Building Blocks

Precast concrete company helps western North Dakota cities build in a hurry

BY KAYLA PRASEK

When thinking about an architecturally beautiful building, precast concrete probably isn’t the material one expects to be used. However, Wells Concrete is changing that idea with its architectural insulated wall panels.

Wells Concrete, which has manufacturing plants in Grand Forks, N.D., and Wells, Albany and Maple Grove, Minn., provides architectural and structural precast products for commercial construction projects across the Upper Midwest and Canada.

like Wells Concrete for the many benefits precast provides. “We’re selling off-site labor. We make everything in Grand Forks and send it out there (to western North Dakota). We aren’t sending a crew of 500 out there to build a school. We’re sending a team of five guys, so we aren’t a burden on those cities,” Monzelowsky says.

The Williston Area Rec Center in Williston, N.D., was designed by JLG Architects and showcases the different ways pre-cast concrete can be used.

Sunrise Elementary School in Bismarck, N.D., designed by Ritterbush-ElligHulsing PC, is another example of a pre-cast concrete school.

Erik Ramstad Middle School, located in Minot, N.D., shows how pre-cast concrete can be treated to be different colors or look like brick, but for a lower cost.

PHOTOS: WELLS CONCRETE

To make a precast concrete panel, concrete is poured into a form and, once dried, a finish is applied. The beauty of precast concrete is that there are a wide array of colors available to create any look the customer wants, says Scott Monzelowsky, sales/project manager for Wells Concrete in Grand Forks. “Precast concrete is no longer just boring gray buildings. They are architectural buildings that you would have no idea are concrete.” Precast concrete buildings could, for example, have a brick finish or images embossed into the concrete.

Because all of Wells Concrete’s panels are insulated, the walls can go up and immediately be textured and painted, as no Sheetrock needs to be put up. All of the electrical wiring can be installed within the panels as well, saving a step once the building is in the ground.

While precast concrete is most popular for the building’s shell, Monzelowsky says an entire building can be made from precast, including the roof, beams, interior walls, stairs and landings. “Our goal is to push for total precast so it can all be self-contained,” he says.

Once the panels are ready to be set, a small crew puts the panels in place using a crane and welds each panel together. The crew can set 100 linear feet per day.

While Wells Concrete was first started in 1951, the oil boom in western North Dakota and the growth that has come with it have made the past five years some of the company’s busiest, Monzelowsky says. “Eighty percent of what we manufacture at the Grand Forks plant goes to western North Dakota. The three types of buildings we’re mainly seeing are schools, jails and water treatment plants.”

Organizations have turned to precast concrete companies

Ross Wilmes, a general contractor with Kraus Anderson, has worked with Wells Concrete since 1999 and is currently working on three schools in Minot, N.D., and a school addition in Alexander, N.D., with the company. He says his clients usually latch onto the notion of using precast pretty quickly. “It’s a pretty easy sell. In these remote locations, there isn’t the labor necessary to build the buildings my clients need. Precast buildings can go up faster in a time when project timelines are tighter.”

Precast buildings can be built year-round. In Grand Forks, the company’s employees create the panels in a climate-controlled environment, meaning their work never has to stop because of weather. Precast panels can be set year-round as well, which saves the company’s clients money, as they don’t have to account for winter and they can get into their buildings faster. “We’ll get out there, and if it’s a school, we’ll set the gymnasium first, and that can act as a construction hub during the winter months,” Monzelowsky says.

The speed at which a precast building can take shape has been another reason why organizations in western North Dakota have turned to companies like Wells Concrete. “From design to casting to setting, we’ve done a two-story office building in 30 days, but that was during a slow period,” Monzelowsky says. “Now, we’ve done a high-end architectural gym in three months. It does vary from product to product, but every building still has that speed factor. It will always be faster than a brick and mortar building.”

Because there is such a labor shortage in western North Dakota, companies “love this,” Monzelowsky says. “It’s all about compressing schedules and getting into these buildings as fast as possible.” Precast is a cheaper building option, while still forming a maintenance-free, lifetime building. It also has a higher resale value and won’t deteriorate, but still has an architectural look to it. “School districts want a great building they don’t have to maintain, and precast is their best option,” Monzelowsky says.

In Bismarck, Wells Concrete has constructed eight projects for Bismarck Public Schools in the last six years. Business and Operations Manager Darin Scherr says the district looks at every option for each project but Wells Concrete’s precast consistently is the more competitive bid. “We felt we could better control the cost of precast over the traditional product,” Scherr says. “The oil boom drove costs up, and because Wells is located in the eastern part of the state and in Minnesota, their costs were more under control.”

The ability to open the schools more quickly than traditional buildings and the newer facade options — such as texture and thin brick — which provide a more attractive building, have also helped sway Bismarck Public Schools to continue turning to precast buildings.

Cities are using the slowdown in the oil fields as a chance to catch up on their infrastructure, which means business at Wells Concrete hasn’t slowed down. “This year has been our busiest yet, and all four plants are already booked well into 2016,” Monzelowsky says. Monzelowsky has worked on eight schools in the past year, with the majority of them being erected in western North Dakota.

Wells Concrete first felt the impact of the oil boom in 2010, “but no one realized it was going to be like this,” Monzelowsky says. “We have done some building for the oil industry, but our biggest business has been the infrastructure. They’ve all been here a few years and have realized the oil isn’t going anywhere, so they’re starting to bring their families and the need for infrastructure continues to increase.” PB

Kayla Prasek Staff writer Prairie Business 701-780-1187, kprasek@prairiebizmag.com