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February 16, 2011     Indian Valley Record
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February 16, 2011
 
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8B Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011 Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter l00Vhir,00 Cato Ready Mi:00 celebrates soli,t years Pr ,files in BUSINESS WHITE CAP READY MIX Diana Jorgenson Staff Writer djorgenson@plumasnews.com White Cap Ready Mix be- gan 35 years ago with a young man named Bob Hig- gins who owned a rock crusher in Sloat. He saw a need for cement at the east- ern end of Plumas County. Turns out, he was right. "It was when Graeagle was really bodming," he said. His wife and partner;-Dix- ie, added, "People were real- ly starting to build and they were getting cement from Reno." In the intervening years, the pair built up the busi- ness and established loca- tions in Portola (Delleker In- dustrial Park) and Chester. Today a fleet of 18 trucks, of- ten marked with their slogan "Get a load of this," criss- cross the county carrying ce- ment and aggregate. The company serves parts of Lassen, Sierra and Nevada counties as well. In the intervening years, the Higginses have raised three children. One, Bob E., has worked for the family- owned business for a num- ber of years already. Daugh- ter Bailey is a student at Chico State, and her sister Michelle works and lives in Sacramento. "What we're really all about is providing quality- controlled ready-mix prod- ucts. There's a lot to it," said Dixie. During peak seasons in past years, White Cap had as many as 50 employees. Now it employs only 15. The re- cent dive in the national economy delivered a major blow to the business. Bob doesn't expect to see those "glory" days again -- "It'll never be like it was," he said. Dixie thinks it might be eight - 10 years before any substantial number of homes are built in Plumas County. Bob pointed out that banks aren't lending money to buy homes already available; why should people build new ones? "The residential construc- tion picture is pretty dismal -- not just here, anywhere you go," he said. All the same, White Cap is open even in the winter when all other concrete busi- nesses are closed for the sea- son. "We're the only ready-mix open all winter in Plumas County, every year," he said. Why don't the others stay open? They both smile. "'Cause it's hard. It's a pain to do it in the winter. We don't make much money on it, but we stay open for our customers." Dixie explained that they have to heat all their water and aggregates. Sometimes vehicles have to be chained up and drivenon icy roads. Special additives and meth- ods must be used for winter concrete in ordm: to adapt to lower temperatures, but White Cap does it and has done it for 35 years. And it keeps their employ- ees employed. The Higginses are blessed with a very loyal workforce. "We have a lot of employees that have been with us for a long time," Bob said. Frank Lopez has been with them for 30 years. Patty Laster has been with them for 20 years and Deborah Wilkinson for 15. Jack Han- son, Jessie Baker and Ron Kent have also been there for 15 - 20 years. Those employees will be kept busy this year. White Cap Ready Mix is the suppli- er of concrete for the Span- ish Creek Bridge. That's a lot of concrete. While it won't bring back those 50-employ- ee payrolls, it will keep their slimmed-down crew of 15 on the roads. The Higginses are very excited. White Cap is a lucky find for the bridge contractors as well, since the company will be able to deliver to both ends of the bridge from their two locations. Bob expects that the job may keep them busy even into the next year. "It's a very good job. It's a high spec job. It's not your normal concrete," said Bob. "Building that bridge is a $16 million or $17 million job; it's one of the biggest jobs that I can ever remem- ber coming to this county." Dixie agreed and added that it had been in the plan- ning stages for more than 10 years. She gave a price for concrete 10 years ago, and has been waiting ever since. "It's a prestigious job to have," Bob added later. It's not White Cap's first bridge, but bridges are few and far between for such a small company. White Cap has done work for the rail- road and the state, has done hydroelectric plants and has built projects up and down the Feather River Canyon. Bob attributes their busi- ness success to "honesty and hard work." Dixie agreed. "Like Bob said about honesty, when you live in a small communi- ty -- although I guess it's true wherever you live -- but if you want a repeat cus- tomer, then they have to be able to trust you and know that if there is a problem at- tributable to you, that you'll do something about it and make it right. Word of mouth is everything." In