Refl ections of Manatt’s and our Family of Business

P.O. Box 535Brooklyn, Iowa 52211

Phone: 641.522.9206Fax: 641.522.5594

www.manatts.com

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Manatt’s Ready Mix truck visits

Grinnell College Preschool...

Group picture in front of the mixer

William Manatt (Adam Manatt’s son) climbing out of the cab

Sadie Manatt (John Manatt’s granddaughter)

Who is having more fun with this? Denny Gallagher or the kids?

Volume 25 Issue 2 • Spring 2013

Refl ections of Manatt’s and our Family of Business

2 SPRING 2013

Change is Inevitable ................... 4What is Affordable? .................... 6May We Introduce… .................. 8Farewell ................................... 11Division Updates ...................... 12Brake Certifi cation Training ...... 19Corporate Retreat 2013 ........... 20Illowa News .............................. 22L.L. Pelling Update ................... 23Manatt’s Makes A Difference ... 24What’s Happening at Wendling 28A Family Tradition ..................... 30

Inside This Edition

Don’t forget about the informa-tion center that has been set up for our employees. “The Highway” is a great resource for you!

Here are some of its features:

-employee discount section-company news

-company calendar-employee forms

-benefi t information and forms

-training schedule

If you haven’t visited The High-way yet and aren’t sure how to access it, please contact Brandie Flathers at the Brooklyn offi ce: 641-522-9206 or brandief@manatts.com.

Also, be sure to check out the ONLINE STORE at www.manatts.com

for all your Manatt apparel needs!

“The Highway”Manatt’s, Inc. intranet for our

employees

SPRING 2013 3

By the time this article is printed, your safety department will have transitioned from our busy semi-nar and training schedules to our regional monthly safety commit-tee meetings and job site visits. It seems like the busiest time of year for us in safety is February through April, doing our best to juggle schedules to complete important training seminars and meetings throughout Iowa. In our constant quest to work safer and smarter, we invest our time in more training for our employees.

The investment we make in each other will have the biggest benefi t in the success of our company as well as our safety and well-being. We are very fortunate to have solid and well-maintained equipment. Many of our facilities are revered in our communities and our industry. However, our equipment and shops are only a small part of how our safety pro-gram performs (good or bad).

Did you know that safety experts say that about 90% of incidents are attributed to human behav-ior? That seems hard to believe at fi rst… but think about it. That utility knife is designed to be sharp to cut through cardboard. And the knife just doesn’t jump up and slice you! Our behavior dic-tates whether we put our opposite hand too close to the cutting path or whether we decide to wear gloves to protect our hands or not. Our heavy truck steps and handles are securely mounted for safe entry/exit to the cab. Rarely do

Hardwired for Safety Excellenceby: Adam Grier, Safety Director, Manatt’s, Inc.

the steps break or fail that could cause a fall. It is up to us to tune out distractions, slow down half a beat, and use proper 3 points of contact to prevent a twisted ankle or sore back. Both of these inci-dents clearly show how important our daily behavior is to our pre-vention of injury.

So how do we infl uence the hu-man behavior that counts for 90% of our incidents?? Through training, clear expectations, and shared values we can help you make the right decisions out there to work safely. My recent experi-ence helping on our local hospital board exposed me to a book that shows how important the “hu-man element” is to a successful organization and team. The book “Hardwiring Excellence” is geared toward the healthcare fi eld but is easily applicable to any service business, such as ours. I won’t bury you with a book summary. If you’re Interested, I’ll share the book with you! As I read the book, it made me realize how our actions (good or bad) represent Manatt’s, Inc., and each other. Manatt’s isn’t the trucks, the roads, the offi ces, it is US!! All of us are important to the success of Manatt’s, Inc. Yes…YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

Everyone is needed here in good physical and mental health to get our projects done. If you’re hurt, it makes everyone’s job harder, the job site less safe, and its more diffi cult for us to serve our cus-tomers. Everyone has a purpose

here. As a fl agger, your purpose is to direct traffi c through our work zone. The lives of your fellow employees, the motoring public and yourself depend on you doing a good job. Remember that when you’re bored on a quiet road or tired later in the week. You do worthwhile work and you are defi nitely making a difference! As a cement tanker truck driver, just think of what would happen if you don’t safely transport that load to the plant. The ready mix plant runs out of cement, dis-patcher can’t batch a load without that ingredient, ready mix driver can’t mix and deliver concrete to the customer, customer is delayed, etc. Delivering the cement is very important and is making a differ-ence in many people’s lives/liveli-hood.

So, what does all of this have to do with safety and training?? With training, regular safety talks, safety rules, gloves, high visibility vests, safety glasses, random truck inspections… we are Hardwiring You for Safety Excellence! Your safety department thanks you for your efforts to work safely and we look forward to working together with you during our 2013 con-struction season! M

4 SPRING 2013

Change is Inevitable...

“You’ve all heard it, ‘change is inevitable’, and we prove the prin-ciple everyday” – this is the opening line of Brad Manatt’s Mirror article from the summer of 1998. As we celebrate 65 years in business, it is amazing to look back on our his-tory to refl ect on the changes that have been made that have made our company stronger and also given certain individuals the ability to grow into great leaders. Fifteen years ago, Dan Boyer became our HR Director, Diane Kilmer moved out of payroll and into her current position as HR Assistant, Susan Kriegel-Lint was hired for Payroll, Jason Spooner became a PCC Pav-ing Superintendent, we purchased GNA Ready Mix Company in Des Moines and Curt Manatt was named General Manager of the new company.

I am sure that there was a little uncertainty and a lot of excitement about all these changes. Today, everyone in this group is a seasoned veteran at their respective position and it is hard to imagine what we would do without their leadership. We are entering into another major shift here at the Brooklyn offi ce. Th is change was started because Amanda Manatt-Boswell has decid-ed to leave the company. It has not been an easy decision for her or our family. Her leadership and insight will defi nitely be missed around this offi ce. I wish her the absolute best in her future endeavors and with her new family!

by: Brian Manatt, President, Manatt’s Inc.

Amanda’s position had duties as both a controller and offi ce man-ager. Tim Douglas, Amanda and I met and discussed the attributes and skill set we saw as necessary for her replacement(s).

After some brainstorming, we developed a course of action that we believe best fulfi lls the current and future needs of the Brooklyn offi ce.

Our fi rst goal is that we believe that Manatt’s should build from within, i.e. if we have current employees with the desired attributes and skills, we should fi rst off er them the opportunity to promote within the organization.

Manatt’s, Inc. has not had a func-tioning offi ce manager since Jack Gustafson left many years ago. Since his leaving, the offi ce manager duties have been spread over several individuals and departments. Th at being said, we believe that the fi rst order of business is to fi ll the offi ce manager void.

Vickie McDonald is the perfect person to assume this role because of her leadership style and her intimate knowledge of the Manatt’s operations and information tech-nology.

She also has a great team in con-tracts and her move will allow for growth within the contract admin-istration area with Jamie Edelen and Nikki Butler assuming larger roles. We have also hired Ashley Lint to work in contracts. She is a Brook-lyn native that has been working at Grinnell State Bank.

We also discussed the eff ect of this on Pam Benishek and that Pam is deserving of the title Controller. She is already doing a lot of controller functions and should be recognized as such.

Vickie McDonald

Nikki Butler, Jamie Edelen, Ashley Lint

Pam Benishek

Th is will necessitate some shuffl ing of positions within the accounting department and will start a transi-tion that will take a minimum of two years to reach its full imple-mentation.

SPRING 2013 5

In order for Pam to accept more duties, she will need to transition some of her current responsibilities. We looked at our current staff and we felt we had an excellent candi-date, Susan Kriegel-Lint, to step into the role as the new Accounting Supervisor (Pam’s current position).

Susan Kriegel-Lint

With Susan moving out of payroll, we needed to hire someone for her position. Laurie Hall was selected to be the new Payroll Administra-tor. She has done an outstanding job in accounts payable and will continue to be a top performer in her new role.

Laurie Hall

With the vacancy in accounts pay-able, Terra Huber was selected as our new Accounts Payable Clerk. Terra was our Ready Mix Data Entry Clerk so that left a vacancy

there, so we had one more round of interviews and Dawn DeLorme was hired.

Terra Huber

Dawn DeLorme

Now that all the positions are fi lled, the training begins. Each person that has accepted a new position must fi rst train the person who is taking their role. Th is process will not happen overnight. It will take time and support to make this a successful transition. I assume this is a little like it was 15 years ago, a little uncertainly and a lot of excite-ment.

Good luck to everyone in their new jobs and have some fun doing them. M

In Sympathy...

John McKusker – mother-in-law

Family & Friends of Dorothy Kloock

Doug Thompson – loss of wife

James Mayes – grandmother-in-law

Alan Streittmatter – sister-in-law

Joe Balvin – mother-in-law

Rod Erickson – mother

Kevin Upah – great grandmother

Marc Olson – mother-in-law

Adam Grier – grandfather

Jeremy Miller – grandfather

Beth Brown – grandmother

Sheri Leisure – brother-in-law

Tim Mangold - mother

Wedding Bells...

Greg Hansen & Kristine Merritt

Mike “Mort” Frahm & Dixie Holland

6 SPRING 2013

The quick and simple answer is…not much. The government is just starting to reveal the true cost of providing national healthcare and we know there are numerous regulations that will need future fund-ing when millions of Americans fl ood into the insurance markets in 2014. Some sources are stating that the law has already imposed $21 billion in private-sector burdens and an additional $10 billion in unfunded state obligations.

Below is a breakdown of known increases to our company’s health insurance program. Upon research-ing the mandated fees, we have been unable to identify any private corporations able to absorb these costs. These costs have been passed to employees either directly or as an increase in premium. We want to provide full transparency and honesty with our employees and want to keep you as informed as possible in this ever changing world of health care reform. At this point in time and after much consideration, Manatt’s will have to follow suit and have our covered employees bear the costs of the ACA beginning in 2014. At this time, we are unsure of the exact amounts and manner that these costs will impact you. Rough estimates indicate that covered employees should be prepared for increases of approximately $65 per person (ex. a family of 4 would be 4x65=$260).

Even though we are self insured, these costs are completely outside of our control. If you are con-cerned with these costs, we encourage you speak with your government offi cials to discuss the fi nan-cial impacts it has on your family.

What’s “Affordable” in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)?

A MUSTREAD!

Patient-Centered Outcomes Re-search Institute Fee (also known as “PCORI” or “CER” fee)

Supports research of effec-tive and effi cient medical prevention, treatment, and care options

$2 annually per covered life ($1 per member for the policies/plans ending before October 1, 2013); adjusted annually for infl ation

2013 through 2019; does not apply to plan/policy years ending after Septem-ber 30, 2019

Transitional Reinsurance Assessment Fee

Helps stabilize premiums in individual market as new high-cost individuals begin to access health insurance

$63 annually per covered life for the fi rst year. Estimat-ed to be $42 in 2015 and $26 in 2016.

2014 through 2016 paid on a quarterly basis

Health Insurer Fee (not applicable for self funded plans like Manatt’s insurance plan, as of the date this publica-tion was printed)

Supports cost of healthcare reform

Amount will vary for each insurer based on its relative market share of U.S. health insurance business; esti-mates range from 1-3% of premium

Begins in 2014 and will be ongoing

State Exchange Fees(not applicable for self funded plans like Manatt’s insurance plan, as of the date this publica-tion was printed)

Some states will set up Ex-changes to help individuals and small businesses gar-ner health insurance. Fees may be assessed to support Exchange administration

To be determined and will vary by state

To be determined and will vary by state

Purpose Cost Timeframe

SPRING 2013 7

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ER In order to be eligible for the 2014 premium reduction, each insured employee must have 60

Wellness Credits and each insured spouse must have 60 Wellness Credits by December 31, 2013.

This must include: • Health Screening – worth 10 credits! • Physician Letter signed by your physician and returned to Principal Wellness Company by September 1, 2013. This is worth 10 credits once it is returned! If you did not receive a letter, you will automatically receive 20 credits!!

