Committed to Quality

When it comes to ensuring the quality of the products manufactured by Mid-States Concrete Industries, our team has 11 dedicated team members focused entirely on Quality Control.

Our quality program is based on PCI Certification AC, C3 and B3-IL, as a PCI Certified Producer. We are also an S2 Certified Erector through PCI.

For example, Mid-States Concrete Industries completes a 300% inspection on our beams and columns, which includes a rebar cage inspection, pre-pour quality inspection, and post-pour quality inspection.

“PCI requires we check all those things, but not to the detail Mid-States does,” said Jeff Morris, Quality Manager.

“Mid-States does quality by the book and that book is our Quality System Manual, based off of the PCI MNL 116 & MNL 117, and ACI and ASTM standards,” added Mike Wolff, Vice President of Safety and Quality.

Mid-States also boasts a comprehensive internal training program for Quality Control, with the ultimate goal that all QC Inspectors are at least PCI Level II certified, and all foremen are PCI Level III certified. Currently, almost all inspectors are ACI field testing technician grade I.

For a beam, our 300% inspection begins in Cage Tie. At that stage, our Cage Tie team members refer to prints and cut the steel and bend all the stirrups in house. Then, they lay out the components and build the actual cage. Following that, a QC technician comes over and double checks all measurements, stirrups, etc. for accuracy against the engineered drawings. All mill certs are tracked and stored electronically.

Then, the cage gets transported over to our Wet Cast facility and put into the formwork. Prior to the cage being placed in the formwork, a QC technician checks the form for cleanliness, oil, elements, etc. to make sure everything is where it belongs.

From there, the QC pre-pour check takes over. The QC technician verifies placement in the form and all other embed materials, checking all measurements and tolerance, that all grout tubes are in the correct locations, and check every dimension.

“This is ensuring both the engineer and the customer are getting exactly what was designed,” Wolff said.

Then, we pour the concrete, which goes through a fresh concrete test every day, testing for air content of the concrete, spread/slump, temperature, and VSI. It is important to note that ahead of batching, all components of the mix design are verified to meet quality standards and a batch test is completed.

Our Quality Control team member remains present during pouring to make sure it is done per standards and samples are made as we are pouring. Then, we let the piece cure.

The next day, the product is stripped from the bed and taken out to the berms where a third QC technician inspects the finished product, verifies all dimensions, and makes sure it looks aesthetically pleasing. Any cleanup work that needs to be completed is handled by the detail crew, inspected again, and then marked ready to go for the customer.

When issues are found, Mid-States Concrete knows just what to do. The team holds weekly meetings to discuss any quality issues in the field and find ways to rectify these in the plant - before they ever make it to the jobsite. And on an annual basis, our Quality System Manual is updated and approved by PCI.

“The PCI Certification Program is the gold standard in my opinion,” Wolff said. “With PCI, we get two unannounced audits every year which entails a comprehensive audit of all our systems and our products. This audit process ensures we are following all quality processes correctly (all the time). Even when no one is watching.”

Committed to Pride

The Lincoln Academy in Beloit, Wisc. Photo courtesy of Corporate Contractors, Inc.

When it comes to work, pride can mean different things to different people.

Generally speaking, pride refers to the satisfaction that an individual gains from something. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines pride as a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction that you get because you or people connected with you have done or gotten something good.

As a company, we take pride in partnering with our customers to innovate, design, and build meaningful buildings in which to live, work, learn, and play.

We strive to live our World-Changing Behaviors – safety before all else; have a yes! attitude; be candid; put yourself in someone else’s shoes; practice the four referrability habits (which are show up on time; do what you say you are going to do; finish what you start; and say please and thank you), and be a little weird!

“One of the most important things for us is to be involved in our community,” Said Jeremy Olivotti, Vice President of Preconstruction. “An opportunity to be part of a project where people work, learn, and play gets us very excited.”

For Foreman Patrick Yates, who leads a team in our Wet Cast department, it is important for him to have pride in anything he puts his hands on.

“If someone sees what I’ve done or the work that any of the people I’m with have done, it’s a great feeling inside to know that you did a good job at whatever you did,” Yates said.

For Foreman Matt Phillips, who leads a team in our Fab Shop, it’s easy to take pride in the buildings we build, and nice to be able to see the local ones regularly.

“That’s something we strive for here at Mid-States – to have good quality buildings and all be proud of what we do,” Phillips said.

Foreman Israel Casique said it is easy for him to take pride in what he does because he is doing what he loves.