addition to those ce- ment mixers bringing con- crete to all in need of it, the Higginses have two other companies providing auxil- iary services. White Cap Concrete Pump- ing provides pumping ser- vices for hard-to-reach loca- tions, such as patios far from driveways. Crete-Craft Con- crete is a contractor that constructs foundations, side- walks and concrete forms for filling with concrete for both residential and commercial projects. Between the three compa- nies, the Higginses can pro- vide the concrete work from form to finish, bring portable batch plants to a re- mote area to mix concrete on site, reach any project area and provide ready-mixed concrete in summer or win- ter. Although the recession has set them back and effec- tively squashed ideas of in- creasing growth in the fu- ture, Bob and Dixie Higgins are not deterred or deflated. They love living here. "My plans for the future are to continue to live here. It's a beautiful place. We're really lucky to be here, given everything that everyone's going through, business- wise. I've lived here all my life," said Dixie. Bob has lived in Plumas County since he was a kid. The two of them snowmo- bile, ski, hike and race cars. "We do all the things that people like to do here." And Bob emphasized: "We'll continue to provide the ser- vices we've been providing." "We're fortunate to have a manufacturing company in California. That's a rare thing. We don't have jobs in manufacturing in California anymore; they've all gone elsewhere," Dixie added. Not White Cap Ready Mix. They have learned to adapt to meet the need, right where they are. White Cap Ready Mix Owners: Bob and Dixie Lee Higgins Address: Delleker headquarters at 73880 Highway 70, phone 832-,225; Chester location at 400 Black Oak Drive, phone 258-3050 E-maih whiteca prm@sbcg Iobal. net Winter hours: Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Summer hours: Monday - Friday, 6 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Saturdays by appointment) iiiii!iiiiiiiiiii!iiUi!ii i!iiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Dixie and Bob Higgins posed, not by the newest cement mixer in their fleet, but by the oldest. 'Tve had this truck since I was a kid," said Bob, who started the business 35 years ago. Today, they have 18 trucks in their operating fleet and two business locations: one in Portola and one in Chester. Photo by Diana Jorgenson Sudoku Puzzle #2080-D 1 ' 2 6 3 1 3 1 Difficult 45 7 8 6 4 5 7 9 2 8 186 3 7 972 4 8 In Conclusion Sudoku Solution #2070-D 615273948 739845216 284961753 192587634 853426197 467319582 941632875 376158429 5"28794361 ACROSS 1. Words to Brutus 5. Father-and-son presidential name 10. Rigging support 14. "Oh, no! Not !" 15. Problem for Pauline 16. mater 17. First miracle site 18. Milan's La 19. Goulash, for example 20. FouroH Club's footwear? 23. "Just __ thought!" 24. Word before talk or rally 25. Tressed like Simbe 29. In addition 31. Prefix for element #9 36. Handsome hunk 38. NATO member 40. Willy of "Free Willy," e.g. 41. Request for a pause in conversation at the Four-H Club? 44. Johnson of "Laugh-In" 45. Make a choice 46. Current unit 47. Distrustful 49. Wee bit 51. Dangerous mosquito 52. Ryan's "Love Story" costar 54. __ Saud (former Arabian leader) 56. King of the Four- H Club? 64. Lay blacktop on 65. Grofe's "Grand Canyon" 66. Act the siren 67. Diva's performance 68. More off-the-wall 69. Controversial orchard spray Four-H Club 3 27 57 American Profile Hometown Content 29 30 38 39 42 ! , 46 49 50 / m s4 55 59 70. Place for a wish 13. Shooting marble 71. City on the Aire 21. 'Tve __ up to 72. Title for Myra here!" Hess 22. Sunblock letters 25. Taj DOWN 26. Love to death 1. Inscribe with acid 27. Nick of "Cape 2. Bangkok tongue Fear" 3. Zingytaste 28. Rear- (road 4. Brigham Young's mishap) state 30. "rm _ here!" 5. Church recesses (skedaddler's 6. Duplicity cry) 7. Fast-shrinking 32. Jeweler's glass sea 33. Twisted the arm 8. Highway of distance marker 34. Earthy hue 9. "Same Time, Next 35. Gives a thumbs- Year" playwright up or a thumbs- Bernard down, say 10. The 4077th, for 37. HBO competitor one 39."So, it's YOU!" 11. Choir voice 42. Part of SAT 12. "Peter Pan" 43. Yemeni neighbor henchman CA #819017 New Home & Remodel Equipment Sales & Installation THX Certified Home Theater Design Rick@TrebesStudios.com 10 11 16 19 32 33 4O 60 61 66 69 72 P ....... , .... Freelance Photography 3215 Hill Crest Drive Lake Almanor, California 96137 530-596-4166 www.TrebesStudios.com Fine Art Gicl6es Photo Restoration Pam@TrebesStudios:com 2/6/2011 48. Yevtushenko's "Babi " 50. Lost on purpose? 53. Disinfectant brand 55. Oktoberfest quaffs 56. Aesopian loser 57. Bad to the bone 58. "Hud" Oscar winner Patricia 59. Elude the seeker 60. Tickled pink 61. Wahine's dance 62. Way around London, once 63. Not there? 64. Dad, to a rustic