Check to see which activities you have completed and how many Wellness Credits you have: • Go to www.myhealthymac.com and login • Click “My Activities” across the top of the page • Click “Completed” to see which activities you have completed • Each activity you have completed will have the date of completion and number of Wellness Credits earned

Make sure all your completed activities and Wellness Credits are updated on this site no later than December 31, 2013. Updates or exceptions will not be made to Wellness Credits after this date.

If you have any questions about the wellness website or have trouble logging in, please con-tact Principal Wellness Customer Support Team at 877.475.3442.

Idea Center - Need to earn some extra credits? Visit www.fi tnesssports.com for a list of 5k runs, fun runs, warrior runs, and walks that are being held across Iowa. Besides benefi ting you (worth 5 credits as a community event), many of them are fundraisers for a very worthy cause!

My favorite time of the work year is seeing this place wake up each spring. Getting caught up with old friends and meeting new employees is always a treat and seeing the yard empty out and the smell of burning diesel gets my blood boiling!

We have had a great winter and early spring in IT. I’m always the fi rst to tell people that February through April are our busiest months and this year is no exception. The underlying theme in our projects to date has been to increase the use of data collection and reporting in the fi eld. Timecards, work orders, and email communication are all taking the place of phone calls, paper reports, and mailbags. The key to the success of these steps is that our end users embrace new technologies and methods. Our employees are the best in the business and I’m excited to see the ROI we will get from the time and hardware expendi-tures we’ve made this winter.

Our planned network infrastructure projects have been completed this winter. We’ve already experienced better throughput and less downtime due to external factors with the improvements that have been made.

I’m hopeful the weather will straighten up and everybody can get some productive work days turned out. Please be safe and please call or email John or I with any issues or help requests.

MIS Happeningsby: Nate Hopwood

8 SPRING 2013

May We Introduce ...Ashley Lint...My name is Ashley Lint. I started in the contracts department the 1st of April. I was previously employed at Grinnell State Bank as a personal banker and loan administrator. I live in Brooklyn and have really enjoyed not having to drive to Grinnell each day. I recently got engaged to Craig Plants who is a co-owner of 5-Star Spray Foam Insulation. In our spare time, we like to hang out with family and friends.

Dawn DeLorme...My name is Dawn Kalinay DeLorme and I grew up in the huge metropolis of Chel-sea, where everyone knows your name. After graduation, I joined the Army for what I thought was only going to be four years in the Military Intelligence fi eld... Well, I ended up retiring after 22 years – I didn’t see that coming but time fl ies. I have three grown children: Vonnie works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in downtown Savannah, Georgia. She has two children, Vannder (4) and Vayda (3). She was also in the Army and served in Iraq. Brandon is a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force sta-tioned in Charleston, South Carolina, and has already lived in Korea, Germany, and Afghanistan. He has a son, Caleb (7), who lives in Machesney Park, IL and then there is my youngest, Blaine, who lives in Story City.

I have traveled and lived almost all over the world (two of the kids were born in Japan) but always missed the Midwest, having relatives close by, and small town liv-ing. So, I moved back when I retired. I have numerous hobbies ranging from sewing & crafts, to riding my motorcycle, to fi shing. I still love to travel and I make quite a few trips to the East Coast to see the ‘Vabies’ as often as I can with Blaine & Caleb as my co-pilots.

Manatt’s has been part of my family for almost 30 years and now I am proud to be part of their family since March as the Accounts Receivable Clerk in Concrete Billing.

Robert “Bub” Hurst...My Name is Robert “Bub” Hurst. I was hired in April 2013 to manage the Belle Plaine Ready Mix Plant. I have been employed with Manatt’s since 2007. Since beginning six years ago, I have worked out of Products in Brooklyn and have also spent the last two years assisting in Belle Plaine. I have spent the last four winters in Products working on equipment.

Growing up in Brooklyn, I graduated from BGM in 2006. I am the youngest of four. I currently live in Gilman with my fi ance’, Morgan (a 7th grade teacher in Marshalltown), and our two dogs. Our wedding will take place this August.

I am looking forward to a safe and busy season!

SPRING 2013 9

Workin’ On Our Fitness...For the last eight weeks, individuals from the Brooklyn offi ce, including employees and employees’ spouses have been participating in a Fitness Class.

Randi Conoway, a personal trainer, approached us and offered to lead a class if we had an interest and would provide the facility. The idea was discussed and it was determined that this was a great opportunity to offer to the employees and spouses in the Brooklyn area.

The class consists of a rotation between cardio drills, kick-boxing, strength training, fi tness ball training, and stretch-ing.

They will be taking a few weeks off around the middle of May and starting back up with another session toward the beginning of June.

If you are interested in something like this, talk to your of-fi ce manager or supervisor and see if you can get something started at your “home base”.

Fitness Class at the Brooklyn location

Love – Hate – Imaginary Words (iw)

Love : Ahh layoff, man I needed this! After the Holidays, working on the house. (iw - cashrew; an evil nut) Oh the aroma of the new sawn wood, sheet rock mud, and fresh paint. Building a couple model cars; whoa, cap the glue Bro, you’re getting the whangs. (iw - waftermath; the lingering odor after passing gas) Oh yeah, quality time with my signifi cant other. No, Double D, not my dog, my wife. (iw - tequilag; split second before inebriation)

Hate : After all the above, plus more fun stuff, BOREDOM rears its ugly head. (iw – elephants; large print styles) Thank goodness it is almost April.

Love : To reacquaint myself with all my CD’s, Ricky Shaggs to Goodsmack, SRV to Five Finger Death Punch (iw – basshole; a tiresome string player in a jazz combo) Rolling Stones to My Darkest Day, etc. (iw - whorenet; a large promiscuous female wasp)

Hate : Not enough $ to buy all the CD’s I crave.

Love : All the snow we have received. (iw – bleatant; in ewe face) Our white shepherd, Aenjil, romping through the drifts. She loves winter! What the snow brings to help alleviate the drought.

Hate : All the snow we have received. All the F-bomb shoveling I have done this winter!

IW : Pearvert – a kinky fruit Mediocrest – a wave of no signifi cance Compromice – rats that settle for less Ignoramuse – the guiding genius of morons

“You can get must further with a fi nd word and a gun, then you can with a kind word alone” –Al Capone“A word is dead when it is said. Some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” – Emily Dickinson

With that, See Ya – B.B.

The Curious Corner of Crook

10 SPRING 2013

In our annual tradition, on April 3rd we gathered our advisors to review the 2012 financial results and discuss the outlook for 2013. This year we moved the event to the Michael J. Manatt Community Center. The event referred to as the “Annual Partnership Meeting” includes attendees from our main line fi-nancial institutions, Wells Fargo and Bankers Trust. Casey Ca-son and Steve Powell represent-ed Wells Fargo while Bankers Trust turned out in force with David Parmley and Nichole Jaeger from their Cedar Rapids branch and Jon Doll and Devin Boyer from their Des Moines branch. Also attending were representatives from our insur-ance broker, Kent Rosenberg and Mary Griffin; representa-tives from Merchants Bonding, our surety partner, Mike Foster and Scott Bailey; Mel Happel from Farmers Savings Bank in Victor and Rick Happe repre-senting Patriot Bank in Brook-lyn. This event provides these partners the opportunity to review our operations in detail and obtain answers to ques-tions that they may have. Of particular importance to them, is the ability to hear the results and prospects directly from the company management and owners, both current and future, and to ask questions directly to those individuals. It is a unique look into our company manage-ment that very few companies allow.

We started the event with intro-ductions and a welcome from

Tim Douglas. Tim discussed the agenda for the meeting and touched briefly on the high-lights of the 2012 operating season.

The first topic was a discussion led by Amanda Manatt regard-ing the succession plan that will move the M3 group into full management and ownership, together with Tony Manatt, of the Manatt group of companies. Amanda walked our partners through the process chosen to pass ownership and shared some information as to her fu-ture, post Manatt’s. Amanda has been an exceptional asset to our company and we wish her well and continued success for her and her family in Denver.

We followed with discussions of the various Manatt compa-nies and divisions led by the individuals who oversee those areas. Brian Manatt spoke about the PCC Paving Division, the successes they experienced in 2012 and what the division was looking forward to 2013. He also provided information pertaining to “stringless pav-ing” and how that technology is moving the industry. Joe Manatt was next with an informed discussion of the record year we achieved in our Asphalt Division during 2012. He in-dicated that part of our good fortune involved having a lot of work available in our foot-print. That being said, Joe felt that 2013 will be a good year but we won’t see near as much work in our market areas. Drew

Manatt took the floor and talked about the Metro Operations, both ready mix and paving. In a pattern that would be echoed later, Drew talked about the im-provement in the Metro market in 2012 but also commented on the high degree of market competitiveness that has been demonstrated already in 2013. Ready Mix, another bright spot in 2012, was covered by Adam Manatt. He spoke of the factors that he saw lending to the im-provement; the general econo-my and the agricultural indus-try in particular. He felt these two factors would again be the major driving forces effecting the Ready Mix Division in 2013. Last up was Tony Manatt who commented on our subsidiary companies, Wendling Quarries and Illowa Investments. Tony provided insights to our part-ners regarding the aggregate industry and what he foresaw for the upcoming year. The meeting drew to a close with most of the participants walk-ing across the street for lunch provided by The Classic.

I think the participants all felt that they gained a vast amount of knowledge pertaining to Manatts, our operations, our owners and our management team. The knowledge gained allows these individuals to bet-ter meet our expectations and serve our needs. As the event name reiterates, they truly are our “partners”. M

Annual Partnership Meetingby: Tim Douglas

SPRING 2013 11

In our company’s 65 years of business, our families have continuously dedicated time to succession planning in order to position our company for success and growth. The careful and deliberate transition from Junie and Merlin to the fi ve “boys” led to our company’s greatest growth ever, so we understand just how important this planning can be to our success as a company. Today, in a time where many companies are consolidating and being acquired by larger publicly-owned construction companies, our family has pledged its commitment to remain family-owned and has been working on a succession plan behind the scenes to ensure a seamless transition for our operations.

This transition to the third generation started approximately seven years ago. Along the way, and in diff erent forms of communication, we have shared some of the various steps of the process with you. From a management per-spective, the M3’s have been integrated into various management roles across the company and its affi liates. Last fall, another major milestone was reached when the transitional tool was chosen, allowing for a transfer of Brad and JoAnn’s shares of Manatt’s to their children. Once this vehicle was accepted, the next and most challenging step was to determine who should be allowed to be partners in the M3 group. Historically, our family has been consistent in the diffi cult decision to not allow every family member to be part of the ownership group. While this has led to many tough and emotional conversations, it has always been our family’s goal to do what is in the best interest of the company and its employees.

In our generation, the terms of management come down to three simple rules and expectations for our partners: 1. Each partner must act in a signifi cant management role in a division of either Manatt’s or an affi liate of Manatt’s. 2. Each partner must participate in the direction of administrative functions with respect to the management of Manatt’s. 3. Each partner must have a primary residence that is within a reasonable proximity of any primary, substantial business offi ce location for the operations of Manatt’s or an affi liate of Manatt’s.

As most of you know, for the past three years, I have been working in Denver, Colorado and commuting to Iowa, meaning that I did not meet the criteria for the third rule listed above. My partners decided to craft a role and posi-tion for me on an experimental basis to see if it “worked” for our family and for the company. While on many levels, this position was adding value to the company, in the end, it was decided that it took away from the traditions of our family values of being involved in the communities we work in and added questions of fairness to the partners and company. My goal was never to be a distraction, so I accept and understand the fi nal determination. Furthermore, I am thankful to my partners for their willingness to try something new and take a chance on me in the face of histori-cal traditions and rules. The patience they showed in the countless hours we spent even discussing this issue shows just how wonderfully considerate they have been to my situation, and I will always appreciate that about them.

That leaves me with saying good-bye to Manatt’s and my close friendships with countless co-workers. Perhaps what I love the most about Manatt’s is that while it is a “family-owned company,” it is the amazing employees who always made me feel like I was part of their family. I have always felt it was a privilege to work hand-in-hand with you to make Manatt’s the company it is today, so I thank you. I take great comfort in knowing that the rich traditions in excellence and family will continue to thrive and grow with the great ownership and employees in place.

