After 60 years, County Materials keeps an eye on the future
MARATHON, Wis. (February 27, 2006) – To reap the fruits of success, one must first sow the right seeds. That's why County Materials holds fast to the principles that have made it a prominent supplier of concrete materials in the construction and landscape industry while continuing to expand its influence.
What began with one man, a truck and a block machine in 1946 has become considerably more complex in the years since County Materials was founded in the rural town of Marathon, Wis. County Materials' 60th birthday seems an ideal opportunity to reflect on the impact the company has had on its industry as it's grown to include more than 30 locations that serve the Midwest, including Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota markets.
Over recent decades, County Materials has expanded aggressively both geographically and in the product lines it offers. In addition to the structural concrete block that has served as its bread and butter from the beginning, County Materials has diversified into a Prestress, Precast & Pipe Division, a Ready Mix Division, Landscape Operations and Brick Operations.
Today, County Materials manufactures and offers load-bearing and decorative masonry units, including tumbled masonry, concrete and clay brick, sound-absorbing units, natural and manufactured stone veneers, and innovative lines of burnished and glazed masonry. Their state-of-the-art facilities produce bridge girders and hollowcore roof and floor systems for residential and commercial applications, as well as water-management materials such as round and elliptical pipe, box culverts, manholes and other precast products. The company also manufactures a variety of landscape products including retaining wall systems, pavers, patio furniture and garden accessories, and a line of products for municipalities, restaurants and convenience stores.
And as the new century dawned, County Materials, still headquartered in Marathon, also became more aggressive in its expansion to new geographic areas:
- 2001 - acquired a 100-year-old Madison-based manufacturer of concrete block
and landscaping products - 2002 - purchased a retail and contractor location in Oak Creek, Wis.
- 2003 - bought a concrete-block operation, along with related masonry
inventories, in Waukesha, Wis. - 2004 -added manufacturing locations near Milwaukee.
- 2004 - expanded into Illinois with retail and contractor locations in Chicago,
Carol Stream and Champaign, and acquired precast facilities in
Charleston, Springfield and downstate in Mount Vernon.
The scale of the company's projects has grown with its capabilities. County Materials has gone from selling block to local residents and small businesses more than 50 years ago to supplying the precast linings of the twin 1.8-mile Light Rail Transit tunnels that run under Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and to providing all of the ready-mix and precast girders and columns that comprise the massive 1,572-foot-long McCleary Bridge in Wausau. County Materials also supplied the ready-mix for the 80,000-square-foot Noel Fine Arts complex at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. All three projects have garnered a number of awards for the company.
County Materials is in its third generation of family operation. Current company president Tim Sonnentag is a son of previous president John Sonnentag, who himself assumed the presidency in 1982 from his father, late founder Merlin Sonnentag. A number of family members hold key positions within the company, and it's such familial connections that allow County Materials to place a premium on customer service and product quality over the appeasement of shareholders.
"This industry moves quickly and is incredibly competitive," Tim Sonnentag said. "So it helps that we're able to carry our family's vision and values through several generations - and so many areas - of this business. It lends stability and credibility to our business dealings that not a lot of companies can offer."
While County Materials remains the leading distributor of clay brick in Wisconsin, the company also introduced two innovative concrete masonry veneers. Heritage CollectionT designer concrete brick has steadily gained in popularity among cost-conscious builders and designers seeking an affordable and readily available alternative.
County Stone Old World Tumbled concrete masonry incorporates the look of natural quarried stone at a fraction of the cost.
With its all-weather durability and ability to retain temperatures, concrete masonry can help home and business owners realize long-term savings in both insurance premiums and energy costs.
Shopping centers, office complexes, banks, churches, schools, even Lambeau Field in Green Bay . businesses and projects of all types have tapped County Materials to achieve a look of permanence and stability through the use of concrete.
The home of the Green Bay Packers features scores of structural concrete block and one of the company's most innovative offerings, Ultra Burnished decorative concrete masonry. This unique block puts its inherent aggregates on display on a finely ground face.
Another product, Premier Glazed™, offers bold and subtle coloring that has proven popular in high-traffic areas, and areas that require special adherence to sanitation codes.
The Light Rail Transit tunnel, one of County Materials' proudest achievements, is just another example of the company's involvement in large-scale precast, prestressed concrete projects. Designers and engineers have also chosen the company's box culverts for smaller-scale tunnels along recreational trails, its hollowcore plank for multi-family residential uses, its pipe for storm water management and jacking projects deep underground, and its columns and girders to bridge highways and roads great and small throughout the Midwest.
Because of the continued growth in the landscape industry, the company patented and manufactures the County Block Retaining Wall System, which incorporates blended colors and a highly textured split face into what had been a genre dominated by precast and pour-in-place concrete walls. County Materials puts concrete's compressive strength to use in its County Pavers, the base member of its line of interlocking pavers. To this, the company has added the multi-dimensional Lexington StoneT pavers that, when tumbled, recall the grace and charm of the Old World. And to ensure no landscaping job is too small, the company created Aggregate finish landscaping accessories - birdbaths, planters, tables and benches - that feature small stones anchored in concrete and sealed under a clear coat.
County Materials also believes in being a responsible neighbor, as well as contributing to the community and the industry overall. The company has made many notable donations to technical college bricklaying and masonry apprenticeship programs designed to prepare students for the field of bricklaying and masonry. County Materials has given informational packets to schools about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's Green Building Rating System and has provided financial support for the National Concrete Masonry Association's Education and Research Foundation. In addition, County Materials regularly contributes products to Habitat for Humanity Chapters to help low-income families get back on their feet.
After 60 years, it's been a combination of family-driven work ethic, innovation and timely response to market demands that has kept County Materials on the cutting edge of the construction and landscape industry. And it's that same business model that is sure to keep it there for many years to come.