Coming of age

Concrete Producer, The, June, 2004 by Rick Yelton

He looks too young to be a concrete producer. At least that's what I thought when I saw Joe Milburn's photos. As die winner of our annual World of Concrete cover contest in February, Joe has earned his place in history. He's the son of Paul Milburn, owner of Canadian Ready Mix in Binbrook, Ontario, and has been hanging around the family concrete operations since he was old enough to polish a fender.

It's ironic that at the 30th annual World of Concrerte, our cover winner is barely old enough to have experienced more than two or three of our events. Yet Joe represents a side of the business I'm just starting to notice. When I attended conferences, meetings, and training sessions about 10 years ago, I felt so young. Now, I'm a veteran.

It's fitting that Joe is on the cover of our annual Source Guide issue. He reflects the vitality and spirit of enterprise. Soon, he will be joined by droves of students from Middle Tennessee State University's concrete program in reducing the average age of people in our industry.

Along with this drive toward youth, there will be a change in how we do business. Even in this age of Internet technology and Web search engines, our annual Source Guide still offers our readers a sense of assurance. That's because despite our growing reliance on the Web for information, prowling for URL listings can be difficult. Rest easy; we've done the work for you. The result is the industry's most complete listing of products and services in one bound volume.

The updating process requires a great deal of work. In a given year, between 10% and 15% of our manufacturers submit a major change to be updated. Some suggestions are as simple as a phone number. But more often, the updates are product-related.

You'd be surprised how many new products they develop just for you. Proof of this is found in our listing of Most Innovative Products (MIP) winners from February's World of Concrete on page 25.

I'm still convinced the concrete industry is far from being a mature market. More and more producers enter the market each year, confounding the industry experts who believe consolidation is making our industry smaller.

But concrete is still a relatively young industry. Ready-mixed concrete has only been a viable business for about 50 years. Precast concrete producers are reinventing not only their production techniques, but are continuing to discover new products.

And there's even more cause for optimism. Look at the potential of concrete homes. Every producer has a chance to expand its potential market by stealing share from frame structures. Our editorial staff has recognized this new and growing market. Joe Nasvik, a senior editor for CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION magazine, is putting together a special residential concrete supplement that will be published in several other Hanley Wood publications this month.

I also invite you to look at our annual report on important product trends on page 18. Our managing editor, Tom Bagsarian, has a fascinating insight on bow concrete producers can expand product margins at the expense of steel, whose prices have been skyrocketing. Fiber-reinforced concrete should be a growing market for every producer.

It's fun to report on an industry full of young faces, new products, and great market opportunities. All of these signs suggest concrete production is on the edge of great times. Thanks for sharing them with us.