On a personal note, Chase and I are expecting our fi rst baby boy in late-June. Rest assured, his fi rst toys will be Manatt mixers and he will proudly sport the Manatt colors when he is not cheering on the Broncos with his Dad. We are beyond excited at our chance to experience the love you can only have for your child and maybe just a little less thrilled for all the hard work and sleepless nights that are soon to enter our household. He cannot wait to meet you all. Thanks, with all my heart. - Amanda M

Farewell...Farewell...Amanda Manatt Boswell

12 SPRING 2013

South Ready Mix Updateby: Ken Cline

There doesn’t seem to be much yet to talk about for this spring newslett er. The rains that we needed have come and now won’t seem to move on. Maybe we were just spoiled with the dry spring we ex-perienced in 2012.Several jobs have tried to get started but this weather is having a major impact on their progress! The Brownell Warehouse has gott en off to a good start in Grinnell and the Monsanto projects have begun in both Grinnell and Williamsburg. Williamsburg also has started on two patching jobs, one of which is night patching. By the time you read this in the Mirror, those should both be completed. Tipton started off the season with a Hog Building and a Catt le Facility in Vinton. Tama and Brooklyn both have completed a bridge deck this spring. Newton started their work off with a new parking lot just a few blocks away from their plant and has been working on other local residential jobs as well. All the plants have been keeping the wheels slowly turning with small residential and agriculture related work.As I fi nish up this article, the sun is fi nally shining and it is 51 degrees. The forecast is showing sev-eral warmer, drier days ahead. We will keep our fi ngers crossed and, hopefully, by the last week in April we can have most all of our plants open and everyone called back for a busy season. The outlook for the work this season looks promising so I would like everyone to please work diligently within the Manatt Mission: Safely Doing Everything We Do Bett er Than Anyone Else. M

Steve Beck delivering concrete to the Brownell’s job

Robert “Bub” Hurst waiting at the Brownell’s job

Bridge deck project near Tama

Bridge deck project near Tama

SPRING 2013 13

National Mixer Driver Championshipby: Todd Brown

Fourth place! Th ere were 28 very talented drivers at the National Mixer Driver Championship ready to compete to be, “Th e best of the best.” I was excited and proud to represent Manatt’s in the Nation’s capital and to have Brian Kelley from BARD Materials join us in D.C. It was nice to be able to work together and share the experience. I want to thank my coworkers for voting for me in 2010 and allowing me to defend my championship title in 2012. I want to thank Adam Manatt and Denny Gallagher for their support in Washington D.C. and for showing us a great time while we were there. Last but not least, thanks to my Wife, Jess, for toughing out another airplane ride (not one of her favorite things to do) and her support as well.

Th e competition consisted of a written examination, a truck inspection, and a driving challenge course. Th e written exam was a 1 hour 45 minute multiple choice test with the questions com-ing from the NRMCA Concrete Delivery Professional Certifi cation Program. In the Vehicle Inspec-tion Test, you are rewarded points on your ability to conduct a timed visual inspection of a ready-mix truck. It is just like you would do for a pre-trip inspection except you are trying to detect the defects planted by the judges. Th e driving course is made up of eight diff er-ent challenges resembling real life

challenges a driver encounters every day. Obstacles such as, tight-est turn, tightest drive through, parallel parking, and closest back up to name a few. Chute hoops, slump test, bowling and reaction time were added as extra point challenges this year.

We had a couple of extra days to do a little site seeing while in D.C., although we didn’t have to leave the water front hotel to get a gor-geous view of the city. We rode a water ferry to Old Town Alexan-dria, visited some of the museums, did a little shopping, and on one of the nights, Adam treated the group to a wonderful dinner at the National grill. We ended the evening with a private night tour of our National Monuments and Memorials.

Going to Washington D.C. was an amazing experience. I was proud to go and represent Manatt’s. Th ey have been wonderful to work for and went above and beyond to make sure my wife and I enjoyed our trip. Th ank you again to ev-erybody involved that made this possible. M

Todd Brown preparing for the driving challenge

The plaque Todd Brown received for being awarded 4th place. It is on

display at the Brooklyn location.

Brian Kelley - BARD MaterialsTodd Brown - Manatt’s Inc.

Group Shot - all the participants of the 2013 Championship

BARD and Manatt’s Group shot before the competition

14 SPRING 2013

Hopefully by the time we are reading this, we are paving. It sure seemed to be a long winter and we would like to welcome everyone back. In Newton, the winter brings a lot of general maintenance and repair. The shop was busy.

Over this long winter, we have been fairly successful getting some work. We will be starting the year with our plant site being at Gilmore City in Pocahontas County. We will be paving just over 100,000 tons from this location. We have a 17,000 ton overlay project in Pocahontas County, 44,000 tons being placed in Calhoun County on Hwy 4, and another 40,000 tons in Buena Vista County on Hwy 3. The Calhoun and Buena Vista Projects both get scarifi ed and overlaid, with sub drain, pipe work and patching.

The western Iowa work should wrap up by mid to late July. From there, we will be heading east to Clinton County. Our plant site here is going to be at Behr Quarry, Wendling Quarries Corporate offi ce location. At this site, we will be producing at least another 74,000 tons. We have 10,000 tons in Cedar County, a 12,000 ton project in Clinton County and 52,000 ton job also in Clinton County on Hwy 30. All of these projects are cold-in-place and overlay.

This will give us a good start and some leeway to fi nd more work to fi nish out the year. With over 265,000 tons already in contract out of the Newton Offi ce, we will be having a busy summer.

Again, I’d like to welcome everyone back and say we appreciate what you do and let’s Safely Do Everything We Do Better Than Everyone Else. M

Newton Portable Asphalt Updateby: Jeff Steinkamp

SPRING 2013 15

Newton Commercial Asphalt Updateby: Steve Illingworth

Anymore it is tough to fi nd a place to get our people started back to work in the middle of April like we used to. The vast majority of the work requires patching, cold-in-place and material not being produced early enough prior to us starting the asphalt work. This spring is no different. With the weather the way it is now, people always say, “the weather has got to be killing you guys.” Not really, as we can’t get started anyway. The weather affects our subs, which in turn, has a trickle-down effect on us. It goes without saying, we are having a big problem getting started. When we get started, the crew will be on the Boone/Greene project which consists of ramp work on Hwy 30, “mill & fi ll 2” on Hwy 144 and paving over cold-in-place on Hwy 210. This project has approximately 18,000 ton.

The next project will be Hardin County which is also asphalt paving over cold-in-place. 29,000 plus tons will be on this project.

Tama County had a local letting on April 16th which has 48,268 tons of asphalt in 3 locations and a little bit more involved than just mainline paving. We won’t really know if this job is on the books until April 22. We have some degree of confi dence and I hope that I just didn’t shoot myself in the foot.

With a little luck, we hope to get some other small projects with Jasper County and IDOT along with some commercial work, I think we can fi ll up our year.

When I was looking at quotes we received for the above Tama local project, I ran across one that had a say-ing at the bottom of it that made me stop and think. I hope it does the same to you.

“ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOUR FELLOW EMPLOYEES ARE” M

This year we’ve had a pretty quiet winter but this spring reminds me of the old Iowa springs; cold, wet, and starting to be-come a little ridiculous. It looks like we’re going to have one of the latest starts we have had in a long time this year. By the time you are reading this, I hope the weather has straightened up and we’re going strong.

The Ready Mix Division has stayed pretty steady throughout the winter completing jobs for Mary Greeley, Long Fellow Con-struction and others. As Larry says, “Paying the light bills.” When they’re not pouring, they’re working on the plant which should be in great shape for this upcoming season.

This spring we have put a new drum on the asphalt plant and completed other repairs that were necessary. It’s hard to be-lieve the plant has 18 plus seasons on it. The weather has not been very cooperative for that project but Tim and the guys will be ready when we need to start up for the spring.

On the construction side, the work load this year looks to be a little better than last year in some areas and not as great in others. The asphalt side looks to be down from last year but last year we were lucky to have three large state jobs in the area which doesn’t happen very often. With one state job so far, this year looks to be going back to normal which hasn’t been too bad in this area. This year so far, we have seven city jobs. They include multiple projects at ISU, some at local schools, county, and commercial work. This is the type of work we like to see. It helps fi ll gaps in the schedule and keeps everyone busy: Project Managers, Utility, Concrete, Dirt and Asphalt Crews. We are not full by any means but we have some nice work to start off with. One good thing we are starting to see is the rise in commercial activity throughout the Ames area. This work has been very competitive but still a good thing. This should also help the residential work which has been very slow the last few years.

Thanks to everyone who has been working hard and actively throughout this winter. Hopefully, this spring brings nothing but a safe and prosperous season.

AMES UPDATEby: Duane Hassebrock

16 SPRING 2013

Subdrain-Sealcoat-Stabilization Divisionby: David Schinckel

The 2013 Construction sea-son has arrived! Well……only on the calendar maybe. We are waiting for Mother Nature to back off on the rainfall and maybe pick the temperatures up a little. I must say, I am thankful for the moisture as it was getting to be criti-cal with the drought carrying over into this year. Over the last 2 weeks, I have emptied over 7 inches of rain out of my rain gauge just south of Grinnell. This has replenished the upper layers of the soil but we still need to get the moisture back down to the 6 to 9 foot level to provide deep root moisture for the crops and help all of the well systems such as the rural water systems. We had our annual crew safety meeting on April 4th so the Subdrain crew could get started April 15th. They did move up to Calhoun County and managed to get the two day job com-pleted on the only dry days of that week. They moved down to Wayne County to have the week pulled due to 6 and 7 inches of rain in that area. Not the way we like to start the season but as we all know, it will dry out and we’ll be back up to speed.

We’ve been having some success at the bidding table it seems at each letting. We pick up two or three projects for each division, each month.

Slow and steady works well. If we can do that for the next 3 or 4 DOT Lettings, we will have a respectable year on the books. At this time, we have approximately 387,000 feet on the books. Two proj-ects of some size are the Wayne County 59,565’ and the Clinton County project having 107,434’. Projects of this size are nice to have as we can stay in one place for a couple weeks and turn out some good work instead of spending time on the decks of the lowboys mov-ing around for 2 and 3 day projects. Another project of note is the Linn County High-way 380 north bound lanes that we have with the L.L. Pelling Company. We worked with them last year doing the south bound lanes. This proj-ect is on the north side of Ce-dar Rapids, running through Hiawatha. Due to the high volume of traffi c, this project will take place as all night work. It will take roughly 20 to 25 nights depending on how the removal goes.

In the last two weeks, I have been swamped with calls for sealcoating and stabiliza-tion work. Now, I just need a week of dry weather to get out and measure all the projects up! Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come that we will have a larger amount of work available to bid in comparison to the past

years. We do have several projects on the books for the Sealcoat/Stabilization crew already. Some projects of note are in Dubuque County, where there are 3 sealcoat projects, covering 22 miles. Once again, we have picked up about 2 weeks of pulveri-zation and some Fly Ash work in the City Of Clinton with the Determann Company. There is a small sealcoat project in Wright County and two fog seal projects in Harrison and Pottawattime County. Virg is out knocking on doors of our small towns and Cities put-ting quotes out for their 2013 sealcoat programs. Last year, this crew fi nished a lot ear-lier than I normally like to see. Hopefully, we can fi ll the season up and worry about running into cool weather to get everything completed this year.

As you go out and start the season, get yourselves back into the swing of protecting yourself and your crew mem-bers. If we continue to extend the wet period for another week or so, the schedule will get stacked up and the push will be on. Hopefully, the for the next Mirror article I will have some pictures and some completed projects to talk about. Basically, right now we are watching mud just get wetter! Work safe and work smart!!! M

SPRING 2013 17

METRO UPDATEby: Drew Manatt

Here in Des Moines, we are off to a very slow start in 2013. We ran all winter with only our Ankeny location open. This is the first year we have done that and it seemed to work well given that we didn’t have anything big going through the winter. The yardage is down so far but we seemed to stay busy with maintenance and making improvements to our new shop.

