Mid-States Wall Panels Erected for Industrial Project in Beloit

When it comes to industrial projects, Mid-States Concrete Industries’ precast products offer a positive impact to the construction process.

Our organization was proud to partner with Corporate Contractors Inc. (CCI) on the construction of a 500,000 square foot speculative industrial warehouse intended for a future tenant, owned by Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based real estate agency.

For this Beloit project, located in the Gateway Business Park, Mid-States Concrete manufactured and installed more than 200 precast wall panels, and four pieces of hollowcore plank.

”We chose precast because it’s kind of the industry standard when it comes to these speculative [buildings],” said Aaron Combs, Project Manager for CCI. “… We chose Mid-States because of our longstanding partnership with Mid-States on these types of projects.”

While CCI considered both steel and tilt-up for the project, precast concrete offered the flexibility and time savings CCI needed for the timeline of the project. The wall panels were erected in roughly 12 days in July 2022.

”We started this project in March and turned it over to the owner in December,” Combs said. “Precast is able to meet our schedule, which provided savings to the client in the overall cost of the project.”

Combs added using precast helped the project run smoothly the whole way through the process. He said Mid-States knocked the shop drawings and the submittal process out of the park and simplified things. Because of that smooth process, CCI and Mid-States were able to spend time coordinating the jobsite up front, making it easier for the team to accept the panels in the field.

When it came to installation, Combs was impressed with the communication from the project management team at Mid-States, in terms of goals set each day and any impacts to those goals. He also commended the installation team for being on time every day, working hard, keeping a clean jobsite, and communicating well with the CCI team.

”At the end of the day, we’ve got a really good product and a happy client and it’s because of partners like you guys,” Combs said.

Mid-States Concrete Industries President Hagen Harker documented two visits to the jobsite in our Precast Chalk Talk series. Watch the videos to learn more about why precast concrete is a great choice for your next industrial project.

Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 36 >>

Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 37 >>

Committed to Quality

When it comes to ensuring the quality of the products manufactured by Mid-States Concrete Industries, our team has 11 dedicated team members focused entirely on Quality Control.

Our quality program is based on PCI Certification AC, C3 and B3-IL, as a PCI Certified Producer. We are also an S2 Certified Erector through PCI.

For example, Mid-States Concrete Industries completes a 300% inspection on our beams and columns, which includes a rebar cage inspection, pre-pour quality inspection, and post-pour quality inspection.

“PCI requires we check all those things, but not to the detail Mid-States does,” said Jeff Morris, Quality Manager.

“Mid-States does quality by the book and that book is our Quality System Manual, based off of the PCI MNL 116 & MNL 117, and ACI and ASTM standards,” added Mike Wolff, Vice President of Safety and Quality.

Mid-States also boasts a comprehensive internal training program for Quality Control, with the ultimate goal that all QC Inspectors are at least PCI Level II certified, and all foremen are PCI Level III certified. Currently, almost all inspectors are ACI field testing technician grade I.

For a beam, our 300% inspection begins in Cage Tie. At that stage, our Cage Tie team members refer to prints and cut the steel and bend all the stirrups in house. Then, they lay out the components and build the actual cage. Following that, a QC technician comes over and double checks all measurements, stirrups, etc. for accuracy against the engineered drawings. All mill certs are tracked and stored electronically.

Then, the cage gets transported over to our Wet Cast facility and put into the formwork. Prior to the cage being placed in the formwork, a QC technician checks the form for cleanliness, oil, elements, etc. to make sure everything is where it belongs.

From there, the QC pre-pour check takes over. The QC technician verifies placement in the form and all other embed materials, checking all measurements and tolerance, that all grout tubes are in the correct locations, and check every dimension.

“This is ensuring both the engineer and the customer are getting exactly what was designed,” Wolff said.

Then, we pour the concrete, which goes through a fresh concrete test every day, testing for air content of the concrete, spread/slump, temperature, and VSI. It is important to note that ahead of batching, all components of the mix design are verified to meet quality standards and a batch test is completed.

Our Quality Control team member remains present during pouring to make sure it is done per standards and samples are made as we are pouring. Then, we let the piece cure.

The next day, the product is stripped from the bed and taken out to the berms where a third QC technician inspects the finished product, verifies all dimensions, and makes sure it looks aesthetically pleasing. Any cleanup work that needs to be completed is handled by the detail crew, inspected again, and then marked ready to go for the customer.

When issues are found, Mid-States Concrete knows just what to do. The team holds weekly meetings to discuss any quality issues in the field and find ways to rectify these in the plant - before they ever make it to the jobsite. And on an annual basis, our Quality System Manual is updated and approved by PCI.

“The PCI Certification Program is the gold standard in my opinion,” Wolff said. “With PCI, we get two unannounced audits every year which entails a comprehensive audit of all our systems and our products. This audit process ensures we are following all quality processes correctly (all the time). Even when no one is watching.”

Committed to Pride

The Lincoln Academy in Beloit, Wisc. Photo courtesy of Corporate Contractors, Inc.

When it comes to work, pride can mean different things to different people.

Generally speaking, pride refers to the satisfaction that an individual gains from something. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines pride as a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction that you get because you or people connected with you have done or gotten something good.

As a company, we take pride in partnering with our customers to innovate, design, and build meaningful buildings in which to live, work, learn, and play.

We strive to live our World-Changing Behaviors – safety before all else; have a yes! attitude; be candid; put yourself in someone else’s shoes; practice the four referrability habits (which are show up on time; do what you say you are going to do; finish what you start; and say please and thank you), and be a little weird!

“One of the most important things for us is to be involved in our community,” said Jeremy Olivotti, Vice President of Preconstruction. “An opportunity to be part of a project where people work, learn, and play gets us very excited.”

For Foreman Patrick Yates, who leads a team in our Wet Cast department, it is important for him to have pride in anything he puts his hands on.

“If someone sees what I’ve done or the work that any of the people I’m with have done, it’s a great feeling inside to know that you did a good job at whatever you did,” Yates said.

For Foreman Matt Phillips, who leads a team in our Fab Shop, it’s easy to take pride in the buildings we build, and nice to be able to see the local ones regularly.

“That’s something we strive for here at Mid-States – to have good quality buildings and all be proud of what we do,” Phillips said.

Foreman Israel Casique said it is easy for him to take pride in what he does because he is doing what he loves.

“I want to show my kids what I’ve done,” Casique said. “I’m proud of (our work) and proud to be in this company.”

And our foremen aren’t the only ones who like showing off their work. Project Manager Brad McCaslin also has an affinity for local projects he has been part of, like Lincoln Academy in Beloit, ABC Supply Stadium in Beloit and the new Stateline Boys and Girls Club.

“I grew up going to the Boys Club at its old location and love the fact that we got to be part of building their new home, which will benefit generations to come,” McCaslin said.

Preconstruction’s Troy Yaun has also worked on projects that have special meaning for him, like the Hononegah High School Field House in Rockton.

“I enjoyed working on this project because both my kids graduated from Hononegah High School and I know a lot of people in the district and administration,” he said of the project.