From Our CEO
Recently, we have completed a mile of our Superior 3 Rail in Mississippi for a 200-acre Ranch. The Superior 3 Rail replaced an old barbed wire fence. The difference is truly unique as the Superior 3 Rail fence borders both sides of the driveway, starting from the entrance several thousand feet to the main house.
Our New Cut Stone has been developed and is currently under the first stages of production. We have contracted our first project in Roanoke, Texas, and will be installing it this August of September of 2021. Stay tuned. We are also in the process of manufacturing a larger (24” x 24” column) to offer as an accent with all our product lines. There is more to come this year.
I am proud to acknowledge Superior’s key personnel Prasanth Muthukrishnan, and Scott Ferris from our manufacturing facility recently received their Master Precast Awards. Offered as part of NPCA’s Precast University, the Master Pre-caster certificate program includes precast and prestress-specific training with comprehensive education courses for production, safety, technical, quality control, and leadership. The Precast University curriculum is a perfect compliment for employees new to the industry, needing a broad knowledge base and those employees with precast or prestress experience who want to take the next step in their careers. This university is in conjunction with industry experts, producers, the Department of Transportation, and academia. In addition, NPCA congratulates those students who have completed the Precast University curriculum and earned their Master Precaster designation.
SCP has been affiliated with The National Precast Concrete Association for over 25 plus years, and has participated in the NPCA Certified Plant Certification Program. The university also has an extensive and comprehensive Quality Control Program that we are required to follow, both in the field and on the installation construction side. We have processes and procedures to meet our internal Quality control as-well-as the customers’ requirements.
Our Commitment is to provide existing and new customers with the confidence that they are working with a company that stands behind their products. The installation component is a critical aspect of assuring that the product meets each project condition based on the products installed. For example, we installed over 18,000 square feet of our ReCon Retaining Wall in Dallas, Texas, for a prominent Industrial Developer and General Contractor. The execution of the project in a timely manner was a critical path item. This project involved mass grading and required thousands of yards of select fill. The fill brought the site up to an elevation that would allow for concrete paving for truck parking. Delivered by Superior, this allowed the new tenant to move in as initially planned. We also continue to see our Superior Rail Fence product sales growing as-well-as our work in the security screening wall sector around substations. Being a vertically integrated company provides us time to plan and execute projects, utilizing our resources to stay ahead of the curve. We will soon be introducing our latest addition to the Superior family, Superior Chisholm Stone, so look for it in our Autumn Trade Newsletter.
From Our Vice President of Operations
The most exciting project we have installed, by far to date, is a substation we did last year in Montana. It is a combination of a 10-foot-high screening wall incorporated with a 20-foothigh CIP retaining wall, 20 foot in I-Beams, and a 20-foot-tall drive gate. This is an awe-inspiring project, so we hope to leverage other substation opportunities in the near future.
To ensure quality control best practices, we must have clear, concise, and executable plans. Our shop drawings must guarantee we meet the customer's expectations of the finished product. Project management inspections of the installation process see to it that we meet Superior Concrete Products standards. By raising our QC standards, we still manage to offer the most prolonged production guarantee in the industry. In addition, we are keeping up with the newest technology for manufacturing and project-specific engineering performed by Superior's installation teams.
Since all our projects have their personality, so to speak, there will always be challenges with new projects. Superior Concrete Products combines experience in the manufacturing and installation departments to overcome even the most difficult tasks. We are always entertaining new technology, and with new technology comes challenges and opportunities for the future.
Speaking of new technology and products, we are currently finalizing and anxiously waiting on our first installation of the Cut Stone product we just rolled out last year – We are also working on a large column (24" x 24") to offer an accent.
From Our Director of Construction
A large rail fence for a residential customer has been a monumental project, along with an apartment project in Grand Prairie and a FedEx project in Dallas, Texas. Each project consists of three different products, rail fence, screening walls, and ReCon™ retaining walls. Our NPCA certification and our ASTM- 1776 designation, for the ReCon™ projects, benefit our production. We want our customers to know that our team is thoroughly knowledgeable about each project and understands the importance of each task when our projects are undertaken.
Every project we install meets Superior standards. We install with certified and competent crews to make sure each customer is happy with their project. With our controlled manufacturing facilities and a high standard of engineering, we ensure quality control and best practices, both in the factory and out in the field. Our Superior Brick is a high seller right now. We are looking to add to our compliment of installers in light of increased demand for our products. It would be great to have two to three teams come on board.
From Our Plant Manager
Quality is something we focus on, daily. We have an NPCA-certified plant, and we constantly pass the quality standard test, so we are confident in our product materials. The supervisors’ audit the finished product on the factory floor, the prepour as-well-as the post-pour inspections on the molds.
They also check the product’s thickness and dimensions to make sure that they are the right ones to work with. The production workers look for quality in our panels as well. If there is an irregularity in a product, it is trashed, so only the proper one’s ship to the customer. One of the new machines we have purchased for the factory is called the EZ Grout, a portable mixer for the panel department. It has a chute to it and a paddle inside the Hopper, which acts as a storage tank.
This saves us a lot of manufacturing time and helps get the customer’s product ready sooner. The most significant advantage is that we are a turnkey company. This means, when you ask for the materials you need, we will have it ready after a few required steps. Everything is completed inhouse. Our products have the greatest strength, so if you look at a project that was completed thirty years ago, it seems like it was built yesterday. The texture will stand the test of time.
The fastest-growing product we have this year has been our Superior Brick. We have many jobs nationally that use this specific product. One of our newest products, Superior Cut Stone is already designed and in production. In August, we have a job lined up for its installation. We also have a newer texture that is coming later this year, called Superior Chisholm Stone, which has a ledge stone texture but is sharper in detail.
Here at Superior Concrete Products, we always make sure that our products are delivered on time. That is why we have weekly meetings to prioritize each project. From the manufacturing team to the installers, we always make sure everything gets done promptly to avoid delays unless there is a weather-related incident.
From Our Project Manager
We are very proud with a substation project we have completed in Montana, This is the most impressive installation our crews have completed to date. In the field, we follow shop drawings as designed for each plan. We rely on accurate shop drawings, as supplied by our engineers. Then we execute any project changes that are necessary.
There have been some challenging projects and one was our Creekside project on the East coast. We had to install a twelve-foot fence on the guard rail slope near an exit ramp. We have an MPS that we prepare every Tuesday.
We make big decisions on project moves and get installation and manufacturing to comply with upper management’s directions. Hence, we make sure this is all taken care of before any execution of any project.