Our paving crew is going to start later than usual. We have little carry over since we got through most of our work with a dry fall in 2012. We don’t have a lot of work under our belts at this point but we keep hearing that there will be many subdivisions going in the area. I hope we start seeing more of those soon. We were low bidder on a Ankeny $3,800,000 project, Irvingdale Phase 2. We will eat through that one pretty quick so, hopefully, we start picking up more things to fill our schedule.

Some of our ready mix customers have us plugged in on a couple good sized projects. It is nice to see them being successful. We want our customers to succeed; we are not just in it for ourselves. I am hoping we will take advantage of being a little slower out of the gate to focus on getting our safety right. I’m sure things will pick up in the summer, as they always do. I look forward to the challenges that 2013 will present. We have great employees with great problem solving skills. I think that is what keeps us going strong. M

Is spring ever coming to Iowa? Cooler temperatures and forecasts of rain and snow really put a damper on what should be an optimistic attitude for going to work soon.

Most signs of spring are visible. Grass is green, trees are budding, the snow is gone and most of the equipment in the Brooklyn yard has been moved out. These are all good signs that spring is very close. We are, however, missing favorable ground temperatures and farmers in the fi eld. It seems we can’t go to work without the farmers in the fi eld.

Starting locations for Brooklyn PCC this spring will be Mills, Story and Polk Counties. Story County has been able to produce pavement removal, crushing and grading items despite the weather disrup-tions. Larger paving projects are holding off because of the frequent risk of rain.

I look forward to seeing everyone return to work and hope all stayed safe and healthy this past winter.

Stay safe this season. I’ll see you on the grade! M

PCC and Projects Division Updateby: Duane McDonald

PCC crew in Mills Co. This project consists of paving Hwy 34 eastbound from I-29 to the Missouri River and I-29/Hwy 34 on and off ramps.

18 SPRING 2013

Fantasy Football Leagueby: Adam Manatt

As Spring finally comes around, it’s time to start turning our at-tentions to the beginning of � foot-ball season?! Yes, with the NFL draft and college spring games (or one open practice for Iowa fans), it seems an appropriate time to prepare for the upcom-ing fantasy football season. Last year we started a Manatt Family of Businesses fantasy football league. There are 12 teams par-ticipating (some companies/divi-sions chose not to participate—party poopers) representing:

•Determann Asphalt•Newton Asphalt and Milling•LL Pelling•Illowa•Valley Environmental•United Concrete•Bard Materials•Manatt’s Ready Mix•Manatt’s Concrete Paving (PCC)•Des Moines Metro •Ames Division•Manatt’s Corporate

The inaugural season was a good start to building camaraderie (through “competition”) across divisions and companies. The first ever league meeting and awards ceremony was held in Coralville in late April. After discussing the league setup and potential changes, awards were given for the 2012 season. The League Champion trophy was pre-sented to Todd Powers, represent-ing Determann Asphalt. Division winner plaques were awarded to United Concrete and Determann Asphalt. Manatt’s Ready Mix Division was honored with the visionary Trailblazers Award. Illowa Investment was honored as the team with the most room for improvement.

A live draft will be held late this summer just prior to the start of the NFL season. Root for your team/division! M

Loser’s trophy - awarded to Illowa Investment Winner’s trophy - awarded to

Todd Powers, representing Determann Asphalt

Be sure to check out this United Concrete Ready Mix truck when you are at the Iowa

State Fair this year!!

It will be located outside on the SE corner of the Varied Industries Building. It will

be next to “All Things Concrete”.

SPRING 2013 19

I wish that I could put into words the importance of compliance with the new CSA standards. This is pos-sibly the most serious change that has affected the trucking industry in the past few years. I have been personally involved with Clay Prior and Adam Grier in an effort to aid in our compliance. It is a breath of fresh air to work with such professional and genuinely concerned fellow Manatt employees toward a common goal. Our safety director, Adam and trucking safety coordinator, Clay, have made it their goal to see that we do everything to get the proper training and information out to our crews and drivers. They take the CSA standard very seriously. I was approached by them to put together a class with the inten-tion of training certain drivers to not only be able but confi dent, in understanding air brake systems and recognizing when there may be a problem and the proper steps to correct them.

The class mixes both classroom time and some “hands on” work at the end of the class so that all those involved get a chance to put what they have learned into practice. I have been very impressed at the response we have gotten since offering the class. The fi rst training went very well and we will be offering more classes in the future. Clay and I have also discussed taking this training to other locations if interest dictates. We believe this is an important subject to train on due to the number of brake related violations that have been issued. I don’t want to seem completely “doom and gloom” but there have already been companies right here in Iowa that have lost their DOT numbers. I think we all can understand where we will be if we can’t utilize our own units in this company. We need to take this seriously and make it each of our responsibilities to do what we can to help the cause. If you or any of your employee’s or crew might be interested in this class, please call Clay or myself and we will be happy to assist in any way we can. Please have a safe and productive spring! M

Brake Certifi cation Trainingby: James Weiermann

Brake Certifi cate Class

20 SPRING 2013

CORPORATE Approximately 40 managers across the Family of Businesses flocked to Texas in late-January for an out-of-state corporate retreat. While it cannot be refuted that there was plenty of time set aside for social activities there were many strategic planning meetings throughout the 4 days. A few of the highlights from the trip included: •Discussion on how to improve renting equipment between companies, how to improve our equipment tracking systems, and setting standard rental prices between companies. •A group was assigned to develop a leadership program for our rising stars. They want to “cross” educate our rising stars on the Family of Businesses and even give an introduction to other divisions within our companies. An expected implementation date is late 2013 or early 2014. •The cost of workers’ compensation has increased substantially in the last three years due to many variables. There was discussion on ways to educate employees on safer work habits, how to review claims and provide better service to our injured employees while at the same time, getting them back to work quicker and healthier than before their accident, and working with associations, government, and insurance companies to minimize severe cost fluctuations. •Addressed ways to improve our political influences particularly related to a gas user fee increase.

Graham Cuninghame, Herb Miller, Ben Thier Group meeting Joe Manatt kicking a fi eldholding the ball. The

The hunting group - they had a very successful day

Dan Boyer, Dave Schinckel, Bob Morton Jason Spooner, Duane Ha

Gr

SPRING 2013 21

RETREAT 2013

goal - Jason Spooner e kick was GOOD!

assebrock, Tim Douglas

roup receiving instruction before getting on the track at Texas Motor Speedway

Drew Manatt, Amanda Manatt-Boswell, Doug Clement

Brett Finnegan and Andy Steward

Tony Manatt and Milt Dakovich Duane Hassebrock, Joel Gryp, Todd Powers, Brian Manatt, Brady Meldrem

22 SPRING 2013

ILLOWA NEWSby: Randy Soedt

I want to thank Brian Armstrong, Brad Schutte, and Todd Powers for getting our 2013 season off to a good start. Our annual Spring Safety Meeting was held at the Blue Grass Safety Building. We had speakers from the Iowa DOT talking about trucking in Iowa, Adam Grier from Manatt’s discussing CSA, Frank Heinen from Manatt’s discussing benefi ts, Mona Bond from Manatt’s talking about Environmental and gas tax issues, and Mary Dan-iels from Ruhl & Ruhl presenting the new SDS Training. We had 49 in attendance and a great lunch from Steve’s Meat Shop.

At the time of writing this last year, we had 4 tennis courts painted and we were working on a set of 4 more, and one crew had already been out working for 3 weeks. What a diff erence in spring weather within one year.

We have 20 tennis courts to paint at Th e University of Iowa early this year. Th is project has a very tight schedule. We will be working with Pelling on this project. Th ere are a few more courts yet to come that we plan to bid on. Th is could be a very busy year for color surfacing.

We started April 1st with Larry Sammon and crew in Wapello County doing CRS – 2P crack fi lling (36.5 road miles and 12,953 gallons of oil). Th at week, we got a good start on the job. Along came the rain so the last 2 weeks, it’s been 2 ½ or 3 days a week. Th at makes it hard to get anything done. We stared another crew April 15th. Mike Tacey and Mike Weir are in Jones County on Highway 64. Th at is a big CRS – 2P crack fi lling job. It has eight roads in Eastern Iowa with 61.6 road miles and 37,240 gallons of oil.

We also picked up another CRS- 2P job with N.A.P. in the April Letting. It has 35.8 road miles and 2,148 gallons of oil for this spring and 18 ½ road miles 3,000 gallons of oil for the fall. So, we have work to get started on if we could get Mother Nature to help us out.

Mike Weir has also been getting ready to go to the Cedar Rapids Airport for some joint resealing and also has work at the Waterloo Airport.

As far as asphalt goes, we have several small projects to kick the season off and are anticipating a slower season compared to the last few seasons. Brian has been very busy looking at and bidding commercial asphalt work for the most part.

Hopefully, by my next mirror article, we will have a few good sized projects under our belts.

Brad Schutte, with help from Jeff Herington, has been servicing trucks and equipment, while Mike Tacey has been working on kettles, seal equipment, and tanks.

We would like to wish everybody a big welcome back and to have a safe and prosperous 2013 construction season. M

Not an accident. Illowa donated the old pilot truck to the Blue Grass Fire Dept. to practice

with the jaws of life.

SPRING 2013 23

L.L. Pelling Co. Updateby: Chuck Finnegan

The winters seem shorter and shorter every year. Maybe that’s just a sign of me getting old. I don’t know. The first two years after I graduated high school I worked seasonal (for LLP, of course) so winters brought layoff and unemployment. I was the envy of my senior class. Recently, I ran into an old high school friend and he asked if I was still at Pelling. Of course I answered, “Still taking the winters off and drawing unemployment, living the life of Riley.” I never told him any different. Some things should be left to an imagination.

Maybe it’s that we try to get things started earlier. We had hopes of getting going on some work that could be billed by April 1 but Mother Nature has shown us the she’s still in charge. Especially, when you’re first proj-ect is working on the interstate at night. With that said, crews have been busy crushing RAP at the plants, putting up piles to be used this summer, the shingle crew has been busy doing the same. We have also had plenty to do at the new asphalt plant in Cedar Rapids. Besides just work-ing at getting it ready to run, we have had a crew prepping the sub grade so we can get some paving down to meet our occu-pancy permit for the city. Most of this, as well as all the work being done in the shops and

offices, will not see the payback until the months to come.

Winter has brought a new divi-sion to Pelling, of our asphalt shingle recycling crew. This came by the November purchase of RAS, a division of a local roof-ing contractor from Marion. We believe this will be a big asset in the future production of our asphalt mixes, as well as being able to supply other contractors. Additionally, not a new division but this spring we added to our chip seal division with the pur-chase of the assets of Municipal Streets Improvements (MSI). MSI, a company based out of Wyoming, Iowa operates mainly in east central Iowa and was a good addition to our chip seal division, expanding our consor-tium of small towns we serve. Lloyd Pelling once told me, ‘It’s not the assets you get in a purchase. It’s the people that you have the oppor-tunity to employ.’ I’m sure these additions will be no different.

Most of the major asphalt projects we have this season will be completed at night, truly a challenge but something of the

norm in this section of Iowa. This type of work seems to involve everyone in the company in some way so it will be a chal-lenging season ahead.

By the time this hits the printer, we will be in the full working mode and I cannot end with-out talking about our commit-ment to safety. The meetings are complete; we’ve talked the talk and now it’s time to walk the walk. With the busy season ahead, we will need to help train the new employees about our safety culture, as well as the job they have to do and remember to lead by example. To everyone at Pelling and its sister compa-nies, have a safe year and we will all prosper in the end. M

L.L. Pelling’s new asphalt plant in Cedar Rapids

24 SPRING 2013

It’s been a whirlwind of meetings in the last 8 weeks, getting together with everyone before we went back to work. For me it was fun and exciting.I know training on Spill Pollution Prevention Plans and Storm Water Plans might seem mundane and unim-portant but seriously – these are deal breakers when it comes to our required EPA training and I work hard to make it a little fun for everyone! So let me tell you what happened not 36 hours into the new season!

