Resolution #1: Use More Precast in 2025

Precast concrete and precast, prestressed concrete excel in strength, sustainability, functionality, and durability. As it integrates easily with other systems and provides versatility, efficiency, and resiliency, it is a smart building choice for high performance structures. Resolving to use more precast concrete in 2025 can provide major benefits to your upcoming projects.

What are some of those benefits? We’re glad you asked! Check this out:

Aesthetic Versatility
Precast boasts a variety of finishes, custom form liners, graphic concrete, thin brick and more. It also comes in a nearly unlimited array of colors, forms, textures, and shapes.

Speed
We know your time is valuable and your project timelines are tight. Precast components are manufactured off-site, reducing the amount of time and space needed onsite. Additionally, all precast components are shipped to the jobsite for a just-in-time delivery, and erected as they arrive (when you chose Mid-States as your precast installer).

Early Input
Early design assistance is available to our customers - including layout, design, and value - as early as the schematic design phase, helping customers keep their projects on time, on budget, and on target.

Open Floor Plate, Column-Free Space, Shallow Floor Thickness
An open floor plate allows a flexible interior that can accommodate a variety of needs. Column-free space allows additional flexibility in floor plans and layouts. Shallow floor thicknesses with fewer beams provide unobstructed ceiling cavities for mechanical and electrical systems.

Fire Resistance
Precast concrete provides inherent fire protection and resiliency. Concrete does not combust and therefore helps contain fires in a controlled space. Precast hollowcore has a minimum one-hour fire rating and a structural topping can increase that up to a four-hour rating. When used for separation, precast concrete also helps prevent fire from spreading throughout a building or jumping from building to building.

Ability to Withstand Severe Weather
Precast concrete provides excellent protection against high winds, storm surge and flying debris, among many other high-performance attributes. It is often used in FEMA shelters, residential, institutional, public, government, and other structures providing protection.

Safety
Off-site manufacturing keeps the jobsite cleaner and eliminates trades from the jobsite, improving logistics and enhancing worker safety.

All-Weather Construction
Precast concrete is manufactured in a plant and trucked to the jobsite when needed. Unlike other products, precast concrete can be installed in cold weather, eliminating temperature related delays.

Sound Attenuation
Precast concrete’s mass provides an economical acoustical barrier to exterior or interior noise penetration. Very little sound is transmitted through precast concrete, making for a quieter, more comfortable living space for occupants.

Inedibility and Resistance to Mildew and Rust
Vermin and insects cannot destroy concrete because it is inedible. Concrete is also not susceptible to rust or mildew growth.

What projects are you working on for 2025? How can we be of assistance to help ensure your projects are successful?

Since 1946, we have partnered with our customers to innovate, design, and build meaningful buildings in which to live, work, learn, and play. We know you could work with any number of precasters and we are always grateful when you choose to partner with us.

Contact us about your upcoming projects today >>

What's your favorite holiday movie?

By Stephanie Kohl
Customer Experience Manager

In all my life, there has never been a Christmas movie (or any movie really) that I have loved more than It’s a Wonderful Life. There’s something about sweet little Zuzu Bailey so confidently uttering the words: “Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings,” and knowing in my heart of hearts that George Bailey’s guardian angel Clarence has received his wings in that exact moment that makes me tear up every time. Has anyone ever not teared up by this point of the movie?! By the time they sing “Auld Lang Syne,” I’m officially a blubbering mess. But we can’t help what we love and what I love about this movie is that it reminds me that even in the darkest of times, hope is not lost; that what we do matters; and that even though we might think something is “no big deal,” it can have a profound impact on a person. Don’t give up. Appreciate what you have. One person can make a difference. When It’s a Wonderful Life opened in theatres in 1947, it fell far short of breaking even, leading to its declaration as a box office failure. When the owner of the film’s copyright failed to renew its rights in 1974, the film entered the public domain, making it fair game for cable networks to play over and over again at no cost to the networks, catapulting it to the Christmas season staple it is today. Hope need not have been lost.

Whether your favorite Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf, Love Actually, The Santa Clause, or Die Hard (which every year leads to the argument of whether Die Hard is in fact a Christmas movie) - or you celebrate a different holiday with different holiday films entirely - make sure to slow down and refill that hot chocolate, enjoy the chill in the air and the magic of the season surrounded by loved ones and reminisce about all the things that make life wonderful.

