In construction, it is often said that the best solutions are the simplest—the most direct and straightforward. According to Vice President Greg Arvai, Ontario based IECS is in the business of simple, specifically “innovative infrastructure solutions that save time”. It is evident, in conversation with Arvai, that clarity and honesty have been, and continue to be, key to the development of the company’s concrete products and working relationships. Integrity in construction involves constantly striving to be more efficient, not only in immediate terms such as speed, but in the long-term best interests of the local community and environment.

“It’s kind of just the way we operate,” Arvai says without fanfare. “It’s just our business model, which is beneficial for everyone.” This model is based on two core product lines: custom precast concrete structures and Cable Concrete, a trademarked articulated concrete block mat system. Up until now, the precast service has only been available in the Ontario region, but this will soon change. Meanwhile, Cable Concrete has been internationally exported for years as a versatile solution for erosion control. The two sides of the business are distinct but interrelated, as Arvai explains over the course of our conversation.

Precast concrete was the starting point of the company founded in 1984 by Arvai’s father, Louis. Originally pouring concrete for domestic driveways and sidewalks in Ontario, he and his partners then started precasting patio stones. A series of progressions and modifications to the precast product line resulted in Cable Concrete, a turning point for the growing business. An ACB mat system connected by cables, it forms flexibly to the ground’s surface and can be easily cut to fit irregular shaped areas. Initially only available in one block size, it evolved through lab studies and testing into the fully engineered offering it is today, customizable according to the stability required.

Looking at online images and videos of Cable Concrete being installed and in situ, one is struck by the appealing simplicity of its appearance. Rows of neat blocks adhere easily to the undulations of the landscape, belying the sophisticated engineering that went into their design. The mats can be completely vegetated, ultimately becoming invisible. This solution is also safe for pedestrians and animals because the blocks cannot be dislodged or vandalized like loose rocks. It is also a more sustainable option, compared to riprap, which is a non-renewable resource and one that is an expensive import to places where it is not native or readily available.

“Ultimately, we’re just coming in as an engineered solution and offering support.”

When Cable Concrete is imported as an engineering solution, the actual blocks will be made locally, with local materials and local workers. The steel molds are manufactured by IECS in Canada, from where they can be shipped to any location across the globe. This mode of production is a factor in the company’s capacity to turn out large-scale erosion control and pipeline protection projects in far flung locations, while maintaining a lean staff. The economic and other benefits are not just one-sided though. Job creation, along with a sense of real involvement in and ownership of projects is a positive legacy to leave with the communities who will live with these structures. Local teams will be supported by training and project management teams from IECS who will oversee the project. As Arvai describes it: “Ultimately, we’re just coming in as an engineered solution and offering support. And other than that, it should be looked at as a local product and a local success story.”

As Cable Concrete took off in the late 1980s, the precast product line was also growing and diversifying. It began with headwalls in residential areas. Louis and his then partner Charlie kept seeing them in the plans of projects for which they’d been brought in to install concrete mats. The two wondered if they could cast them and after some experimentation, IECS was the first to market with a precast headwall. From there they diversified further, on to larger box culverts, box manholes and bridge elements, drawn to anything unique and challenging, a factor in their move towards heavy civil structure projects. One of very few companies willing to take on some particularly difficult challenges, IECS still offers a fair price. As Arvai tells it: “Our norm is these unique projects. We can offer the market custom structures with a non-custom price tag and offer competitive solutions.”

These bespoke solutions also have the additional benefit of streamlining the process for contractors considerably. Specializing in large scale structures, IECS offers segmental precast alternatives that save contractors time and money, while also cutting down on other processes such as shoring, dewatering, and bypass pumping. Items traditionally formed and poured on site can take 4-8 weeks to do so, whereas ones manufactured off site at the IECS facility can be installed in a matter of days. There are also improvements in quality, when the pouring is done in a completely controlled environment, within an enclosed facility. Quality is improved and weather variables do not need to be accounted for, making scheduling easier. Contractors also do not need to sub out as much work; they can use their own team and their own equipment to lift the large precast structure from the trailer and move it into place.

“We want to be fair. We want to offer good products. We will continue to grow our product line.”