Manatts Makes a Difference! by: Mona Bond, Environmental Director

On April 2, Phil Maddison, with the Newton Asphalt offi ce, called me to report a strong diesel fuel smell and had found “ponded” fuel along Interstate 80 near Baxter where we started the season. I in turn called IDNR F.O. 5 and reported the fi nd. I wanted to make sure no one thought our team had spilled. Bill Gibbons with the IDNR took the report and went to the site to view the situation. Following the investigation he called me to report the following:

There had been a semi wreck on that stretch of highway during the winter months. There had been a loss of diesel fuel and it had traveled down the median ditch to a culvert fl owing under the highway ponding on the other side. The IDNR then contacted the parties involved in the accident and as a result there will be a fuel clean up at a future date.

Way to go Milling TEAM!!!! (Josh McCombs, Mike Kiyoshk & Dan Maddox) Bill Gibbons called me after the his investiga-tion and repeatedly thanked our employees for fi nding the spill and reporting it so it could be handled properly!

Also this month, Andy Broadston, our plant manager in Montezuma witnessed an adjacent property owner’s fuel tank being fi lled. The delivery folks were not careful, overfi lled the tank and fuel ran out on the ground. Andy called me immediately and I called the property owner to see what he was going to do about it and how much actually had spilled. He was surprised when he looked at the site. The fuel moved from that site and crossed our property which is why I am

so pleased Andy called me. He documented the date and incident to help protect us in the event that there are future questions and issues. He is also taking pictures of the site and where it crosses our property. A big Thank You to Andy for monitoring your plant area and the environmental impact this type of thing can have on our company.

One last note on environmental compliance, Steve Naderman’s 413 Portable Ready Mix Plant is working in Polk County near Altoona. While that is nothing new to the company- working all night and shutting down during the day is always a challenge. A big THANK YOU to the crew who is working under unusual circumstances and still pays attention to the little things! Polk County inspectors helped us get a permit on that plant quickly and they have noticed

Montezuma Ready Mix Plant

SPRING 2013 25

what a good operation Manatt’s is to work with! NOW that is what I’m talking about!!!

Folks, while our training may be a little boring at times – this is what it’s all about! Good employees doing good

things and a company who cares about the environment!!!

I also took a little time at the winter meetings to talk about one of my favorite issues, the “fuel tax”, and how important that is to our industry and specifi cally to our jobs – yours and mine! Manatt’s will never tell their employees how to vote. With that said, I wanted to educate folks on the importance of the fuel tax to the funding source of road con-struction and repairs in Iowa. As of today (5/9/13) the fuel tax issue has not come before this legislative session but there is hope that if some other issues that the Governor wants addressed are voted on, the fuel tax could come be-fore the General Assembly. What my little talks did accomplish was to touch about 800+ of our employees statewide. Multiply that number by the estimated 4 people we each touch directly in our lives and that makes about 3200 people in Iowa better informed on why and how we achieve the needed funding for good roads in Iowa!

As many of you know I also lobby during the legislative session. I monitor many things for the company and the fol-lowing is an example of the types of things I do for the company at the legislature!

State Senator Tim Kapucian (R-Keystone), is an active family farmer and agricultural leader and represents Senate District 38, which includes all of Benton, Iowa and Poweshiek Counties in East Central Iowa. He is the ranking member of the Transportation Committee and is a strong support-er of increasing funding for roads and bridges.

He is also working with me on the hill to achieve some protection for the company with regards to “recreational liability”.

Recently the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that farmers who host educational tours for the public are not shielded from personal injury lawsuits under a law meant to promote recreation on private lands. What this ruling has done is open a Pandora’s box of questions. Our companies often allow and invite students to their locations for educational purpos-es. We have asked Senator Kapucian to work to help us continue to be able to do this. While the issue came up specifi c to agriculture, we have discovered that there is little if any protection for companies such as ours who allow tours and educational activities on property. The following is an account from the News.Net network of the case that brought this to light. We are asking legislators to help us when we do educational tours, etc. to limit our liability thus encourag-ing students to learn in a “hands on environment.”

Court: Iowa Farmers Who Host Tours Can Be LiablePublished: 07:33:54 PM, Fri 15 February 2013 UTC

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Farmers who host educational tours for the public are not shielded from personal injury law-suits under a law meant to promote recreation on private lands, according to a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision.

The court ruled that owners of a dairy farm in northeast Iowa can be sued by a woman who was injured when she fell through a hole in a hayloft while chaperoning a fi eld trip, the court said in a 5-2 ruling that could have a broad state-wide impact.

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation had warned justices that allowing farmers to face liability in such cases would jeop-ardize hands-on educational tours in which they teach the public about food, animals and agriculture. Hundreds of school visits take place at Iowa farms every year, and owners who are worried about facing lawsuits may be unwilling to continue, the group argued in a friend-of-the-court brief.

At issue is the interpretation of a 1967 law that bars lawsuits against landowners who open their property to the public for recreational uses such as hunting, hiking and snowmobiling. The majority ruled that Iowa lawmakers never

Continued on page 26...

26 SPRING 2013

intended the law to bar legal claims for injuries suff ered in a dairy barn while “frolicking in a hayloft as part of a guided tour.”

The suit was fi led in 2010. Students who visited were there to learn about a typical day on the farm, where they par-ticipated in activities such as riding a horse, feeding a calf, seeing a tractor and playing in a hayloft. The farm family supervised the activities.

A visitor climbed the ladder to the hayloft and unknowingly stood on hay bales that covered a hole in the fl oor. When the bales collapsed, they fell several feet and broke a wrist and leg. The visitor fi led a lawsuit against the family, alleg-ing their negligence caused the injuries.

A district judge dismissed the lawsuit two years ago, ruling the family was immune from liability under the recreation-al use law. The students had engaged in horseback riding and the study of nature, activities specifi cally mentioned in the law, the judge found.

An appeals court overturned the decision last year, ruling 2-1 that the family was not immune because they were responsible for guiding the tour.

Justice Brent Appel, writing for the majority in Supreme Court’s opinion, said all states have laws that limit liability against landowners for recreational activities, but Iowa’s was more limited than some others. He said the visitor was not participating in any of the specifi c activities covered by the law when injured.

The goal of limiting the law is to “avoid the absurd result” of applying the immunity so broadly that it would bar law-suits over injuries at a backyard barbecue or a driveway basketball game, he wrote.

“The Legislature clearly has not empowered this court to expand or update the list of recreational purposes,” Appel wrote. “While such an action might be supported by policy reasons, any such action must be taken by the Legislature, not by us.”

But dissenting Justice Edward Mansfi eld said from its outset, Iowa’s law was designed to encourage farmers to off er free recreational use of their lands and buildings. The decision “turns this law upside down” and takes away their long-standing legal immunity, he wrote.

The Waterloo lawyer who represented the visitor said the case would return for a civil trial in Fayette County, where he hopes to prove the claims. He said the ruling would only aff ect landowners who participate in the activities of their guests, such as leading tours, and would not aff ect those who simply allow hunting or fi shing.

I will close out this month with this quote:“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” -Mother Teresa M

Continued from page 25...

RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Dick Carber retired after 50 years of working in the quarry business. Dick was 19 years old when he started running a stockpile truck for Lowe and Eschman company. In the 70’s Lowe sold to Alpha Crushed Stone by that time Dick was an utility operator on diff erent types of equipment. By the mid 70’s the company sold to Aggrecon Corpera-tion and dick traveled around Iowa doing recycle projects . wending quarries took over the company in 1990 and the last 15 years Dick was a load out operator at Shaff ton Quarry . I worked with Dick for 23 years and he was always a 1st class employee. Dick married his wife Alice in 1965 and they had two sons Ron and Rich, and now have 9 grand kids and 7 great grand kids. Now days you will fi nd Dick fi shing, he will be 71 in August and loves retirement. I hope for the best of luck for Dick and his family and thanks for all the great work you have done !

SPRING 2013 27

I hope no one minds me us-ing this forum to pay tribute to a couple that meant the world to me. As many of you know, this past year has been, at best, a struggle for my family and I. We lost our mother in Novem-ber of last year. I am extremely grateful to those who showed unwavering compassion during that troubling time. I would like to extend thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. My thoughts are drawn to my wonderful mother’s visitation that was held at Kloster funeral home here in Brooklyn. A person that may have gone unnoticed sat at the front of the room for most of the night. He was a small elderly man who was vis-ibly shaken and passed by most unless they knew who he was. He was listed in mom’s obituary as a “special friend,” Bob Mc-Culley. This holds signifi cance due to another funeral my fam-ily attended only one week ago. You see, in his obituary, he was proceeded in death by a “spe-cial friend,” Beverly Weiermann. The loss that is felt at a time like this is very extreme but we can take comfort that neither of them is suffering at the hand of this world any longer. I just wanted to share what their time together meant for me. They compli-mented each other in a way that brought comfort to me. On their own, they each had a little bit

What About Bob?by: James Weiermann

of a hard time but when they were together they looked after each other. The guilt is hard to get past but with a large family and some of my own struggles, I was unable to check on mom as often as I would have liked. Just knowing that they were looking after each other, took quite a bit of strain off all of us.

I had the pleasure of spending quite a few “sit downs” with Bob and he would open up about the time he spent in the Philip-pines in WW2. I found out from mom that while Bob was in his ninety’s, he had only recently been able to talk openly about some of his “war stories.” I feel extremely blessed that I was able to hear some of the ac-counts of his duty. When he would start to remember and share, a clearness would come across his face, he could retell the accounts as if they hap-pened only yesterday. I gained so much peace thinking that this man, who had went to war for you and me, was now check-ing in on mom and spending a great deal of time with her. I know that very few WW2 veter-ans are still around anymore and we lost one of the best in Bob. While most of us were chasing tail, or trying to fi gure out what we wanted in life at 18, this man was literally dodging bullets and bonsai attacks in foxholes. He tells the story of staying awake

for so many hours in one foxhole that he would start to drift off to sleep and dream he was seeing enemy soldiers attacking with bayonets yelling “BONZAI.” At one point, after many days of being stranded and awake, he had drifted off only to wake up to a monkey staring him square in the face! We had tears in our eyes from laughing so long. Another time he was tasked by his superior to sneak up and get fresh milk from a cow to supply to one of the higher ups. He was given these jobs because of his small stature and large heart. That was the type of man that we all can aspire to be someday. He feared God, loved his neigh-bors, and had no ill words to say about anyone.

My mother was described many years ago by my best friend as having “a heart of gold.” She never got much in life other than a family and children that loved her. She required nothing more to make her happy. She stood by my father as he battled Lou Gehrig’s disease for 3 long years and never complained or placed any burden on us kids. She truly was a remarkable woman who we will miss dearly. I want to thank you again for letting me share my feelings here as I consider all of you a part of one large support group and my fam-ily. Thanks and God Bless! M

28 SPRING 2013

What’s Happeni

The past two years has brought about a lot of changes for the I.T. department at Wendling. The first major change was the implementa-tion of the new Viewpoint software. The employees at Wendling met that challenge head on and now love the new system. At the same time, new software was introduced to the Quality Control department. Again the challenge was met and now is a vital part of everyday op-erations. Way to go guys!

The newest challenge was a new website. The project began last fall and was completed in Febru-ary. Now our customers can locate each quarry and see exactly what products are available and check out what Wendling is all about. The new site is also a great tool for employees, as they can now login and download forms they need and see what events are coming up. The website is a great communica-tion tool and we love the new look! Check it out at: www.wendlingquarries.com.

Changes in the I.T. field are inevi-table and I am grateful I work with such a great bunch people that aren’t afraid to meet these chang-es head on and incorporate them into their daily operations in order to keep Wendling’s motto strong: “Working together as a team, we are determined to be the best in whatever we do.” M

I.T. News by: Robin Sokol Wendling Quarries had its 17th Annual Bowling Outing on Saturday, March 16th, 2013. We all had a great time with 36 bowlers and some great scores.

