Meet Our Team: Carlos Calderon, Juan Carmona & Jesus Hueramo

Carlos Calderon, Wet Cast Foreman

Carlos Calderon has been with Mid-States for a total of 11 years and has been a foreman for nine of those years. He spent two years on the beds in Wet Cast before earning a foreman spot. He credits his experience and hard work with earning him the position.

The thing Carlos enjoys most about his work is his teammates. He said they work well together, have good communication and get along well. He also said that every day he gets to learn something new.

The most important thing Carlos has learned at Mid-States is becoming a better person by getting to know others and building relationships. He continues to do what he does because he likes the work and feels comfortable doing it. He also has a family to take care of. Carlos believes more communication is the key to doing great things.

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Juan Carmona, Wet Cast Foreman

Juan Carmona has been with Mid-States Concrete Industries for six years and has been a foreman for four of those years. He started working in Wet Cast and was encouraged by another teammate to become a foreman. Juan likes everything about his work, especially the people he works with. He has become very knowledgeable about the work he performs.

The most important thing Juan has learned working at Mid-States is how to read prints. He said his English has also improved.

Juan continues to do the work he does to provide for his family. He said it is good pay for the work and helps him to afford the things his family needs, and save, too. In his free time, Juan plays soccer in the Rockford league.

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Jesus Hueramo, Wet Cast Foreman

Jesus Hueramo has been with Mid-States Concrete Industries for 11 years and has been a foreman for seven years. He began his career with Mid-States in Wet Cast and credits his previous experience and knowledge for helping him achieve foreman. Prior to Mid-States, Jesus was a foreman at his previous job.

What Jesus enjoys most about his work is his teammates, which are like family, he said. The most important thing Jesus has learned at Mid-States is safety. Safety is so important, he said, because he wants to go home to his family every night. And speaking of family, that’s why Jesus continues to do what he does - to take care of his family.

Meet Our Team: Jeff Morris, Luis Coronado & Refugio Mata

Jeff Morris, Safety and Continuous Improvement Auditor/Foreman

Jeff Morris is currently Mid-States Safety and Continuous Improvement Auditor/Foreman. He has been with Mid-States Concrete for seven years and has been a foreman nearly his entire time here. Jeff started in Wet Cast, but after just a short time moved over to safety and continuous improvement. He credits his previous years of experience in concrete construction for helping him achieve foreman so quickly.

What Jeff enjoys most about his work is interacting with teammates and getting to know them, as well as making sure everyone works safely so they go home to their families every day. The most important thing Jeff has learned in his work is safety. There is no shortcut for safety, Jeff said, and if you follow that guideline, everything will be good.

Jeff continues to do the work he does because he enjoys it, and also to support his family. One thing people might be surprised to learn about Jeff is that he likes to garden. He is currently growing tomatoes, corn, green beans, pumpkins, watermelon and lettuce.

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Luis Coronado, Quality Control Foreman

Luis Coronado is currently a Quality Control Foreman with Mid-States Concrete Industries. He has been with Mid-States Concrete for five years, and has been a foreman for two-and-a-half years. Luis started his career in Elematic, then moved into the Quality Control department, focusing on Elematic, and then became a foreman. Luis credits his work ethic, excellent attendance record, and knowledge of the Elematic product line for helping him achieve foreman.

What Luis most enjoys about his work is the team he works with. He said they get along really well and work well together. The most important thing he has learned at Mid-States is safety. He said in previous companies he worked for, the focus was on doing whatever to get the job done. Here at Mid-States, it is safety above all else.

Luis continues to do the work he does because he really enjoys it. Plus he wants to support his wife and baby on the way.

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Refugio Mata, Quality Control Foreman

Refugio Mata is currently a Quality Control Foreman with Mid-States Concrete Industries. Refugio has been with Mid-States for 13 years and has served as a foreman for four years. He has spent his entire Mid-States career in Quality Control and credits trying his best and his experience with helping him achieve foreman.

What Refugio enjoys most about his work is being involved with the actual building of pieces. The most important he has learned while working for Mid-States is responsibility. At Mid-States, we build buildings and it can be very dangerous if we don’t do it right.

Refugio continues to do the work he does because he likes it and to take care of his family.

Meet Our Team: Israel Casique & Rafael Patino

Israel “Kitty” Casique, Wet Cast Foreman

Israel “Kitty” Casique has been with Mid-States Concrete Industries for 12 years and has been a foreman for seven of those years. His career with Mid-States started in beams with Rafael Patino where he stayed for just a short while before moving over to columns, where he has been forever. Kitty credits his experience and knowledge for helping him achieve foreman.

What Kitty enjoys most about what he does is everything. He takes pride in his work and always wants to do his best for himself and for Mid-States. Kitty continues to do the work he does to pay the bills and take care of his family.

The most important thing Kitty has learned at Mid-States is team work. He said it is very important to communicate well so everyone is on the same page and can work together. One thing Kitty always tries to do is give advice to new team members.

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Rafael Patino, Wet Cast Foreman

Rafael Patino has been with Mid-States Concrete Industries for 12 years and has been a foreman for six of those years. He began his career on the team working on Wall Panels before becoming foreman on beams. He credits his hard work for helping him earn foreman.

While Rafael acknowledges that not everyone woks the same, the thing he enjoys most about his work is the team work among his crew. He continues to do what he does to support his family.

Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 7

Take a walk through our Elematic hall as Hagen talks with our team members about our extrusion process.

Meet Our Team: Ben Vidal & Matt Phillips

Ben Vidal, Wood Shop Foreman

Ben Vidal is currently the Wood Shop Foreman for Mid-States Concrete Industries. He has been with the company for four years and has been foreman for about one year. Ben has spent his entire career with Mid-States working in the Wood Shop and credits his work experience for helping him to achieve foreman. Prior to Mid-States, Ben did similar work at another company for 20 years, and served as a crew leader there.

What Ben enjoys most about his work is that it is always different and he always gets to learn something new. The most important thing Ben has learned though, is safety and quality. Safety is so important, he said, because he wants to make it home to his family every single night.

Although Ben’s days are sometimes filled with lots of changes, he truly enjoys the work he does and gets through by keeping a positive attitude with everybody. Ben continues to do what he does to provide for his family and put his kids through college.

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Matt Phillips, Fab Shop Foreman

Matt Phillips is currently the Fab Shop Foreman for Mid-States Concrete Industries. He has been with the company for about 14-and-a-half years and has been a foreman for more than five years. Matt started his career with Mid-States in Cage Tie, then headed to Wet Cast for awhile, and returned to Cage Tie before becoming Fab Shop Foreman. He credits his hard work and dedication, as well as having teammates who believe in him, as the reasons he achieved the role of foreman.

What Matt enjoys most about his work is the people he works with, and being part of creating meaningful buildings that young children play in. The most important thing Matt has learned though, is patience and how to be a leader at work and at home.

Despite the fact that Matt’s day doesn’t always go as planned, he feels blessed to work with this team and enjoys working for the Harker family. And family is so important to Matt. He continues to do the work he does to support himself and his kids. It is also a goal of Matt’s that if he notices someone isn’t having a good day, he tries to do something to make their day just a little bit better.