ISSUE 1, 2022 OZINGA SAYS GOODBYE TO DON KREMKE PAGE 3 JOE SANDERS PASSES THE TORCH PAGE 10 OZINGA WINS 5 AWARDS FROM IRMCA PAGE 14
ALUMNI RECRUITS WANTED Activities are being planned for the new year, so feel free to reach out to sharonsimons@ozinga.com or 708.269.9660 if you have ideas or are interested in participating in any of the following:
RETIREE ROUNDUP
This holiday season gave the monthly Alumni breakfast a small but mighty crew, which included Tom Stoit, a future alumni/retiree.
Pictures: Please send pictures of your retirement activities to sharonsimons@ozinga.com, even if it’s just you relaxing in your La-Z-Boy. Monthly Breakfasts: Ozinga Alumni meet the second Saturday of every month at Olympic Star Restaurant in Tinley Park, IL. Please feel free to stop by or let Sharon know if you’d like to propose a new location closer to where you’re located. From left to right: Rich Van Der Muil, Ed Piontek, John Huiner, Bruce DeVries, Sid Jabaay, Stan Janota and Tom Stoit
RETIREES ENJOYING RETIREMENT 1
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OZINGA SAYS GOODBYE TO LONGTIME COWORKER Don Kremke, fleet manager for our South Florida operation, passed away on December 25, 2021. He worked for Ozinga for 38 years and was always a ray of positivity to everyone who crossed his path. When asked how he was, Don always responded with “I’m blessed.” Don leaves behind his wife Kim, 3 children, 2 step-children, 17 grandchildren and 2 greatgrandchildren. He will be deeply missed by his family and all his coworkers at Ozinga.
1. John DeBoer enjoys tending to his banana crop in Florida 2. Pat Tellano works on puzzles 3. Hank Huizinga volunteers at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery during the holidays 4.Harold Coates works on his car and drives a bus for DayStar School 5. John Alderden spends time in Palm Coast, Florida
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If you are facing challenging circumstances, are in a season of struggle, or just need someone to talk to, you are not alone. Ohana is here to provide encouragement, comfort and support. Whether it’s a meal, a ride, a care visit, respite, or just someone to listen, we would like to be there for you. Conversations/situations are confidential. Call 708.326.4090.
WOMEN’S CRG MAKES BLANKETS FOR ANIMALS The Women’s Coworker Resource Group participated in a holiday service activity of blanket making. Women of Ozinga across four different offices participated: Mokena, Wisconsin, Elgin and Miami! The blankets went to the Texas Rescue Riders, a group bringing up dogs and cats from overpopulated shelters in Texas to Wisconsin and Illinois to find loving homes. Some blankets also went to expectant mothers in Florida. Special thanks to participants: Isis Amador (Miami); Lisa Kinter & Rebecca Muehe (Wisconsin); Teresa Blankenhorn, Katie Olson and Jamie Sanchez (Elgin); and Jenna Bechely, Paige Brzeskiewicz, Kathy DeCicco, Courtney Poropat, Carrie Vidito, Connie Sylvester, Carol Binnendyk, Sherie Molitor, Maggie Trumper and Anabel Borgman (Mokena). If any female coworker at Ozinga is interested in being in the Women’s CRG, please reach out to rebeccamuehe@ozinga.com 4
GET YOUR FREE AT-HOME COVID TESTS While new legislation requires that all health insurance plans cover at-home COVID tests, there is also an option to receive at-home test kits. You can order your tests at www.covidtests.gov. (Limit to 4 test kits per household.)
QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? IDEAS? FEEDBACK? We want to hear from you! If you have a question you’d like to ask, idea you’d love to share, a concern you’ve had or general feedback you’d like to give, you can now do so by using the QR code. All information can be shared anonymously, or you may leave contact info if you’d like a response. 5
IT TIP: SETTING UP A PERSONAL EMAIL It’s important to understand the benefits of keeping your personal email separate from your work email. Keeping your own personal email not only is free and easy to do, but it also helps keep things organized, practical and private. You never know when you will move on from your job at Ozinga, and when you do, keeping your personal emails wherever you go will make it much easier. We have seen multiple occasions where coworkers lose access to their email due to separation of employment. Also, legally, Ozinga owns all data held within our email inboxes, which means if we ever have the need to turn over emails to the authorities, they will be reading only work-related emails and not the details of your weekend Star Wars convention. If you need suggestions on how to set up a personal email, just let the IT Helpdesk know and we are happy to assist.
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OZINGA JOINS THE WAR FOR TALENT This year will be an exciting and challenging year for talent acquisition and workforce planning at Ozinga, especially for hiring drivers. As the Baby Boomer generation retires from the workforce over the next several years, Ozinga may lose 10% or more of our driving workforce. A similar situation exists for mechanics, plant operators and other key areas of our operations. For the first time in several decades, the growth of the available workforce in the US is lower than the growth of the general economy, creating a shortage of qualified workers. The Boomers are retiring faster than the younger generations are coming into the workforce, especially among the skilled trades. This will make it challenging to find, attract and hire quality Ozinga coworkers. On the bright side, our people, our purpose and our culture keep Ozinga positioned as an attractive place to work. Ozinga is taking a proactive approach with several initiatives. Here are a few: You can help! Bring Your Buddy to Work For field positions at Ozinga, coworker referrals are a good source of candidates. The details are slightly different for South Florida’s program, but there’s a reward for your referrals!
BYB BONU$ Coworker Referral*: Referrals accepted for full-time positions only. After successful training - $500 bonus Day 180 - $500 bonus 1 year from hire date - $500 bonus *Any additional referrals will be consistent with the coworker bonus payout.
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Bring-Your-Buddy to Ozinga for a year and you get $1,500! Available to all regions, except Florida and Mokena office. Starts 1/1/22; the payout will be the week after the reached milestone. The referral campaign is open to all positions in the field, which includes, but not limited to, drivers, hourly plant personnel and mechanics.
All regional/operations leaders are responsible for sending Payroll a list with amounts for referral bonuses at least one week before distribution. No exceptions!
Strengthening Relationships with Schools Ozinga maintains relationships with schools and driving academies and is working to identify and attract top talent from schools. Driver Mentor & Apprenticeship Under the leadership of Sha’Rhonda Ashmon, Ozinga’s Sr. VP of Human Resources, a cross-functional team is working on the development of a Driver Mentor and Apprenticeship program that will bring consistency to the training of our drivers and provide development opportunities. The team is gathering input and ideas from current drivers, driver trainers, operations managers, fleet managers and others. Targeted Social Media & Advertising – Streamlined Application Process Today’s job candidates will not tolerate a tedious application process, and we’ve streamlined our processes to accommodate them. Our processes will focus on speedy responses and making connection with a more diverse pool of candidates in ways that will maintain the interest of those who are qualified while helping the unqualified focus their attention elsewhere. Two New Coworkers Join Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning Group Natalia Restrepo joined Ozinga in late November of 2021 as the Talent Acquisition Manager for Ozinga South Florida. Natalia brings over 10 years of HR and hiring experience to Ozinga and will focus on hiring for South Florida operations. Kyle Stock joined the team in Mokena and will be instrumental in providing an excellent candidate experience and hiring coworkers efficiently. As we hire new coworkers, it’s important to remember our purpose to make a positive impact on individuals, their families and the community for generations. It is when each of us works every day with this purpose in mind that Ozinga becomes an attractive target for today’s most qualified job seekers.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Email internalcomms@ozinga.com or call 708.326.3154 with your story, news, idea, etc. and look for it in the next issue of the newsletter.