This year’s champions were:Pete & Jayme Caspers and Doug & Linda Mohr.

Men’s High Game: Women’s High Game:Dave Meyer – 267 Jackie Behounek – 202Ron Paulsen – 244 Robbin Jones – 202Doug Mohr – 216 Theresa Ehlers – 183

Men’s High Series: Women’s High Series:Ron Paulsen – 622 Robbin Jones – 552Dave Meyer – 611 Jackie Behounek – 551Doug Mohr – 586 Joyce Paulsen – 510

We would like to thank Tony Manatt for another great outing and pizza in the lounge afterwards while giving out the awards and tro-phies. We hope to see everyone again next year! M

WQI Bowling Outing

Jayme Caspers, Pete Caspers, Doug Mohr, Linda Mohr

Jackie Behounek and Dave Meyer

Jackie Behounek and Ron Paulsen Robbin Jones and Jackie Behounek

SPRING 2013 29

ing at Wendling?

“Well, here comes the summer again…”

I really look forward to this time of year. After the long winter and prepa-ration of winter repairs and planning, we get to “kick off” the season and get things rolling. I am writing this as of mid April, which this year, brings the first loads of rock being delivered. Remember last year…? We had basements in and first floors being built by this time. Besides the fat robins being a sign of spring, I like to use our dredge being able to pump, as a second sign that old man winter is losing his grip for another season. The seasons changing happened the first part of April as well, weeks behind last year’s stellar start up. None the less, I think this season will be nothing short of spectacular. The orders for 2013 are rolling in and some exciting things are happening!

First of all, I am excited about doing some projects with our own compa-ny. Muscatine and North Clinton Counties will host our concrete paving divisions on some nice projects. I, for one, am glad that Manatt’s got the projects there as we enjoy working with the “home town” team. Almost seems like we work a little harder when it’s the “good guys” at Manatt’s! Manatt’s Asphalt Division also picked up three nice jobs near our Behr Quarry in Clinton County. It is team work at its best. Hopefully, by the time you read this article, we will have obtained one more project which will be let in April. Good luck to us all.

Another reason I am excited is because of the direction our parent com-pany is headed. I would say I am blessed to be part of a great team who is very interested in the continued success of Manatt’s and its subsidiar-ies. A very talented group of individuals are working very hard to prove themselves and provide a safe, sustainable place to work. Furthermore, they work hard to make it much more than just a place to work but also a family environment. It is important to be able to come to work everyday and know that it is also a safe place to work. I had a dear friend say to me just recently, “This isn’t the same company it use to be”… while I was first disappointed to hear a statement like that, I have to conclude he’s right. It’s better! Of course, there are all of the obvious reasons we are differ-ent than 20 years ago. Just look around… I see our competition strug-gling. While our growing diversification keeps helping our companies as a whole, we have grown wisely in my observation and the future looks great! I know this because of the people we get to work with, the best of the best in the industry. I am very confident our team or family will con-tinue to be supportive of each other at all levels.

We can all make a difference here and I believe for the most part, we will! Kind of like some things have changed but, likewise, stayed the same.

I hope for a safe and productive year. God speed to us all!

In Sympathy...

Terry Koontz- loss of his father

Carl Morrison - loss of his brother

Julie Nigh - loss of her grandfather

Shanna Schmidt - loss of her grandmother

Leroy Yaddof - loss of his mother

Terry Adler - loss of his mother-in-law

Jackie Schlarbaum - loss of her mother-in-law

Dave Clark - loss of his grandmother

Miracles...

Tim and Janie Drewelow – grandson Easton Matthew Drewelow born 2/7/13

Another Season is Upon Us... by: Tony Manatt

30 SPRING 2013

Craig Kalinay - 3rd Generation, Manatt’s

Division/Position: Ames Asphalt SuperintendentYears of employment: 17Any immediate relation that either has worked for Manatt’s in the past or currently work for Manatt’s: -Grandfather: Jim Manatt - Truck-ing (drove the old Studebaker, Junie’s fi rst truck) – Ready Mix – Retired-Dad: Bob Kalinay – Subdrain Superintendent - current-Aunt: Diane Kilmer – HR - currentDid the fact that your rela-tion worked for Manatt’s infl u-ence your decision to work for Manatt’s?I started for one of my Dad’s best friends (Virg Heishman) the day I got out of high school. Dad did not have a spot for me at the time so I went to work for Virg. It was only supposed to be for one summer before I left for college. It didn’t work out that way.What makes you stay at Manatt’s? The company has treated me and my family well. One of the things

A Family Tradition...A Family Tradition...The owners of Manatt’s Inc. have always put a strong emphasis on family values and the importance of family. It was one of their “core values” in the beginning and remains that way today.

“We are a third generation family-owned business based on personal and professional trust, respect, and support. People are the foundation of our company. We work together and play together. We under-stand the importance of individual needs and giving back to both our people and communities.”

When it is said that Manatt’s and its sister companies are family companies, it’s much more than just the Manatt family. There are so many second and third generation employees working within our organiza-tions. This is part of what makes our companies so strong and great to work for!

For this edition of the Mirror, a few second and third generation employees were asked to share their thoughts on why they chose to follow in their grandparent or parent’s footsteps and what that experi-ence has been like for them.

that really keeps me here is the great respect that I have for my grandpa and for Tom Manatt for putting me in the position that I am in today. I still feel, even after Tom passed away, that if I left, he would be disappointed in me.What memories do you have of your dad/grandpa working at Manatt’s as you grew up?There are so many. I can remem-ber as a little kid, Grandpa having a truck out in front of his house. When I got older I would stop after work and have long talks with Grandpa about things he had been through and how the company started. My Dad was gone a lot when I was a kid; one of the draw backs of the job. I re-member being out on a tiling job when I was 10-12 years old, riding on the equipment, seeing how things worked and even shovel-ing asphalt. All things that you can’t do with your kids now but things were different then. I can remember going to the Brook-lyn offi ce on Saturdays so Dad could turn in his paperwork and the fi rst time I met Junie there, I called him Merlin.

What does it mean to you to be following in your grandpa and dad’s footsteps by working at Manatt’s?I am the youngest of 6 grandsons and the only one that has worked for the company. I had a bond with Grandpa that none of the rest of them did and I will always treasure that.What big changes have you seen since your dad/grandpa worked here compared to now?Things just keep getting bigger. Our equipment and production keeps getting better and better. I think if the M3’s can keep going the direction that Brad and Mike and their generation have taken things from where Junie and Mer-lin left off, that the sky is the limit around Manatts.Any other interesting comments you would like to add.I would normally never write down anything to put in the Mir-ror but I don’t think there are a lot of us 3rd generation guys here so this is pretty neat. M

SPRING 2013 31

Nate Alexander - 3rd Generation, Manatt’s

Division/Position: PCC – Equip-ment OperatorYears of Employment: about 10 totalAny immediate relation that either has worked for Manatt’s in the past or currently works for Manatt’s: -Grandpa – Kenny Alexander – PCC – Retired-Dad - Kenny Alexander Jr. - PCC Paving Superintendant - current-Mother – Lisa Alexander – New-ton Asphalt Crew, Equipment Operator - current-Sister – Cheyanne Alexander – Newton Asphalt Crew, Flagger - currentDid the fact that your relation worked for Manatt’s infl uence your decision to work here?I would have to say defi nitely. I grew up wanting to be just like my grandfather, Kenny Sr., and like my dad, Kenny Jr. Doesn’t every little boy? As I got older, I realized it would be a good pay-ing job and be easy to get hired since my dad was a foreman.What makes me stay at Manatt’s?I ask myself this every year when we’re about half way through a work season, when I’m tired and sore, and don’t want to work any-more. The only thing I can think of is the paychecks are good and we get to learn something differ-ent every day, whether we want to or not.What memories do you have of your grandpa/dad working at Manatt’s as you were growing up?I used to camp with my Grandpa, Kenny Sr., while he was working

on the road. I don’t know how it started but he took me to work with him one day and after that I was hooked. I begged to go with him every day and eventually got my dad, Kenny Jr., talked into taking me with him a couple of times.What does it mean to be follow-ing in your grandpa/dad’s foot-steps at Manatt’s?I don’t really know, I guess! They are big footsteps to fi ll, that’s for sure! I hear a lot of stories about Kenny Sr. and Kenny Jr. on how great they are at what they do. I guess hearing that kind of sparks a little pride in me and, I can only hope, I end up half as great as them.What big changes have you seen since your grandpa/dad worked at Manatt’s compared to now?The biggest changes are defi nite-ly the management and all the rules that we have to follow and all the safety guidelines. M

Kenny Alexander Jr. - 2nd Generation, Manatt’s

Division/Position: PCC – Paving SuperintendentYears of Employment: 18Any immediate relation that either has worked for Manatt’s in the past or cur-rently works for Manatt’s: -Father - Kenny Alexander- PCC –Retired-Son - Nate Alexander - PCC, Equipment Operator - current-Daughter - Cheyanne Alexander- Newton Asphalt Crew, Flagger- current-Son-in-Law - Chris Kramer - PCC, Saw Operator - current

-Sister - Dixie Holland- PCC-Nephew - Jeremy Holland- PCC

Did the fact that your rela-tion worked for Manatt’s infl u-ence your decision to work for Manatt’s? Yes. My dad told me to talk to Duane McDonald to see if I could get a job and make more money. It was 1984 and at that time it was company policy that you could not work for your dad. My fi rst job for Manatt’s was at the Des Moines Airport and the pay was double from my previous job.

What makes you stay at Manatt’s? I like the people I work with and the Manatt family has treated me well for the most part.

What memories do you have of your relation working at Manatt’s as you grew up? I use to go with my dad when I was little and ride on the dozer with him. One summer when I was 14 I had the opportunity to operate a tractor & sheep foot building the running track at Belle Plaine.

What does it mean to you that your father worked here and now your son is following in both of your footsteps? I’m glad my dad worked at Manatt’s and got me interested in it. I’m also happy and proud to see what kind of worker my son has become.

What big changes have you seen since your father worked here compared to now? I guess the biggest change is the equipment. It’s a lot nicer and there is a lot more. The amount of employees has really grown also. M

32 SPRING 2013

A Family Tradition...A Family Tradition...Michael McDonald - 4th Generation, Manatt’s

Division/Position: Newton Com-mercial Asphalt Loader Operator

Years of Employment: 8

Any Immediate relation that either has worked for Manatt’s in the past of currently works for Manatt’s:-Great Grandpa: Vernon McDon-ald – worked for G.W. Manatt Farms, which is now Manatt Farms-Grandpa: Fred McDonald – Brooklyn Truck Shop – Retired-Dad: Mike McDonald – Grinnell Ready Mix Truck Driver - current-Brother: Matt McDonald – Brook-lyn Sealcoat/Stabilization Roller Operator - current

Did the fact that your relation worked for Manatt’s infl uence your decision to work here?Yes, when I was a kid, I told every-one, “I want to work for Manatt’s, just like my dad.” And, now I do.

What makes you stay at Manatt’s?I enjoy my job as a whole; every-body just has some days bet-ter than others. I also enjoy the interaction with the truck drivers hauling to and from the asphalt plant.

What memories do you have of your dad/grandpa working at Manatt’s as your grew up?I remember going to work with my dad on a few Saturdays. I remember when Products was in the middle of town by what is now Casey’s.

What does it mean to you to be following in your grandpa and

dad’s footsteps by working at Manatt’s?It gives me a lot of pride to know that I can give my son the same or better life than I had as a child. It fi lls me with pride to say that I work at Manatt’s.

What big changes have you seen since your dad/grandpa worked here compared to now?The trucks, equipment, pickups, and the company as a whole have changed a lot.

What do you think it says about Manatt’s that so many 2nd and 3rd generation employees work here?A very good, solid local employer that employs a lot of people with steady work. M

Nancy Ollinger - 2nd Generation, Manatt’s

Position: Claims Administrator

Years of Employment: 1985-1988, 1997-present, during the mid 70’s-1980 as summer help or on Saturdays to answer the phone

Immediate relation that either worked for Manatt’s in the past or currently works for Manatt’s:-Father - Jack Gustafson – Vice President/General Manager, Manatt’s, Brooklyn - Retired

Did the fact that your relation worked for Manatt’s infl uence your decision to work here?Yes. I knew the business from growing up with it as part of my family. I knew how proud my dad was to work here and how hard he worked to make it a great place.

