This month we are pleased to feature StructureCast as part of our Meet a
Precaster blog series. The following answers have been provided by Brent Dezember, StructureCast President and NPCA Secretary/Treasurer.
Don’t forget to check out all of our Meet a Precaster blog posts and if you’re an NPCA producer member and would like to be featured in a future Meet a Precaster post, please send an email to NPCA’s assistant director of communication, Kirk Stelsel.
Q: Where are you located?
A: 8261 McCutchen Road, Bakersfield, California, 93311. We are two hours north of Los Angeles in the beautiful Central Valley of California.
Q: How long have you been in business?
A: We have been StructureCast since January 1997. Prior to that time, we were Bakersfield Precast, founded in 1970.
Q: How long have you been a member of NPCA?
A: We have been a member of NPCA since 1990.
Q: Why did you join NPCA and what are the best benefits?
A: We joined NPCA to meet other precasters; share best practices, common experiences and goals; and expand our industry knowledge. In addition to the networking opportunities, other benefits are the educational programs (both online and at the Precast Show), the technical support, access to the resources on the NPCA website, and the certification program. The high standards of NPCA membership and certification have helped us focus on quality control and efficiencies in production, which in turn have helped us to continue to improve and provide our customers with better precast products.
Q: What products do you produce?
A: Custom design-build products, architectural wall panels, Easi-Set & Easi-Span pre-engineered buildings, StoneTree fence systems, structural wall panels, retaining wall structures, sound walls, pre-stressed and post tensioned products, bridge girders, double tees, columns, box culverts, headwalls, vaults, stormwater structures, and drainage inlets. We consider ourselves a custom precaster and a strong value added team member for owners, architects, engineers and contractors in the design-build process.
Q: Have you introduced any new products lately?
A: Our newest product line is the Easi-Set/Easi-Span pre-engineered buildings and the Stonetree fence panel system. The Easi-Set/Easi-Span buildings offer fast installation and a maintenance free, cost effective and secure alternative to traditional masonry building. The Stonetree fence system, with its appearance of natural stone combined with the strength and durability
of reinforced precast concrete, provides a decorative, secure fence product. In addition, the system allows for rapid placement of more than 1,000 linear feet per day, which dramatically cuts down time and cost on the jobsite for the contractor.
Q: What are the top attributes of precast concrete?
A: Production efficiency, durability, consistent quality, sustainability, custom applications, versatility and speed of installation, which is a cost savings for our customers.
Q: What has your company done to fight off the recession?
A: We have diversified by broadening our product line in an effort to expand our market base. One of our strengths as a custom precaster is our willingness to take a look at any project – whether or not it’s designed as precast – and offer a precast solution for our customers and the market. We have streamlined all of our processes – sales, estimating, production, quality control and project management. We are also more carefully reviewing our budgets and costing systems so we can more accurately and effectively control our costs and increase our margins and overall profitability.
Q: What have you see in your area as far as recovery?
A: We are seeing a glimmer of a recovery here in California. However, California is a very large and a very competitive market and we cover all of it – with both architectural and structural precast. The volume and quality of our bidding opportunities is improving, but the contract awards and the money is still very tight out there. The owners and general contractors are trying to squeeze every last cent out of every contract.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: We want to continue to be out front as a precast producer and a leader in bringing precast concrete products to a larger market. We plan to aggressively market precast concrete solutions to architects and engineers for the design on their projects. We want to increase our partnerships with more design-build teams to develop more innovative opportunities for precast projects. Most importantly, we are committed to producing the highest quality precast products, providing superior customer service, and unsurpassed on-time delivery. In short, we want to put precast concrete and StructureCast on the map!
The opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the member, and not of NPCA or any of its employees.
Nice article Brent. Good looking product and jobs. See you soon in New Orleans.
Dan Wagner
Trying to locate business in Bakersfield , CA. that had precast 4 foot section of concrete pipe in the late 1980’s. We purchased this from a Bakersfield company whose name I cannot remember. Need phone number
John and Susan Shaw
John and Susan, we have a search function on our site that will allow you to find NPCA members based on location. Perhaps that will help you remember the name of the company. You can access the search at http://www.precast.org/find. Thank you for the comment!
Good to see a quality company in the spotlight! Our firm has worked with StructureCast for almost 10 years on projects that utilize our proprietary RediStair system. StructureCast is one of our top producers, and Brent and his crew have been great to work with. We look forward to many more years of progress together.
For any GC or owner that is looking for a pre-cast company to produce a “custom structural” piece, we certainly would endorse and promote the StructureCast team.