On the subject of sustainability, Arvai explains that it is built into the company’s business model, as shipping and unsustainable resources are avoided as much as possible. The concrete used today is also more environmentally friendly than the type used previously and the production facility is constantly upgraded with the latest energy efficient tools and materials. A newly acquired rebar bending and cutting machine promises to reduce energy consumption and steel waste by 20%. On the subject of ethics, Arvai is frank: “We want to be fair. We want to offer good products. We will continue to grow our product line. We will continue to grow the solutions we offer our industry. We’re not going anywhere. We’re very excited about the future.”

There’s a lot to be excited about. In 2021 the team will commence work on the biggest project it has ever been involved in to date: the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation Project, owned by Metrolinx. The bridge will be constructed in collaboration with design engineer IBT and contractor Graham Construction. Work is also underway with multiple contractors on five of the new dam projects on the Trent-Severn canal, for Parks Canada. IECS will build the bridge decks for these.

At the time of writing, the potential for geographical expansion is growing. Cable Concrete is in the approval process for the list of products officially endorsed by the Ministry of Public Works in Chile. This approval would create opportunity and diversification, by opening doors into previously uptapped markets. Once this approval happens, the product can be specified for use on any federal or government funded projects, and will naturally also come into the radar of private sector contractors. As Chile strives to be a leader in innovation in the region, Arvai believes that this will also open the door for business in surrounding countries in South America.

Recent big investments in facilities will support these and other projects. The Ontario manufacturing shop was recently extended with a 25,000 square feet area specifically for custom precast products. It is in the location that the Davenport Diamond Bridge will be manufactured. The facility boasts a 70 ton overhead crane indoors, along with an 80 ton rubber tire gantry crane in the yard. Land has also been purchased in Saskatchewan, with plans to establish a new fabrication shop and headquarters in Humboldt, to offer customers in the west of Canada a greater range of precast products beyond Cable Concrete.

“He speaks proudly of the current staff roster, which he describes as bright, open-minded, and a great mixture of young and old.”

In contrast to many, the IECS experience of the pandemic was not one of surviving but thriving. 2020 was in fact the company’s most successful year to date. Lots of existing contracts were deemed essential by the government, allowing work to continue, albeit with additional safety measures. There were no virus cases among workers at the manufacturing facility or those based in the office. Despite, or perhaps because of, the surrounding uncertainty that unfolded as the pandemic raged on, the 110-strong team became closer. Arvai attributes this to a positive work culture. Despite the scope of its endeavours and ambition, there is still something refreshingly down-to-earth about this family-run business, with its base in a small rural area. For Arvai and his father, maintaining a “big family” feeling is important. He speaks proudly of the current staff roster, which he describes as bright, open-minded, and a great mixture of young and old.

Optimism around the work is another key value. “We have a core belief that we can solve any problem,” he says, and this clearly extends beyond engineering challenges to interpersonal dynamics and international collaborations: “We want people to know that there is no country or city that we won’t visit. If there’s an opportunity where we can come in and offer a solution, then we’re willing to make the journey and establish the relationship and the trust that is needed to do business, and build that solid relationship with new people. We love meeting new people.”

Throughout the construction world, branding is key. To staff and company leaders, the goals and principles that drive their organization are evident; these mechanisms are take place on any given day. However, it is vital to the ongoing success of a company that these values are recognized outside the walls of the company. Branding can be subject specific, a logo, tagline, website, all are aspects of a brand and are equally important in developing and sharing the company’s message. What is at the core of this, though, is trust. By sharing what is important to a company, it can allow them to match with business partners that share these values. It can also enable both sides to enter into projects, safe in the knowledge that they are on an equal footing with clear, identified goals. With secure branding, a customer or client can feel confident enough to grow and develop a relationship with its suppliers. Through these synergetic links, both sides succeed together. The decision to launch the Evercast brand is the result of many years work, growth and consideration. Evercast is, by its very nature, an anomaly; it is an emerging brand that comes with a rich history.