”You see, George, you’ve really had a wonderful life.” - Clarence Oddbody.

What’s your favorite holiday movie?

From our families to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Extensive experience in concrete solutions for educational institutions

Experience:
Your educational institution project is important. It’s more than just a building or addition. It’s the auditorium where children discover their love of theatre, the gymnasium where children learn to shoot three-pointers, and the science lab where future scientists find their passion.

That’s what makes Mid-States Concrete Industries’ extensive experience in concrete solutions so vital to your project. From auditoriums to natatoriums, gymnasiums to safe rooms, classrooms to computer labs, and everything in between, Mid-States has completed hundreds of educational institution projects. That means you get the exceptional experience you need most when the stakes are this high.

Innovation:
At Mid-States, we turn innovative concepts into structural reality.

Precast concrete is known for its inherent sustainability and energy efficiency benefits, making it perfect for school settings. Mid-States has the unique ability to get even more out of precast concrete with our innovative building solutions.

  • Achieving large open spans through our total precast system of beams, columns, hollow core, and wall panels;

  • Matching the decades-old brick of an existing structure;

  • Attaining the look of your dreams with unique and personalized form liners and graphic concrete technology;

  • And more!

For a full look at some of our projects, visit msprecast.com/education-institutional

Expertise
Design/Engineering Expertise
When it comes to educational institution projects, trust is important. Your completed building is a place where children will learn, grow and play for years to come. We know that and we don’t take it lightly.

At the beginning and throughout the build process, our Design and Engineering Team will ask questions and listen to your objectives and goals. Then, we’ll apply the latest precast concrete products and techniques to your project, adhering to the strictest safety standards in the industry.

Learn more >>

With Gratitude at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is truly one of my favorite times of year. I love baking four different pies, setting the Thanksgiving table, spending time with my family, and laughing over way too much turkey, stuffing, and candied sweet potatoes. Controversial opinion here, I know, but I also really love cheesy corn casserole, which we generally only make at Thanksgiving and sometimes Easter.

It’s also a great time for some reflection. As I think about the past year, I realize just how quickly it flew by.

On a personal level, we experienced some major changes at home. In January, my parents moved in with my almost-seven-year-old and I, and we spent the first half of the year transforming my basement into a home for my parents. We’ve had our ups-and-downs as we adjusted to our new living situation, but looking back over the past 10+ months, I am so grateful to be able to share my home with my parents. We take care of each other. And my son has been able to grow an already amazing relationship with his Boda and Papa to a level of closeness he’d never have gotten to without them living with us. One of my favorite habits we’ve developed since my parents moving in is sitting down to dinner together. We are so blessed that my mom is not only an amazing cook, but enjoys cooking. I am endlessly grateful for my mother’s daily nourishment of not just our bodies, but our hearts. The woman cooks with love. And at that dinner table, my son’s favorite way to start the meal is by going around the table and requiring everyone to share their favorite part of the day. There’s nothing better than a daily reflection to recognize at least one positive thing that happened each day.

On a professional level, we also experienced some major changes at Mid-States. In January, International Concrete Products and Mid-States Concrete Industries joined forces through an acquisition of the former. And in April, Mid-States acquired Architectural Precast, Inc. of Browntown, Wis. This growth brought so much excitement as we got to welcome new team members into the Mid-States Concrete Industries family, team members who offer an incredible amount of expertise, dedication, and love for precast concrete and thrive on helping customers’ projects succeed. With these acquisitions came expanded opportunities for precast building solutions for our customers. We are so grateful to all of our customers for trusting us to be part of such amazing projects making a difference in the communities in which we live, work, learn, and play. There’s nothing like driving by projects we’ve been a part of and pointing them out to our passengers… every time we drive by (haha). I’ll never forget being part of the Wright & Wagner Lofts Riverfront Building project. Located right in the heart of downtown Beloit, my son would request at least weekly drive-bys of the project while on our way home from work and daycare. He was so excited to watch the project progress from nothing but an empty lot to the beautiful building that overlooks the river today and provides 83 units that individuals and families now call home.

We all have so much to be grateful for. I encourage you to take a page from the book of a six-year-old and take a moment every day to name the best part of your day. Even when things seem dark, you can almost always find at least a flicker of light. Reach for it and encourage it to burn brighter. With gratitude this Thanksgiving, we can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

Cheers!

Stephanie Kohl
Customer Experience Manager