The Mobile-Crete team proudly stands in front of one of its specialized volumetric trucks at the plant site in Gregory. From left are driver Matt Ackerman, driver Terry Clark, sales manager Dean Kittel, driver Luis Otero and operations manager Robert Masterson. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
Mobility, flexibility and concrete don’t seem to go together, unless you’re dealing with the experts at Mobile-Crete, a U.S. Concrete company. Mobile-Crete puts its concrete plants on wheels to deliver just the right mixture of water, aggregate and cement to any customer from large-scale commercial to small residential projects.
Standard tumble-drum trucks require concrete to be mixed at a central location then delivered to the job site. Through the use of volumetric trucks, Mobile-Crete custom mixes and measures on site, which means the concrete is fresh and customers only pay for the amount actually used.
According to Dean Kittel, the Mobile-Crete territory sales manager for the Corpus Christi area, the technique of volumetric concrete has been around since ancient times.
“This is how the early Romans used to build the aqueducts,” he told Corpus Christi Business News. “We are taking an old form of making concrete and applying it in a new way.”
Each truck is measured by the volume of rock, sand, cement and water required for the specific mix design of the client. These raw materials are delivered by truck in separate bins and mixed on site.
Opened in November 2016, Mobile-Crete is new to the Coastal Bend. Its home site is just across Harbor Bridge in Gregory. However, the business is not new to South Texas.
“We’ve have been in business since 1971 and have worked closely with the oil and gas industry until we were purchased by U.S. Concrete in 2014,” Kittel said. “Our headquarters is located in Euless, and we have five locations all throughout South Texas.” Aside from the Gregory/Corpus Christi site, Mobile-Crete also has locations in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, utilizing the same volumetric trucks.
The company prides itself on its commitment to customers and its professional staff.
“With our talented group of employees, which includes our quality-control department that makes these mix designs as well as our flexible trucks, we’re able to offer a higher level of customer service in the concrete delivery industry,” Kittel said.
Sales manager Mike Wohlfahrt agreed that having highly skilled staff and great teamwork has made working at Mobile-Crete satisfying and enjoyable.
“What I love most is our people,” said Wohlfahrt, who has been with the company for four years. “We’ve got a great group of knowledgeable workers who are dependable and committed to our clients. Our staff in Corpus Christi ranges from seasoned veterans to younger workers with tons of energy. Everyone here is very customer-focused. We achieve our goals by helping our clients reach their goals.”
Kittel, who was invited by Wohlfahrt to join the company in September, is responsible for marketing Mobile-Crete’s services in the Corpus Christi area.
“I’ve come from a customer service background in many different forms and have been involved in the concrete industry as well,” he said. “Since I started working here, it’s so refreshing to see a concrete company that is flexible and able to provide solutions for the customers. We service the underserved.”
The flexibility of the mobile trucks allows the company to cater to a variety of customers.
“No order is too small and no job is too big,” Kittel said. “We can set up on site and produce hundreds of yards in a day for a large project. At the same time, we also can help a patio contractor who just needs two to three yards of concrete, which is basically a third of a truck full.”
Mobile-Crete also takes on overnight road repairs. The company’s volumetric trucks provide the ability to pour very high early strength concretes (HES) such as a Quadrates mix, which can achieve 3000 PSI in three hours. They also mix 4F (Fast Fix Flowable Fill), a rapid-setting, low-strength material that can be walked on 10 minutes and paved over within an hour. These unique rapid-setting products enable Mobile-Crete to provide unique solutions that ready-mixed concrete companies can’t deliver — and which can only be produced on site with its system of delivery.
Scheduling for concrete in the spring and summer seasons, which are the busiest times for construction projects, can often be difficult because of the demand.
“Here at Mobile-Crete, we provide the best availability and scheduling in Corpus Christi,” Kittel said. “Not only do we provide concrete, we also help customers who aren’t sure exactly what they need to come up with concrete solutions. We become their partner and work with them to develop a product or design that they need. If you need help with your concrete decisions, call us, and we will be your partner in offering a solution.”
Mobile-Crete is located at 4934 U.S. 181 frontage in Gregory. For more information, call Dean Kittel at (361) 243-1173
or visit mobilecretetx.com.
