A Christmas Greeting for You

Thank you!!  We want to take this opportunity to thank each of our customers over the course of the year and those from past years as well. We would not be where we are if not for YOU!  We also want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. May God bless you and your family.

~Jeff, Roberta and the entire staff

WE'VE MOVED!!

Yes, it is official. We've moved our office to West Liberty, OH!  It is a location where we have always dreamed it would be.  We are right on US Highway 68 just south of West Liberty. Don't look for a sign; we haven't change it yet. It still says "Lattimer Custom Installations," who have relocated their office to Urbana.  Installing a new temporary sign is high on my list of priorities while we decide on a more permanent one. We're still getting organized, but for the most part, we are up and running. You should come visit us!  We would love to have visitors. However, don't be surprised by the various shades of siding and roofing on the interior of the office thanks to the previous tenant. A remodel of the office space will be a great winter project for our guys should old man winter shut the concrete business down for a time.

Make the change in your phone books and databases. Our new information is as follows:

Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC
PO Box 605
8874 N. US Hwy 68
West Liberty, OH  43357

Our website and email addresses are still the same.

You know, one of the highlights of the move is that we are only a mile from Mad River Farm Market who sells Hemisphere Coffee Roasters coffee and expresso drinks. They also make great deli sandwiches and salads. That is definitely a move in the right direction from our location in the country. I'd better put myself on a budget, or I could be in trouble.

Piqua Skate Park update

I hear you are asking for an update on the Piqua Skate Park and want to see some photos.  Here you go!

The Piqua Skate Park project, for Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC, dates all the way back to October of 2009. The City of Piqua Parks and Recreational Department submitted a request for bid "Skate Park - Design and Build of Plaza-Style Skate Park." In coordination with Karen Beasley from Beasley Architecture in Bellefontaine, OH, we submitted a proposal to design and complete this project. We had just completed the Urbana Skate Park in June of 2009, and the community and skaters were very pleased with the outcome. Being local, as opposed to bidders from as far away as California, we felt very capable to complete the project for Piqua using local companies and employees. However, the project was tabled due in part to funding issues.
 
The project resurfaced the spring of 2012 when a local benefactor chose to help the community fulfill their dream of a having local, quality concrete skate park for their youth. The chosen site was at Pitzenbarger Park on South Street next to the city pool and behind BK Root Beer. After several discussions, contract reviews and meetings, a plan of action was chosen, and we finally broke ground on Monday, July 9, 2012.

Pumping the stairs

The design that was chosen was very similar to the skate park built at Melvin Miller Park in Urbana, OH. Since we were familiar with that design, it would be easy to recreate it again in Piqua...or so we thought. The park in Urbana was built into an existing hill making the slope for the ramps and stairs a natural flow into the land. The site in Piqua, however, was FLAT. Over 2000 ton of stone has been hauled in and placed. Twelve foot retaining walls were built to hold in all of that stone and dirt. An extra set of stairs on the outside of the skate park was built to make access from the parking lot easier. The layout of the land added an element of challenge to the project that we did not have in Urbana. We, of course, are succeeding in accomplishing a three dimensional work of art using concrete on a flat surface.

Progress as of September 7, 2012

Building a Volcano

Above is a photo of work being done at our shop just yesterday to build the frame for the volcano. This is just one of the features yet to be built. The guys took it to the jobsite today for construction. We have this and a few more features to build, and then we can begin placing the flatwork around the features. Our portion of the project will soon be coming to a close. I am told that the city and the benefactor are very happy with our work and excited about the progress. They are very anxious to take possession of the park and schedule a grand opening, especially since fall is here and winter will soon be upon us. Our plan is to have the project completed by the end of October.

Check our Facebook page for updates on this and other projects by Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC!

Now EDGE Certified

After months of researching, making copies, meetings, making copies, completing forms, making copies, and more meetings, Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC is now EDGE Certified.  For some of you, this may mean nothing. For others, it may be a benefit. For us, it is an opportunity for company growth and for furthering our business into new and larger sectors.

EDGE stands for Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity Program. In the words of the State of Ohio:  "As its name suggests, the State of Ohio’s EDGE program provides an EDGE to small businesses by Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity in public contracting. EDGE is an assistance program for economically and socially disadvantaged business enterprises. The State of Ohio developed the program  because it is committed to making all state contracts, services, benefits and opportunities available  without discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or  ancestry.The state recognizes the need to encourage, nurture and support the growth of economically  and socially underutilized businesses to foster their development and increase the number of qualified competitors in the marketplace." 

For Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC, it is opening doors for us with businesses and markets that we have only begun to visit. We are excited about the opportunities it may bring to us. Being a small, rural business that is woman owned and operated in the construction field, it can be challenging and intimidating at times. (I would love to tell you a story from just last night, but it will take me a little off topic, so I'll stay focused.)

What does it mean for you? If you are a general contractor or public/state funded entity that has a goal to utilize state of Ohio suppliers who qualify under the EDGE program, we may be of benefit to you. We not only help you meet your goals, but more importantly, we offer quality concrete construction and service that will assist you in completing your construction project. 

In either case, we would love to assist you in your next construction project where concrete is needed. Visit our website at yoderconcrete.com or you are welcome to email me at robertayoder@yoderconcrete.com.  How may we help you?

Fair...Job Fair, that is

Many of my business friends and colleagues have displays set up in the Merchant's Building at the Champaign County Fair this week (August 3-10th.) Although I plan to visit them sometime later this week, I will be at a fair of a different type. Tomorrow, August 7th is the 2012 Logan County Job Fair. It is being held at Ohio Hi Point Career Center from the hours of 10:00am - 2pm.  It is being sponsored by Ohio Hi Point and the Logan County DJFS and is open to the public. Bring your resumes. Dress is business casual and children need to be left with a child care provider so you can focus on job seeking.

Stop out and see me. I will have a slideshow of various projects that we have done and applications, of course, for those seeking employment. Let me know if you read this post. See you there!

Keeping Each Other Safe Pays Off

The employees of Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC, were honored with a safety award from the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation at the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce's Safety Council meeting on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Roberta Yoder, CEO, received the award for the employees. The award was given for two different categories: 100% Award for having zero injuries or illnesses resulting in a day or more away from work in the previous calendar year and also the Group Award for the lowest incident rate in our group. This is the second of such awards received in recent years. In 2008, the employees of Yoder Concrete received the 100% safety award and also the Achievement award for 25-percent reduction in incident rate from the previous year. The employees are committed to watching out for each other and keeping each other safe. Congratulations to everyone!

ACI Certification Finisher Training

To continue our commitment to training and excellence in the concrete construction industry, our crews and office staff spent an entire day last week in the conference room learning about the standards set forth by the American Concrete Institute for a Concrete Flatwork Finisher. 

Jeff Yoder, ACI Certified Flatwork Finisher (#00151548) and President of Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC, conducted the training. By using ACI Certification craftsman workbooks and real life examples, Jeff discussed each chapter and reviewed sample exam questions with the attendees. They discussed planning and preparing the site for placing a concrete slab on ground, concrete materials, mixes and admixtures, floor flatness and levelness, concrete equipment and tools, finishing, jointing, curing and the protection of the concrete, and finally concrete finishing problems and possible solutions to ensure a quality project. Everyone was very receptive to the training, and there was much discussion and learning.

On Friday, February 3rd, two of our guys traveled to Columbus for the exam. The test was held at the Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete Association headquarters. The exam consisted of 50 multiple choice and true/false questions and lasted approximately two hours. 

Achieving certification from the American Concrete Institute as a Concrete Flatwork Finisher involves meeting the following requirements: One year (1500 hours) of work experience in finishing concrete flatwork, a passing grade on the written examination, and successful completion of a performance evaluation consisting of either a performance exam or an alternative evaluation based on signed affidavits verifying abilities and additional work experience. If you have enough experience, you may qualify to have the performance exam requirement waived. This alternative evaluation involves proving that you have an additional two years of applicable work experience (a total of 4500+ hours) and are able to correctly perform all procedures covered by the performance exam.  I am happy to report that both of our guys satisfied the experience requirement, and the performance exam was waived. Now we will wait on the results of the written examinations.

Why did we spend the time and money for this training and certification process? As stated by ACI in the workbook, "Being certified by ACI means being recognized by an independent organization of experts in the concrete field. ACI standards for design and construction are recognized and followed around the world..." We, at Yoder Concrete Construction, LLC, want to be the premier provider of concrete construction and be considered experts in our field of construction. Continued training is a must to ensure that our employees are following these standards so we may provide our customers with the best possible results on their projects.

I will report back when we have the results of the exam, although I am sure that both of the guys passed. Next year we plan to send another group for the exam to continue our quest for excellence.

Are you certified in your field? You should be. You should always strive to be the best you can be and learn something new every day. You may consider yourself an expert, but there is ALWAYS something new and exciting to learn.
Best wishes to you!