What makes you stay at Manatt’s?I stay because I like my job. I like the people that I work with and because it is part of my family history.

What memories do you have of your dad working at Manatt’s as you grew up?When I was young, we would take family vacations. We would usu-ally go camping. Back then, there were no cell phones but there were pay phones. I remember my Dad having to fi nd a pay phone so he could call into work every day. Sometimes, twice a day to check on things.I spent my summers in high school answering the phone and running errands for various people at Manatt’s. During col-lege, I worked on paving crews; I also ran a steel roller and fl agged. Dad always expected us to work hard.One very distinct memory I have of Manatt’s and my dad is from July 20, 1969. I was enrolled in summer school as my mom went back to school to get her teach-ing degree. I was allowed by my dad to skip summer school that day to stay home to watch Neil Armstrong take the fi rst steps on the moon. I stayed at the Manatt offi ce in their “bar” area upstairs where there was a black and white TV. I will never forget that day.

What does it mean to you to be following in your dad’s footsteps by working at Manatt’s?It is a history that I am proud of. He worked hard to make Manatt’s a great place and I try to do the same.

SPRING 2013 33

What big changes have you seen since your dad worked here com-pared to now?It has grown so much. Also, the technology keeps improving.

What do you think it says about Manatt’s that so many 2nd and 3rd generation employees work here?You feel like a family here. M

Jack Gustafson - 1st Generation, Manatt’s

Division/Position: General Man-ager, Vice President, Member of the Board of Directors

Years of Employment: Summers of 1957 and 1958, Full time: June 1, 1959-December 31, 1997

Any immediate relation that either has worked for Manatt’s in the past or currently works for Manatt’s:-Daughter – Nancy Ollinger – Claims Administrator - currentMy other children (Gwen, Karin, and Tom) worked summers for Manatt’s while in high school and college.

Did you encourage your daugh-ter to work for Manatt’s?Yes! I did encourage Nancy to work for Manatt’s. It was when she returned to Brook-lyn in 1985 with her husband, Greg, who we had hired to work in our shop. He is now in charge of the trucking division. I thought Manatt’s would ben-efi t from Nancy’s great people skills and ability to quickly analyze problems. We were a

growing company and needed people with these kind of work habits.

What does it mean to you to have your daughter following in your footsteps by working at Manatt’s?I am proud of Nancy and think she excels at what she does for Manatt’s. She is a very conscien-tious person and represents the Manatt organization in a man-ner that promotes it’s image.

What big changes have you seen since you retired from Manatt’s compared to now?Manatt’s continues to grow. They were the largest Road Con-struction Company in Iowa at the time of my retirement and now they are even bigger.

What do you think it says about Manatt’s that so many 2nd and 3rd generation employees are working here?Manatt’s is a good company to work for and they are good to their employees. They encour-age them to excel in their work and reward them if they do.

Any other interesting com-ments:Manatt’s is respected by their suppliers and their competitors because they keep their prom-ises. They also have many very loyal employees. The manage-ment at Manatt’s has always been visionaries in the business world which has given them the success they enjoy. M

Manatt’s Inc. will be putting on a co-ed slow pitch softball tournament again this summer. All proceeds from the tournament will go to an organiza-tion called “Big Hearts for Tiny Hands”. This organization helps with emotional and fi nancial needs for families that have a baby in the NICU.

The tournament will be held July 12-14. If you are interested in entering a team or helping with the tournament, please contact Brandie Flathers - brandief@manatts.com or Jamie Edelen - jamiee@manatts.com.

34 SPRING 2013

Joyce Paulsen, Wendling Quarries Ron Paulsen,Wendling QuarriesJoyce and Ron are husband & wife

Division/Position: Aggregate Accountant Parts ManagerYears of employment:23 22Any relation that either has worked for Wendling Quarries in the past or currently works for Wendling Quarries:

-sister -Marge DeLarm - Transpor-tation Director – passed away Dec 2011-couple’s son - Brent Paulsen – Part time offi ce help – summer 2012-brother-in-law - Pat Trenkamp – Crushing Superintendent – cur-rent-cousin - Becky House – Transpor-tation Director – current-nephew - Derrick Trenkamp – Stockpile Driver – current

Did the fact that your relation worked for Wendling infl u-ence your decision to work for Wendling?The only relation working at WQI at the time of my hire was my brother-in-law, and I didn’t know him at the time. He married my sister at a later date.Joyce had just been at WQI for 1 year when I started. I was ready for a change and WQI had a posi-tion available that appealed to me.

What makes you stay at Wendling?

A Family Tradition...A Family Tradition...I like the versatility and the chal-lenges that my position has of-fered over the years. My job has evolved from AP clerk, through payroll, through ticketing, into what it is now. It just seems to keep changing and that is what keeps me interested.I have always enjoyed my fellow employees at Wendling. The job has always presented challenges which keeps things interesting and new ideas can be brought to the table at any time.

What are some of the pros and cons to working at the same place as your spouse?Pros: If the weather is bad, or we have car troubles, we can usually fi gure out a way to ride to work togeth-er. (We normally work different hours and therefore drive sepa-rately. We live about 17 miles from WQI.)We can go out to lunch together almost any day of the week.If Ron forgets something at home, he can call and I am only ½ hour behind him.Joyce does all that HR stuff for me. (fl ex plan, 1099, etc.)Cons:Sometimes it is hard to transition away from work when you and your spouse know all the same people. We have a 15 minute rule – you can discuss work for 15 minutes just to transition, and then we need to move on. That keeps us focused on our friends and family also. If I do something stupid in the computer system she is the fi rst one to know. I also haven’t seen my paycheck in years.

What do you think it says about Wendling Quarries that there are so many families that are involved and employed at the same com-pany?WQI has always been such a fam-ily oriented company. The Manatt family has continued to promote that atmosphere. They don’t make you feel like you are just another employee, but a valued part of the organization.

What big changes have you seen since you started working here compared to now?When I started there were only 3 employees in the offi ce. Now we have 11 + depending on where you cut off. The company has more than tripled in size since 1990. I have seen many good people come and go and have made some good friends along the way.When I started, the parts room had very few parts and no com-puter system. With the compa-ny’s growth we now have several warehouses with a large inven-tory and 5 parts people taking care of getting things were they need to go.

Nick Yerington4th generation,Wendling Quarries

Division/Position: Shop Foreman-Robins shop

Years of employment: 7

Any relation that either has worked for Wendling Quarries in the past or currently works for Wendling Quarries:-Great Grandpa Wood - Moscow

SPRING 2013 35

Shop/Maintenance - Retired-Uncle(great) - Jerry Wood, Moscow Shop/maintenance-Dad- Steve Yerington - General Superintendent, current

Did the fact that your relation worked for Wendling infl u-ence your decision to work for Wendling? Yes, because growing up I never heard anything bad about Wendlings or the mining industry. And knowing how many fam-ily members that work here for many years I felt it was a company that I would grow with.

What makes you stay at Wendling? I like this type of work. I like the challenges that come with it and there is always change. The people are great to work with.

What memories do you have of your dad/grandpa/relation work-ing at Wendling as you grew up? I used to go to the offi ce with dad on Saturday morning and draw on the drafting board, worked a lot, going with dad to check pumps.

What does it mean to you to be following in your grandpa/dad/relation’s footsteps by working at Wendling?It shows a lot for the company I think. This industry is what I grew up talking to dad/family about and asking questions about dif-ferent pieces of equipment. It is just part of conversation as a family.

What big changes have you seen since your dad/grandpa/relation worked here compared to now?

There has been more regulations, technology has changed.Any other interesting comments you would like to add.Being the 4th generation to work for Wendlings/mining industry there is a lot of experience and knowledge that helps a lot from them. It when building some-thing and have questions be-cause most the time they can tell you that will work or won’t and help to have a successful fi nished project.

Steve Yerington3rd generation, Wendling Quarries Division/Position: General Superintendent

Years of employment: 41 years

Any relation that either has worked for Wendling Quarries in the past or currently works for Wendling Quarries:-Grandfather - Lloyd Wood: weld-er/fabricator, Moscow - Retired-Father & Mother - Harry and Beverly Yerington - father was a truck driver and mother was a scalemaster for B.L. Anderson in the early 1950’s.-Uncle - Jerry Wood welder/fab-ricator, Moscow (Left to fulfi ll a dream of farming, raising cows, and running a repair business from home)-Nick Yerington: Son, shop fore-man, Robins shop. current

Did the fact that your relation worked for Wendling infl u-ence your decision to work for Wendling? Yes I’m sure it did. The quarry

business was always intriguing to me and in the mid 1960’s WQI was erecting the huge (at the time) stationary plant at Moscow. I would get to go down on oc-casion to see the progress. The overhead belt came into the town of Moscow by rail and I remember my Grandfather and Uncle work-ing on the conveyors to trans-port to the quarry. I remember them building the surge tunnel, conveyors, wash plant, and a lot of the support equipment back then. I wanted to build “Stuff”.

What makes you stay at Wendling? The people are all family. It is hard to know everyone, but as time goes you do get to know most everyone and their families and how they grow.The work is interesting and changes from day to day depend-ing on location, weather, product, or just plain how “Mother Nature” left it in the ground for us to extract.

What memories do you have of your dad/grandpa/relation work-ing at Wendling as you grew up?At the age of 15 (1968) I would get to go in with my Grandfather and/or Uncle and they would let me sit inside of the Impact and weld the Bars up on the week ends. I thought I was something and this was great. Nobody in my school was doing that! When I was 18 and employed at WQI I was still building up the bars. It wasn’t a bad job. At the age of 21 I was still building up the bars and it was getting to be a terrible thing to talk myself into sitting

36 SPRING 2013

inside the Impact all Saturday. To-day we have replaceable bars and we don’t weld them anymore.

What does it mean to you to be following in your grandpa/dad/relation’s footsteps by working at Wendling?In some occupations you will hear comments that “I don’t want my kid working there”. I never heard my family say that and I never have said that. With the “Safety Culture” of today the mining business is a lot safer than many occupations. We do have large equipment and “accidents hap-pen”. But where in the work force out there does as much safety training and retraining to limit any mishaps happen. Mining becomes a conversation item amongst the family as they drive down a road or road construction is happening. Interesting busi-ness to many that are and also to those not directly involved.

What big changes have you seen since your dad/grandpa/relation worked here compared to now?Reglatory issues, Msha regula-tions, DOT specifi cations all have changed tremendously.

Any other interesting comments you would like to add.For as long as I can remember there was always quarry talk in my family. At the fi rst I remem-ber it was from Dad and Mom and there was a yearly reunion with the whole group from B.L. Andersons that they had worked with and they all became a close family back then. Then when I got older the Wendling name became a household name that was heard

all of the time and another family was formed. The Quarry business does seem to get into your blood. At Moscow one summer we had a Preacher come to help out in the summer. He came to work and he said “Mud up to your ass and Dust in your face, something is wrong with you guys.” He worked 1 day and never came back. As in any job there are good days and there are bad days. To be outside and work with what Mother Na-ture put in the ground and turn-ing that into a quality product has some very rewarding points. Don’t forget, “if you can’t grow it, you have to mine it.” That’s some pretty good job security right there.Now the older I get, I remember where the sites were years ago, where they are now, and even to some insight as to where they will be in the future. If you thrive on change then this business is for you. If you need reputation in your life stick with a factory job.We have lived next to one of Wendling’s busier quarries since 1999. I wouldn’t change that for anything. The wildlife that draws to the site, the deer in the back yard, recently a pair of Bob Cats have come around, the frogs that begin to croak in the spring, the Geese that honk and fl y over, the Owls that hoot. What a hoot! I’ll take a quarry in my back yard any day. Mining doesn’t smell and it doesn’t draw fl ies.

