After closing on four Capitol Aggregates Ltd. ready mixed plants serving Austin and outlying areas, Texas Concrete Materials Ltd. has taken the lead in
CP Staff
After closing on four Capitol Aggregates Ltd. ready mixed plants serving Austin and outlying areas, Texas Concrete Materials Ltd. has taken the lead in one of the Lone Star State’s remaining fragmented markets. The properties join two ready mixed operations with which Austin investor Jack Wheeler launched Texas Concrete Materials in mid-2005. Being the largest supplier of ready mix concrete in central Texas is something we take seriously, he says, adding, We would not have that distinction without Capitol as our aggregates supplier.
His charter plants had operated as Shumaker Ready Mix for just over a year, and Rainbow Materials through mid-2004. The existing and new plants and mixer fleets will be brought under a central dispatch platform scheduled to go live later this month. Six plants and 109 trucks is quite an operation but we feel there is still room for expansion, says Texas Concrete President Mike Wallace, noting that the acquisitions have netted a management team with a combined 400 years experience in the ready mixed business.
Texas Concrete is part of Wheeler Cos., which in 2005 acquired the asphalt business of San Antonio-based Capitol Aggregates. Wheeler has brought the four central Texas plants under Ironhorse Asphalt Ltd., and has two additional sites in the works.
Capitol Aggregates President Bob Engberg notes that the most recent transaction reflects the company’s long-range focus on cement and aggregates, with immediate investments including equipment overhauls and production start up at existing and new quarries serving Austin. Capitol will continue to supply Wheeler Cos. crushed stone, sand, and gravel to support its expanded Austin operations, he adds.