Dale Henderson Sells and Delivers One of the Biggest Jobs Ever Attempted by TUCCO

Tucker Concrete Company (TUCCO) exceeded all expectations when it teamed up with Clayco Construction Company of St. Louis, MO, to help build the Solo Cup Company’s 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center in Social Circle.

Solo Cup Company’s distribution center in Social Circle (click for larger image)

“TUCCO supplied 45,000 yards of concrete for the project,” said TUCCO General Manager Dale Henderson. “For starters, we poured a 7-inch-thick slab of concrete that covers 30 acres. We also poured the tilt-up wall panels and the concrete needed for exterior paving.”

TUCCO began work on the project in early November last year and poured concrete every day, weather permitting, until mid-March. Initially, the company poured 40,000-50,000 square feet of concrete at the site every day. By the time the project reached its climax, the pours averaged 65,000 square feet per day.

“In addition to the changing weather conditions, managing the sheer volume of materials needed for the job represented our greatest challenge,” Henderson said. “Having hundreds of loads of material come in each day made logistics a crucial consideration. Our outside haulers, Cousins Group and Lewis Trucking, really worked hard to supply our material needs.”

To mix all these materials and deliver the concrete in the most efficient manner possible, TUCCO also rented a portable concrete plant from Mark Twain Ready Mix Company of Hannibal, MO. “If we had tried to mix the concrete and ship it from our Covington plant, we would have tied up 25 trucks each day,” Henderson said. “By setting up a portable plant at the construction site, we only needed seven trucks assigned to the project.”

The project also occupied the vast majority of Henderson’s time as it unfolded. It kept Quality Control Technicians Felton Moon and Thurman “J.J.” Clark busy as well. “Felton did all of our in-house testing on the material we supplied for the job and J.J. oversaw daily operations,” Henderson said. “Both of them touched every yard that went into the project in some form or fashion.”

Their efforts and those of the drivers involved paid off. TUCCO employees reported no accidents or injuries on the entire job. Equally impressive, the company lost only three of the 4,500 loads that went into the job. Henderson credited the entire TUCCO family with making the project so successful.

“We appreciate the efforts of all of our employees who had to take on additional responsibilities and fill in for Felton, J.J., and myself while we were spending all of our time on this job,” he said. “Without their help, we would never have enjoyed the success that we had.” The time, effort, and attention to detail that TUCCO put into the project also made a huge impression on officials at Clayco, according to Henderson.

“One Clayco official told me that they had poured with hundreds of ready mix companies through the years, and that TUCCO was the best that they had ever worked with,” Henderson said. “That means a lot coming from a company that has done hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business through the years.

“The best thing is not one of the regular customers had to wait because of this job,” said Buddy Pittard. “Dale has always given TUCCO his very best efforts and TUCCO has benefited greatly. This tremendous job proves that we can enter the ‘portable plant’ process and that we have the ability to pour almost any size job. Thanks, once again, to all of the employees, suppliers, trucking companies, and especially to Dale for a job well done.”

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