Strategic acquisitions can be fraught with difficult decisions such as identifying the correct company. Simply put, this is not something that can be achieved at a distance. It is only by engaging with each other that the true bedrock of a company can be seen. It is at this level; the level of principles, values and goals, that the potential for a successful merger can be assessed. Once acquisitions take place and the inner workings of the organizations are teased out, the next challenge is deciding on how to present this new company to the world. In essence, this is an ongoing experience for the team at Evercast, one they have faced for many years. The organization is the parent company that brings together some of the most prodigious and successful precast concrete companies in the market including, American Block Co. Inc. and Eastern Vault of Princeton, WV; Dellinger Precast of Denver, NC; and, Seminole Precast Manufacturing Inc. of Debary, FL.

While these companies have been a collective for quite some time already, the launch of the Evercast brand is a recent one. Jeff Chastain, CEO of Evercast, explains that careful consideration has gone into this decision. ‘’We do a lot of market studies to understand the value of each of our brands in the market they serve. For us, there is real value in the Dellinger precast brand, or Eastern Vault or Seminole Precast. We felt it was really important that we maintain those brands in the market because the customers and suppliers and the communities we serve have really grown to value and respect those brands.’’

Clearly, there is importance in continuing to identify and operate under these successful and well regarded brands, however, Jeff feels that there is also a huge benefit of tying the companies together in a formal and public way. Given that the range of companies now encompasses a large geographical location, this offers massive benefits in terms of possible expansion to new markets and also, quite simply, stronger leverage in terms of buying power and economy of scale. ‘’That was really important to us. Now that we are bringing together all of these really great local and regional precast and prestress businesses, we wanted to find one common thread. Not only are all these great things happening in your local market, but it’s also connected with several other highly respected precast or prestressed concrete manufacturing companies in their respective markets. So we wanted to be able to show our customers that the business they have grown to love for the last fifty years is still there. We are still able to support you in the local markets, but now we are part of an even larger organization solely focused on precast and prestressed concrete.’’

“We can now offer services to customers and projects that are concentrated on both the I77 Corridor, which Dellinger serves, but also the I85 Corridor, where Precast Supply serves.”

Recently, Evercast welcomed another addition to the fold in the form of Precast Supply. This move was celebrated hugely internally and the company is very excited to move forward with a growth mindset for all divisions of the group. As with all previous stages of the company’s growth, this very recent acquisition adds value, experience and opportunity to the Evercast group. However, it is important to stress that the benefits are mutual, stretching wide across the portfolio in order to offer the best products and services to each company’s clients. ‘’We are very fortunate with the recent acquisition of Precast Supply in Concord, North Carolina. In fact, we have just completed it. They actually make a lot of similar products to Dellinger Precast that are in our existing portfolio and are in a similar geographical location. However, it allows us to expand our market share and our product offering. We can now offer services to customers and projects that are concentrated on both the I77 Corridor, which Dellinger serves, but also the I85 Corridor, where Precast Supply serves.’’

This combination of geolocation and product offering is a key incentive in growth and acquisition. While it might seem a strange choice to some given the similarities with Dellinger Precast, incorporating Precast Supply into the Evercast portfolio will now result in huge benefits and opportunities for all involved. This acquisition is the result of carefully considered and strategic planning. ‘’Geography does play a very important role in this, but having said that, it’s also about the types of products that you make. So, we look for both product type as well as geography to help support our acquisition growth initiatives. That is one of the great synergies that we get out of this, how do we take the best products and services that are offered by one company, and transfer those down to another company to help the entire organization win and grow.’’ As a result, existing customers of both companies will now receive huge benefits, something that Jeff is keen to emphasize. ‘’What we can now do is serve our customers better by sharing capacity. We can now apply the appropriate project to the most appropriate facility. For example, we could pair a project up with the facility that has the most available capacity or that is closest to the job site. By doing this, we will hopefully be able to win more projects and improve our service commitments to our customers.’’

