Strong to the Finish: Concrete Service Still Going Strong After 35 Years in Business

Some long-time Great Bend residents may know Roy Westhoff as the “concrete guy”. What they may not know is that he came very close to going down a different path – a path of banking and loans instead of concrete and construction projects.

Strong Staff - Concrete Service owners Roy and Marcia Westhoff, and their sons Dale and Marc, pose for a photo with some of their employees in front of the large batching equipment that sets Concrete Service above the rest. “We can load two trucks at once, which helps keep us moving during big projects,” Roy Westhoff says. “We also batch everything with a computer-operated system which helps avoid any human errors we might encounter otherwise.” Concrete Service employs over 75 people between its various locations around the state, and 25 of those employees work right here in Great Bend.

Concrete Service Co. Inc. 221 Baker St was founded in Great Bend in 1962.  Roy and Marcia became the sole stockholders, with Roy as president, in 1974.  The same year Concrete Service joined the Kansas Ready Mix Association and has continued to be a member since.

It has grown to include not only the ready-mix concrete plant in Great Bend, but also facilities in Russell, Hutchinson, Lyons, Sterling and Hays, along with one location in Colorado.

After graduating from Kansas State University in 1971, with a degree in business and finance, Roy and his wife Marcia moved to Wichita Fall, TX., to complete a construction job for his father who was in ill health. 

Roy and Marcia decided in 1973 it was time to move back to their native Kansas; both were raised in Washington County in the northeast part of the state.  “I applied for and accepted a job at First National Bank in Great Bend,” Roy recalled.  “But I decided shortly thereafter that I didn’t want a desk job, didn’t want an inside job.”

“Instead, I became a partner with my two older brothers, managing state and federal roadwork projects,” he continued.  “We wanted to open a sand-and-asphalt operation in Great Bend so we built one on Railroad Avenue.   

Waiting in Line - Several of the Concrete Service trucks take turns supplying concrete to the road crews responsible for the construction on Tenth Street in Great Bend. “We keep things moving all the time,” Marcia Westhoff says. “As long as it’s above freezing outside and the road crews are there to level it, we’ll be pouring concrete on Tenth Street until it’s finished.” The Tenth Street road project is one of the largest local projects the Westhoff’s have undertaken in the last year or two. “We pride ourselves on our professionalism and our quality workmanship,” Marcia explains. “I think that is why our customers come back again and again.”

The birth o f this company led to the purchase of Concrete Service from Warren Hill. “We had a sand company, so it was just good business to have a ready-mix operation,” Roy commented. “The plant at this Baker Street location was not yet completed, “Roy recalled, noting that he was producing concrete from the old plant on Hubbard Street. “So the first thing we did was to complete the plant itself and in three months we were producing concrete out of the new plant.”

In 1975, the Westhoffs bought plants in Russell and Ness City; they have since sold the Ness City facility.

One of the next big booms to the business occurred in 1992 when their son Dale came back to Great Bend to work in the family business. He was equipped with a degree in nuclear engineering an a minor in economics from K-State, and now works as general manager and vice president.

“Dale’s engineering background has been a phenomenal help in growing our business,” said Marcia Westhoff the company’s chief financial officer who earned a K-State bachelor’s of science degree in 1970.  “He is well respected by state officials, as well as engineering and architectural firms across the state of Kansas and Colorado.  He has an engineer’s understanding of the projects we do – how the concrete will perform in a particular situation.”

Mixing Magic - Employee Susan Lamb operates the batching machinery at the Concrete Service plant on Baker Avenue in Great Bend. “Contrary to what some people think, the concrete business is very high-tech,” Lamb says. “My job is to make sure the concrete is mixed up with the right proportions of ingredients, and we do all of that with computers. Otherwise, the concrete might harden too quickly or it might not have the right texture.”

Dale’s expertise complements that of his brother Marc, who also is a general manager/officer; he lives in Hutchinson to be near half of their Kansas plants. Marc earned degrees in economics and sociology at the University of Kansas and lived and worked in Kansas City for one year before returning to central Kansas.

“Marc has developed expertise in every conceivable area of concrete production and construction,” Marcia said. “He is a seasoned sales and marketing professional who works with every aspect of the industry.”

