees a discounted rate on some of your favorite shows. The Employee Discount Program has many
benefits such as:
• Discounted Tickets
• Advance Purchase Opportunities
• Pre-Event Opportunities – photo session, meet and greet etc.
This program is a great way for our employees to be able to enjoy their favorite shows at a great rate.
There is no minimum purchase of tickets. All you need to do is logon to www.manatts.com and go to the
Company intranet (if you need assistance accessing this, please contact Brandie Flathers) and click on the
“Employee Discounts” tab. The available offers will be listed with the appropriate flyers. There are 3 ways
to order your tickets:
• Click on the link listed on the flyer. This will connect you directly with Iowa Events
ticket system with the discount already applied.
• Print the flyer and present at any ticket window agent at the Wells Fargo Arena Box
Office.
• Contact our ticket representative, Jason Evans, at 515.564.8146.
We hope you use this opportunity to do something fun with your family and/or friends!