Given that there are now five companies within the Evercast group, each with its own diverse history and heritage, it is important to ensure that there is a sense of cohesion among the various entities. It is a challenge that any organization would face in these circumstances and has led to, what Jeff sees as, a vital aspect of the Evercast brand. At the outset, the main stakeholders needed to ensure that core beliefs can permeate across the portfolio of companies. The group set upon identifying a collective vision; to create value for its customers by ‘’providing innovative, best in class precast and prestressed concrete products and services.’’ This vision now serves as a destination for the group, one which will be reached, mainly, by following its guiding principles, a set of values which were also identified at the company’s outset. Ranging from respect and communication, through safety and value and, perhaps most importantly, trust. They provide the group with a roadmap for the group vision, both short and long-term; standing as a set of rules that company adheres to. ‘’It keeps us grounded correctly. It keeps us understanding what our true North is and where we’re going. The guiding principles demonstrate how we are going to work in any situation or context. Whether that’s internally or across different company platforms, working with our customers or our shareholders or communities, you know that those guiding principles dictate things. It has evolved into becoming the foundation for how Evercast goes to market. Our portfolio companies have those guiding principles as their background as well.’’

For a company such as Evercast, the future is already preconceived. The group, backed up by its guiding principles, will continue to grow in two distinct ways. Further acquisitions of like-minded companies that match with its outlook and quality will continue to strengthen its portfolio, but additionally, there is also a clear target for the group to grow organically. The potential to mix product lines between companies will be of huge benefit as the group grows, allowing clients in multiple regions to experience the range of skills and services within the Evercast stable. However, Jeff is under no illusions that, at the heart of this growth and strengthening is the one thing that bring these companies together; its workforce. ‘’Employees are the most important, most valuable asset that you have in any business. We definitely want to make sure that we don’t go too quickly through acquisitions and forget to do a really good job on the integration side. If you fail at that, it can do some real damage to the business as opposed to doing good things. The reality is that, with acquisitions, there is some change, but not all change is bad. The really big thing is showing our employees that yes, this can, and will, be better than where you were before. We don’t come into these businesses to shrink. We come to grow.’’

There is no one path to success. Leveraging labor advantages, strategically deploying capital, or just simply hiring the best can get a company there. One or more of these practices might see your company thrive for five, ten, twenty years. Then there is the kind of success that lasts for a century. There may be only one surefire way to build a company that has the sort of multi-generation staying power that most can only dream of – the art of staying ahead of the competition. Nestled amidst rolling hills in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, Stone & Company has parlayed this strategy to grow into, not only the region’s foremost concrete and builder’s supply outfit, but one of its most successful companies, period. 

Initially suppliers of lumber and coal, C.M. Stone took sole proprietorship of the company in the 1930’s with his son Wendell joining him at the helm a few years later. After serving his country in World War Two, Wendell returned home to Pennsylvania and went out on a limb. He built the company’s first concrete plant in Connellsville, employing the strategy that would ensure Stone & Company’s long-term success and finds them operating an array of different plants at seventeen locations today. While that initial plant built seventy years ago is still in operation, it is their continued determination to embrace innovation within the industry that allows for continuous growth all these years later.  

Stone & Company opened their precast concrete division in 1995. Current Manager John Schultz came aboard the following year, starting as a welder and working his way up the hierarchy. He assumed his current mantel ten years ago. Schultz recounted, “Initially we focused on catch basins and manholes for developments. That was the housing boom. That was our main focus in the beginning.” Illustrating the company’s keen eye for spotting which way the industry winds are blowing Stone & Company engaged early on with Redi-Rock retaining wall technology. Schultz continued, “We got into Redi-Rock in 2004, pretty close to their inception, they might have been in business maybe a year or two prior to us getting into it. It might have been, at most, ten percent of our revenue coming in for many years, and now it’s well over fifty percent of our revenue. It’s a really expanding market. We diversified more into ready rock as the housing market shrank with development in the area. We’ve diversified into ready rock in order to keep growing.” Getting in early was the key component. Locking down their local counties as the proprietary Redi-Rock supplier enabled Stone & Company to effectively build a moat around their precast division. As the demand for Redi-Rock products has grown over the years, this instinct to be an industry first-mover has paid huge dividends.  