Pat (Oats) Trenkamp2nd generation(in the mining busi-ness), Wendling Quarries

Division/Position: Crushing Dept 435

Years of employment: 30+ YearsAny relation that either has worked for Wendling Quarries in the past or currently works for Wendling Quarries:-Son - Derrick -Moscow Quarry, Current-Uncle - Lloyd Michel - Mt. Carroll, Current-Roger Trenkamp - Equipment Moving Dept., Current -Nephew - Shawn Trenkamp- Loader Operator, Shafton Quarry-Current

Did the fact that your relation worked for Wendling infl u-ence your decision to work for Wendling? My father, Frank Trenkamp, owned the Preston Quarry and I started working for him when I was about 14 years old. Now Wendling owns the quarry that my father previously owned.

What makes you stay at Wendling? The crushing business is really the only job I have ever been involved in. I like the fact that being on a mobile crushing crew, we go to different quarries which usually means we have different environments to work in and dif-ferent situations that arise. Over the years, I have met and come to know a lot of people from vari-ous locations. I worth with a great bunch of guys that always seem to get the job done buy still seem

SPRING 2013 37

to have fun doing it.

What do you think it says about Wendling Quarries that so many 2nd and 3rd generation employ-ees are working there?The fact that Wendling is a fam-ily business would probably be a big reason why so many 2nd and 3rd generations continue to work here. I am sure my son, Der-rick, heard me come home many times discussing my job and the stories about what goes on at the quarry. He liked hearing the stories.

What does it mean to you to have your son following in your foot-steps by working at Wendling?I am very proud to have Derrick working for Wendling. It made us that much closer to be able to relate in our job situations.What big changes have you seen since you started at Wendling compared to now?The equipment advancements would be the biggest change I would have to say. Another big change is the fact that cell phones came into play. We used to have to drive back and forth to town in order to contact anyone when we had problems or need-ed parts, fuel, etc.

Any other interesting comments you would like to add.I have always enjoyed being around my co-workers and I would say that you should have with the people you work with, since that is the biggest part of your day.

Derrick Trenkamp3rd generation, Wendling Quarries

Division/Position: Moscow QuarryYears of employment: 3 YearsAny relation that either has worked for Wendling Quarries in the past or currently works for Wendling Quarries:-Father - Pat (Oats) Trenkamp – Mobile Crushing Crew - Current

Did the fact that your relation worked for Wendling infl u-ence your decision to work for Wendling? My Dad has worked for Wendling my whole life so I grew up around it and was familiar with some of the aspects of the business.

What makes you stay at Wendling? I get along with the people that I work with which makes it easy to come to work every day. Some days the hours get long, but the paycheck coming in every week makes it worth it.

What do you think it says about Wendling Quarries that so many 2nd and 3rd generation employ-ees are working there?I think it goes back to the fact that hearing my dad talk about the quarry business all my life, you think it sounds like an inter-esting place to work. There are many different types of jobs that a person can take so even though you don’t want the same job as your parent, there are other op-tions within the business.

What does it mean to you to have your son following in your foot-steps by working at Wendling?As the son in this relationship all I can say is that it’s interesting to be working for the same com-pany as my dad. We can discuss and understand the things that happen at work.

What big changes have you seen since you started at Wendling compared to now?Since I have only been with the company about three years, there really hasn’t been many big changes that I have noticed.

Thank you to those who participated in this interview and for the fun and interest-

ing facts and stories you shared. Hopefully every one

enjoyed this section!

38 SPRING 2013

Todos lo han escuchado, “ el cambio es inevitable”, y nosotros lo hemos comprobado todos los días. Esta es la frase de apertura de Brad Manatt en un artículo del verano en el 1998.

Mientras celebramos 65 anos es asombroso mirar así atrás a nuestra historia para refl exionar en los cambio que han ocurrido y que han hecho a nuestra compañía mucho más fuerte y le permitió a unas personas crecer como grandes líderes. Hace 15 anos , Dan Boyer se convirtió en nuestro director de recursos humanos ,Diane Kilmer dejo de hacer en nomina de sueldos para trabajar en recursos humanos su posición actual, Susan Kriegel- Lint fue contratada para la posición de nomina de sueldos( que avía dejado Diane Kilmer), Jasón Spooner se hiso superindente de pavimento . Comparamos GNA Ready Mix en Des Moines y Curt Manatt fue nombrado gerente general de la nueva compañía.

Estoy seguro que hubo inquietud y mucha alegría por todos esos cambios hace 15 anos. Hoy en día todas esas perso-nas son veteranos en sus respectivas posiciones y es difícil imaginarnos que haríamos sin su gran liderazgo. Estamos entrando en otro gran cambio en la ofi cina de Brooklyn. Estos cambios suceden porque Amanda Manatt ha decidido dejar la compañía. No ha sido nada fácil para ella o para nuestras familia. Extrañaremos su gran liderazgo y su gran lucidez. Le deseo lo mejor en su futuro y con su nueva familia!

La posición de Amanda tenia deberes como controladora de fi nanzas y gerente de ofi cina . Tim Douglas, Amanda y yo nos juntamos para platicar sobre lo que debemos buscar en la persona oh personas que la remplazaran.Después de una lluvia de ideas, y platicas hemos desarrollado un plan de acción que creemos que es lo mejor para la ofi cina de Brooklyn hoy y en el futuro.Manatt’s , Inc. no ha tenido un (una) gerente general de ofi cina desde que Jack Gustafson se fue hace ya varios años , desde entonces los deberes de gerente general de ofi cina han sido dados a diferentes personas y diferentes departa-mentos.

Con eso dicho, creemos que lo primero es buscar un(una ) gerente general de ofi cina.Vickie McDonald es la persona perfecta para asumir este papel por su estilo de liderazgo y su sabiduría de las opera-ciones y información técnica de Manatt’s. Ella también cuenta con un gran equipo en la administración de contratos y ahora que ella se mueve de puesto esto deja crecer a otras personas en administración de contratos Jaime Edelen y Nikki Butler asumirán papeles más grandes. También hemos contratado a Ashley Lint que trabajara en administración de contratos. Ella es nativa de Brooklyn y antes trabajaba en el Banco Estatal de Grinnell.

También hemos discutido en como todos estos cambios le afectaran a Pam Benishek y creemos que Pam merece ser nombrada controladora de fi nanzas , y debemos reconocerla como eso.y eso también inicio cambios dentro del departamento de contabilidad y cera una transición que tomara mínimo dos anos para que todo sea implementado.

Para que Pam pudiera aceptar mas deberes, ella necesita dejar unas de sus responsabilidades . Vemos que tenemos per-sonal califi cado adentro de la empresa para asumir el papel que Pam dejara . Susan Kriegel-Lint asumirá el papel como la nueva supervisora de contabilidad(el papel actual de Pam).Con Susan dejando el puesto de nomina de sueldos necesitamos contratar a alguien para que cubra ese puesto . Laurie Hall fue seleccionada para el papel de nomina se sueldos. Ella ha hecho un gran trabajo en el departamento de contabi-lidad su responsabilidad era pagar cuentas y seguirá haciendo un buen trabajo en su nuevo papel.

Terra Hubber fue entrevistada y seleccionada y asumirá el papel de cuentas a pagar( en el departamento de contabili-dad) Terra hacia el trabajo de entrada de datos y tuvimos que entrevistar a más personas y contratamos a Dawn Delo-rme que tomare el puesto que deja Terra.

Con todos los puestos ya llenos , el entrenamiento empieza. Cada persona que ha aceptado un nuevo papel debe de primero entrenar a la persona que la remplazara. Este proceso no va a suceder de la noche a la mañana. Tomara tiempo y necesitara apoyo para que sea una transición con excito. Yo pienso que todo esto será un poco como fue 15 años atrás , con un poco de inquietud y mucha alegría.

Les deseo suerte a todos en sus nuevos puestos y diviértanse mientras trabajan.

El cambio es inevitable...Brian Manatt

SPRING 2013 39

Para cuando este articulo haiga sido imprimido, Su departamento de seguridad ya estará en transición con seminarios y agendas de entrenamiento a juntas mensuales con el comité de seguridad y visitando los sitios de trabajo. Parece que la temporada más ocupada para nosotros es durante el mes de Febrero a Abril. hacemos nuestro más grande esfuerzo para poner en agenda y completar seminarios importantes y juntas en el estado de Iowa. En nuestro empeño para trabajara con más seguridad y con mas sabiduría, invertimos nuestro tiempo en mas entrenamientos para nuestros empleados.

La inversión que hacemos en cado uno de ustedes tendrá el más grande beneficio en el éxito de nuestra compañía igual a nuestra seguridad y bienestar. Somos muy afortunados en tener maquinaria solida y en buen mantenimiento. Muchas de nuestras localidades son admiradas en nuestras comunidades y en nues-tra industria. Nuestra maquinaria y los talleres son solo una parte pequeña que afecta a nuestro programa de trabajar con seguridad.

Usted sabia que los expertos en seguridad dicen que el 90% de los accidentes son atribuidos al compor-tamiento humano. Eso es difícil de creer pero si nos ponemos a pensar. El cuchillo de utilidad es hecho para cortar cartón y tiene una navaja muy filosa. Y cuando el cuchillo le corta la mano c es porque puso la mano contraria en el camino de la navaja y no puso atención en lo que hacía! Si decide usar guantes en las manos lo más seguro es que no se corte. Los escalones de los camiones y las agarraderas están segu-ros y están diseñados para entrar y salir de la cabina con seguridad .Raramente los escalones se quebran oh fallan causando una caída. Esta en nosotros de no distraernos, hacer las cosas con calma y usar los 3 puntos de contacto para prevenir una espalda lastimada oh un tobillo torcido. los accidentes más simples nos ensenan que tan importante es nuestro comportamiento diario para prevenir lastimarnos.

Nosotros por eso tenemos entrenamientos de seguridad y compartimos lo importante que es trabajar con seguridad para no contribuir a ese 90% y prevenir accidentes. Hace poco ayude como voluntario en nuestro hospital local y ahí encontré un libro que demuestra que tan importante es el elemento humano en una organización y un equipo sobresaliente. El libro habla de que tan importante es promover el buen comportamiento en lo que hacemos y es dirigido así el bien estar de la salud. También puede ser apli-cado a cualquier clase de servicio y le queda muy bien al trabajo que hacemos aquí en Manatt’s Inc. Si le gustaría leer el libro con mucho gusto se los prestare leyendo el libro me di cuenta que nuestras acciones de cada día (buenas oh malas) representan a Manatt’s, Inc. y cada uno de nosotros. todos ustedes son una parte muy importante para la compañía y de ustedes depende el éxito de Manatt’s.

Necesitamos que todos ustedes estén en buena condición física y buena salud mental para poder termi-nar nuestros proyecto. Cuando alguien se lastima en el trabajo le afecta a todas las personas que traba-jan el su alrededor. Aquí todos tienes un propósito! El propósito de un abanderado (flagger( es dirigir el tráfico en las carreteras cuando hay construcción . Las vidas de sus compañeros de trabajo y las de los que transitan las carreteras dependen de su buen trabajo. Cuando usted hace un buen trabajo y toma decisio-nes buenas usted está haciendo una gran diferencia. Se imagina que pasaría si un conductor de cemento no hace su trabajo con seguridad? La planta de cemento no puede mesclar los ingredientes que hacen el cemento, el conductor del trompo(mixer) no puede ir a dejar el cemento al cliente, y el cliente se retrasa en su trabajo. Es muy importante que el cemento sea dejado a tiempo.

Usted se preguntara que tiene que ver con el entrenamiento de seguridad?? Todo los entrenamientos que les ofrecemos. las platicas de seguridad regulares, las reglas de seguridad, los guantes, los chalecos de alta visibilidad , los lentes de seguridad, inspecciones a los camiones todo esto nos ayuda a mantener-nos seguros y a prevenir accidentes. Su departamento de seguridad le da las gracias por sus esfuerzos de trabajar con seguridad. Y estamos listos para trabajar juntos en esta ano 2013!

Noticias de seguridadAdam Grier