“I want to show my kids what I’ve done,” Casique said. “I’m proud of (our work) and proud to be in this company.”

And our foremen aren’t the only ones who like showing off their work. Project Manager Brad McCaslin also has an affinity for local projects he has been part of, like Lincoln Academy in Beloit, ABC Supply Stadium in Beloit and the new Stateline Boys and Girls Club.

“I grew up going to the Boys Club at its old location and love the fact that we got to be part of building their new home, which will benefit generations to come,” McCaslin said.

Preconstruction’s Troy Yaun has also worked on projects that have special meaning for him, like the Hononegah High School Field House in Rockton.

“I enjoyed working on this project because both my kids graduated from Hononegah High School and I know a lot of people in the district and administration,” he said of the project.

Committed to Expertise

These are just some of the Mid-States Concrete Industries Wall Panels that were part of CCI’s Phoenix Warehouse Distribution Center project.

Since 1946, Mid-States Concrete Industries has produced structural and architectural precast concrete systems that provide our partners with high quality building materials with sustaining performance.

With dedicated preconstruction, engineering and design, project management, production, and installation teams, Mid-States has what it takes to meet your precast needs and find the right solutions for your projects.

Your project starts with our Preconstruction team, which boasts more than 140 years of combined experience. The team includes dedicated sales professionals, estimators, and a preconstruction engineer to get your precast project off to the right start. Our sales professionals are eager to talk with you about upcoming projects and, with the expertise of our preconstruction engineer, help you design your precast project. Once we have worked together to create drawings, our estimating experts will put together an all-inclusive proposal for your review.

Nicole Shelton, Project Manager, CHC, with CORE Construction, said she appreciates the ability to ring up Troy Yaun, one of Mid-States Preconstruction Sales team members, and bend his ear about how the precast schedule works and get details to help her prepare for a future project and accommodate that schedule. She recently worked with the Mid-States team on CORE’s El Paso-Gridley CUSD project, which included nearly 5,000 square feet of Hollowcore and Solid Slabs and 178 Wall Panels.

“I know that our preconstruction team really appreciates the collaboration of Mid-States on the design of the project,” Shelton said.

Once your team has awarded the precast portions of your project to Mid-States Concrete, it heads to our Engineering and Design team. With more than 100 years of combined experience, our Engineering and Design team asks questions and listens to your objectives and goals so we can apply the latest design and engineering techniques to your projects. Once our drawings are approved by your team, we’ll send shop drawings to our production team to get to work on the manufacturing of your project.

Often working simultaneously with Preconstruction and Engineering and Design, our Project Management team focuses on how to install your precast components in the most effective way for your jobsite. With more than 70 years of combined experience, our Project Management team works with your team to ensure access to the project site, the right size crane, the best sequence to install the precast concrete, the number of loads to deliver per day, and so much more.

“I’ve always been impressed by Mid-States’ communication and making sure we are looking ahead at things and making sure we are trying to get ahead on issues or anything that may come up in the future,” Shelton said.

As a PCI-Certified Plant, the Mid-States Concrete Production team adheres to strict standards regarding the quality planning and the process of manufacturing precast and prestressed concrete components according to requirements specifically developed for the types of products being manufactured which provides greater assurance to owners, architects, engineers, and contractors that precast concrete components will be manufactured and installed according to stringent industry standards. With combined experience of more than 1,000 years, our Production team ensures that each of your custom precast components is designed to its exact specifications to ensure pieces can be installed smoothly once they arrive on your jobsite.

Mid-States Concrete is also a PCI-Certified Erector, which provides assurance that the high-quality precast concrete components produced by our PCI-Certified Plant are erected to the exact standards expected by owners, developers, architects, contractors, and the precast concrete structures industry as a whole. Our Installation team has a combined 170 years of experience installing your precast concrete components. This team ensures that the highest level of safety, quality, and efficiency are maintained throughout the installation of your project.

“[The Installation Team] did great,” said Aaron Combs, Project Manager with CCI. “The teams were there on time every day. They worked hard. They did everything they could. They kept the site clean and the communication from your team to my team was great.”

Mid-States Concrete recently worked with CCI on their Phoenix Warehouse Distribution Center projects, manufacturing and installing 246 Wall Panels.

“The quality was pretty spot on,” Combs said. “The punch list was pretty minimal of things that needed to get corrected and the guys took care of it.”

Working with precast from Mid-States Concrete gave CCI the flexibility needed on how to erect the building on a tight timeline. The project was started in March and turned over to the owner in December.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got a really good product and a happy client and it’s because of partners like you guys,” Combs said.