Never willing to stand on their laurels, Stone & Company continually push to expand their services and offers. Having gained state approval four years ago, the company is now attempting to achieve a similar objective with PennDOT, which would allow the company to self-certify and stock PennDOT approved materials. Shultz said, “The process is that they have to have a job spec for it. We have to make the block after we get the order for the block. And tag that block for that specific job.” Instead of having put out an order for a block for each specific situation they can just use their own self-certified stock and immediately address the client’s needs. Shultz added, “These are excellent for emergency repair situations and Pennsylvania has identified that. They are trying to get us through the self-certification process so we can have some yard stock and better serve them.” This desire to improve the efficiency of the process typifies the thinking that has brought them such success. 

“As the demand for Redi-Rock products has grown over the years, this instinct to be an industry first-mover has paid huge dividends.”

The willingness to embrace the cutting edge of the industry confers multi-faceted benefits. New markets occasionally emerge and being able to answer the needs that arise along with them is a massive boost. The fracking boom of the last fifteen years in Western Pennsylvania has required massive amounts of construction service solutions. Seemingly overnight, an entire new industry moved right into Stone & Company’s backyard and as a result of their foresight they were able to step up and meet much of the new industry’s demand. Schultz said, “When fracking took off in Western Pennsylvania, it really sparked a lot of lot of growth opportunities for Redi-Rock, building walls into the entrances of these fracking areas. Usually, they’re cutting through. We have cutting roadways and those roadways need support. That was a big boom in our area along with some compressor stations. We did quite a few of those one, one very large one was about twelve thousand units.”  

The diversity of products they have come to offer in precast and the range of expertise they can provide affords Stone & Company the flexibility to answer the call of a wide-array of jobs. The company is currently working on the stately Fayette County Courthouse, supplying them with five hundred concrete units. A local branch of Somerset Trust currently being built in Greensburg is another big project relying on Stone & Company for their precast solutions. This mix of municipal and private development projects combined with the aforementioned fracking jobs and emergency repair materials provide a robust platform for the company to continue to grow and scale. 

Of course, constantly being at the tip of the spear comes with an element of risk. There are potential pitfalls awaiting early adopters of new technologies and modalities. Just because something is new doesn’t mean it is immediately better. There can be difficult decision to be made; when is early too early? Schultz said, “It’s always a question. They’re always introducing new product. They introduced the new XL line, which is a much larger block. We jumped on board pretty early last year. The forms are very expensive. They’re four to five times as much as the normal form.” But, the benefits of being right on time are significant. Shultz continued, “If I know it’s a winner, I jump on right away. They introduced the ledgestone face and they had a smaller product that I knew I really liked. The salesman mentioned that they’re going to introduce this in our larger block. And, you know, I told him, as soon as it comes out, I’m purchasing fifteen new liners for the space because I knew it was going to be very popular. It’s by far our most popular face now. It’s always a decision on when to jump on.” 

Another challenge with being at the forefront is the simple matter of communicating to clients the nature of new product solutions. Getting engineers on board requires considerable time and effort and this has to be built into considerations. There is a lag time before uptake of a new product reaches critical mass and becomes commonplace. The Redi-Rock gravity walls are one such example. According to Schultz, “The big thing with Redi-Rock is we can do a much taller gravity wall as opposed to the competition. And not only a nicer, aesthetically pleasing wall, but in the end is something that’s cost savings when you hit that six-to-twelve-foot range. And with these new XL blocks, we can even go taller.” Once again, the choice to go first has paid itself back many times over. Schultz added, “In Western Pennsylvania in particular, it was a home run for us. We knew we wanted to get into to it from the start because of the rolling hills of our area. We have some really poor soil conditions that deal with a lot of clay. And to be able to offer a bigger block to do these gravity walls was a big advantage for us.” 

One hundred years ago, it was coal and lumber. Seventy-five years ago, it was the first concrete plant. Multiple locations and manufacturing capabilities followed. Eventually the Redi-Rock innovations came. What has always been there is the willingness to have one hand constantly on the state of the art. Schultz summarizes it neatly, “Our owners are great. Any idea that I think is a potential growth area they almost always back me. They are always asking me what do you think? What do you think we can get into?” Nothing in business is guaranteed but maintaining success over the course of a century requires significant forethought. Sometimes you have to break the mold to continue to grow.