Evercast Concrete Inc. is a pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete focused manufacturer with a footprint that today services Washington DC, down to Florida, and all the points in between. Evercast Concrete was featured in our May 2021 issue, and as expected, it has gone from strength to strength. While the industry inches slowly towards a tentative return, post pandemic, the company has been steadfast and committed to its core values. According to CEO of Evercast Concrete, Inc. Jeff Chastain, the company has spent the past year “continuing to grow the business without jeopardizing our values or commitment to our customers.”
Chastain explained how everything that has been going on in the past eight to ten months has been “pretty diverse and active.” Since the feature in 2021, Evercast Concrete has acquired two more companies – MST in Central South Carolina and Winchester Precast in Winchester, Virginia, which Jeff describes as a “pretty substantial change.” On top of this, the company has added a new bridge line at MST, which Chastain says will be “up and running in the first quarter of [the] calendar year 2022.” Evercast Concrete has acquired what used to be a mothballed facility with Seminole Precast in Macon, Georgia, which will service the gap between MST in South Carolina and Seminole Precast in Florida and is due to be opened within the same timeframe.
With this new facility, both Chastain and Michael Barnes, VP of Sales and Marketing, hope to be able to provide more products and services to their customers in that part of the country. With an already impressive footprint, this new facility will further expand the company’s reach, allowing Evercast to develop and grow into an area that was not previously achievable by their facilities. Chastain explained, “we made the strategic decision to open up Macon, to be able to serve customers and really be able to connect the gaps between our southern market in Florida and our Mid-Atlantic market in South Carolina.” The company has “completely revamped” and spent capital on upgrading this new facility, aiming to be ready for commercial sales in the aforementioned timeframe. The new facility will be, according to Chastain, “focused primarily on the infrastructure market,” – a venture Jeff describes as “very exciting.”
Evercast Concrete has an “aggressive growth strategy” which includes both organic growth achieved by bringing more products and services to existing facilities, and acquisitions – “growing our footprint into strategic geographies to help us grow and create more value across a broader range of areas.” The company plans to continue focusing on precast and prestressed concrete products and services – with one important aim at the forefront of what they do, as seen in their Vision statement; creating value for the customers and communities the company serves. To do this, they aim to improve their current capabilities and grow in these product ranges.
“Evercast Concrete has an “aggressive growth strategy” which includes both organic growth achieved by bringing more products and services to existing facilities, and acquisitions.”
Since May 2021, Evercast Concrete has successfully executed one of its organic growth strategies by bringing new product lines –including both wet and dry utility products—as well as box culverts to Seminole Precast in Florida and North Carolina. Chastain explains that Evercast Concrete are “adding lots of products, adding lots of people and we’ve added a couple of businesses along the way too,” describing the past year as “pretty aggressive… but a great growth year” for the company.
Every one of Evercast Concretes’ plants is NPCA certified. Each of their bridge lines (at Eastern Vault in Princeton, West Virginia and now at MST in Central South Carolina) is PCI certified. Currently, the company is in the process of completing the capital project and bridge line in South Carolina – a line which Chastain describes as a “compliment to the products that we currently make in West Virginia” and one that will allow them to reach customers that they would have been unable to serve from only their West Virginia facility. Chastain explains that the company is “excited to get that line up and running” – the line required a large investment, but due to the high demand for the types of products Evercast Concrete make across the bridge business, the investment is one that the company believes will be well made.
Chastain spoke about why exactly he believes Evercast Concrete can be so successful, attributing it to “the brands and businesses that we have been able to successfully acquire,” explaining how each of the businesses “bring so much to the table in the markets they serve themselves. By connecting with other businesses in common markets [it] allows us to share best practices and exchange knowledge and ideas across different facilities,” which in turn mitigates the risk of any serious mistakes occurring. “It’s a pretty big undertaking to say you’re going to get into the bridge business,” adding that having an expert staff and the chance to share knowledge across multiple sites allows Evercast Concrete to take that venture on with reduced risk while also “ramping up” the learning curve for that new facility to ensure effective timeframes for our customers. Serving their customers in a time-efficient manner is a very important aspect to the service that Evercast Concrete provides – and one that the bridge line expansion is a “great example of”, with Chastain explaining that “the team in West Virginia was, and will continue to be, greatly involved in not just the construction of the facility, but also its operations.”
Regarding the future of Evercast, Chastain believes that “the future is bright for us,” attributing this positive path forward to a “really strong team, strong businesses and growing markets” where demand remains high for the company’s products. “We have a team that’s focused on the vision and guiding principles of our company to grow the right way and to create value for our customers.” This all while continuing to invest in the markets and their businesses to “help create even more value for their customers than they do today,” with Jeff saying it is “an exciting place to be.”
Chastain explained that the company is flourishing, saying “we’re growing, we’re hiring – we’re adding more people every day,” and going on to explain that they are “changing the way that our businesses have worked together and how we share ideas and best practices.” Evercast Concrete are continuing to execute their acquisition strategy, with Chastain explaining “we’re going to continue to look for the right pre-cast and pre-stressed businesses that are in our target markets that share the same values that we do and are interested in becoming part of a larger precast and prestressed organization focused on creating value for our customers and creating great opportunities for our employees and the communities in which we serve.”
Proudly explaining that throughout the many setbacks recently, Evercast Concrete continues to thrive, Chastain concludes, “in spite of the many setbacks and challenges that every business is facing with the pandemic and supply chain constraints,” Evercast Concrete continues “working through the health and safety of our employees and ensuring that we’re doing the right things for our organization and our communities – we’re still able to continue to grow and do things that are going to create long-term value.
“it’s an exciting time to be in the pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete space in the US.”