The Westhoffs supply ready-mix for virtually any type of concrete project.  Their range goes from state and federal highways and bridges, to commercial jobs such as parking lots and construction, to residential basements, patios, driveways and sidewalks.  This includes the popular colored, textured, and stained concrete.  

Precise Paving - Road crew workers from Pavers, Inc. of Salina, Kansas work diligently to smooth some of the concrete provided by Concrete Service for the Tenth Street construction project. “We have developed quite the system on this project,” Marcia Westhoff says. “Because we are always on a time crunch, we keep several trucks lined up ready with concrete at all times. That way, the boys from Pavers, Inc. can work as fast as they possibly can to finish Tenth Street.”

Local projects include 10th Street, the Arkansas River Bridge, Great Bend Airport, Fuller Brush, both Wal-Mart stores old and new, Great Bend Regional Hospital and the Central Kansas Medical Center addition.

The layman oftentimes confuses the terms “concrete” and “cement”. Roy cleared up the confusion. “Cement is an ingredient in concrete; it it the power, “he explained. There are different proportions of cement for different mix designs and there are a lot of specialty mixes today.  The chemistry has to come together just right.” The technology in our industry has made big advancements. 

“We also have concrete construction and a crane rental business that has done a variety of jobs, including setting electric transformers, as well as heating and air conditions units, and large tanks.  

Their companies employ a total of 76 people, with 25 employed in Great Bend. Mom, dad and two sons are the only family members. Each plant has a manager and a certified batch operator. 

Inside Operations - In addition to the concrete truck drivers and batch people, there are other employees who play a vital role in the success of the Concrete Service operation. Office employees Bev Cates and Craig Heinz work diligently in the office at the Great Bend plant, located at 221 Baker.

Marcia noted that many of their key managers and office personnel have longevity with the company, which has played an invaluable role in its success.

Despite the rough-and-tumble nature of the national economy, “We here in the center of the United States do not seem to be effected as much as other parts of our great country,” Roy stated.

Marcia adds that Great Bend has been good to her family and their business throughout the years which we are so grateful.

“The one thing I always tell people,” Marcia commented, “is that you can tell a lot about a community when your children want to come back home after college, after they have experienced some of the other parts of our country.  That has to say something about our great community, Great Bend. 

“Dale and Marc could have lived and worked anywhere,” she said. “They each bring something special to our companies and allow us to be more diversified.”

Clean Start - Concrete Service drivers clean out their trucks before picking up another load of concrete. “The only way to get hardened concrete out of the back of a cement truck is with dynamite,” Roy Westhoff explains. “We take several measures to keep that from being necessary.”

Since Concrete Service’s operations are computerized, everything is quality-controlled, Marcia added, “Every yard of concrete that goes out of here is quality controlled. The batch weighs for each cubic yard of concrete produced is recorded to the pound, digitally stored, and can be recalled at anytime. Computerization eliminates human error and makes Concrete Service accountable for each and every cubic yard of material produced. Without computerization, one can change the ingredients of the mix design or shorten the quantity of the ingredient amounts. Not every ready-mix company can say that they are quality controlled. For that reason, State inspectors and engineers appreciate working with us and our operation.”

“And we are always looking for ways to expand with all the new technology,” she said.  “We have been producing concrete in Great Bend and Barton County for decades, and there is a lot more that needs to be covered with concrete.”

Busy Business Owners

Family First - Westhoff family members Roy and Marcia Westhoff, along with their two sons Dale and Marc Westhoff, pose for a staff photo. “Each of us brings something different to the table,” Marcia Westhoff explains. “Dale has a degree in engineering, Marc has a degree in economics, and Roy has a degree in finance. When my three men put their talents together, there’s no stopping them.”

The Westhoff family, owners of Concrete Service Co. Inc., share their talents with the industry and community.

Roy serves on the Kansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association Board of Directors and was its president from 1996-2000.

Dale is a Kansas Builders Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund trustee. He also serves as secretary-treasurer of Mid-America Redi-Mix Inc., and on the Great Bend City Council.

In 2004, Marc was the youngest person ever elected president of the Kansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association.

In addition to their professional activities, all the Westhoffs, including Marcia, are involved in a long list of church and community-service projects.