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ACCESS YOUR W-2 THROUGH PAYLOCITY With tax season upon us, did you know your W-2 is available electronically through your Paylocity account? While in Paylocity, be sure to update your: • Federal, state and local (if required) tax withholding • Contact information, i.e., cell phone number, mailing address, and personal email address • Emergency contact information
JOE SANDERS PASSES TORCH TO NEW PRESIDENT OF INDIANA READY MIX CONCRETE ASSOCIATION Joe Sanders, EVP of our ready mix operation in Indiana, recently stepped down as president of the Indiana Ready Mix Concrete Association (IRMCA). Joe took this role in 2020, and while a president’s term typically lasts only one year, Joe stayed on for two terms due to COVID-19 and the transfer of another IRMCA member.
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During his terms, Joe’s biggest focus was educating younger generations into the ready mix industry. Spearheaded by Chairman Jerry Larson, the IRMCA partnered with Eric Fisher from Hamilton Heights High School as a way to bring industry information to high school students who may be interested in something other than college post-graduation.
MIKE CONQUEST HONORED WITH IRMCA HALL OF FAME AWARD Every year, the Indiana Ready Mix Concrete Association (IRMCA) inducts an individual into the Hall of Fame who has unselfishly given their time and energy to the Association. This year, Mike Conquest of our Indiana region was the recipient of the award. For the last decade, Mike’s purpose and focus with the IRMCA has been on safety and the environment. He has been a continuous member with the Association’s Safety & Environmental committee and, as a committee member, has worked with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on their new concrete washout proposals. Mike has been a part of the ready mix industry since he was 25 years old. His family owned a ready mix company for a few years and his father, Cecil “Pic” Conquest, served as the IRMCA’s president from 1986-87. Mike joined Ozinga in 1994 as a dispatcher and eventually moved into a safety/ environmental role—a role he’s held for most of his career. Today, Mike’s concentration is helping our Indiana region on their contract negotiations. Although extremely humble, Mike certainly deserves this honor and recognition.
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OZINGA FLEET TECHS ATTEND ENGINE BUILDING CLASS
BOOK THE MERRY MIXER FOR YOUR COMMUNITY EVENT
Ozinga fleet technicians recently participated in a four-day engine rebuilding class held by Cummins at their Hodgkins Training facility. The certified course led our technicians through the process of rebuilding heavy-duty diesel and CNG (compressed natural gas) engines. These are the same engines that keep our ready-mix trucks running every day. By combining hands-on learning and theory, our technicians were equipped with the skills they need to safely rebuild engines.
The Merry Mixer brings Christmas cheer to local communities throughout November and December, but it also brings everyday cheer throughout the year too. If you would like to book the Merry Mixer for community-based events outside of the holiday season, email communityrelations@ozinga.com with the event date and details. If the Merry Mixer is not available, we will try to schedule another truck for the event. *Please note Merry Mixer requests for the holiday season are not accepted until September.
The Fleet department requires every technician to attend four training classes yearly. The purpose is to continually invest into our coworkers to ensure they have the proper tools and training they need to do their job to the best of their ability. Mike Day, Casey Tiemersma, Nathan Day, Jivani Perez, Greg Bolin and Grant Wilke were the techs who attended this course.
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THE MERRY MIXER NEEDS DRIVERS We are looking for coworkers with a CDL to drive the Merry Mixer to various community events throughout the year. If you would like to volunteer your time, please email andywydra@ozinga.com to be added to the driver list.
SFL PARTICIPATES IN TOUCH-A-TRUCK Our South Florida team recently participated in a touch-a-truck at St. Louis Catholic School in Pinecrest, FL. Driver Antonio Janero from our Doral yard spoke to the children about Ozinga and driving a ready mix truck for their career event that focused on community building. 13
OZINGA WINS 5 AWARDS FROM INDIANA READY MIX CONCRETE ASSOCIATION, INCLUDING PROJECT OF THE YEAR Ozinga took home five awards at this year’s annual Short Course Winter Meeting for the Indiana Ready Mix Concrete Association (IRMCA), including Project of the Year for the Notre Dame Hydro Electric Dam. The Hydro Electric Dam took 2 years and 7,000 yards of concrete to complete. This 2.5-megawatt facility is situated on the St. Joe River and will offset the school’s carbon output by 9,700 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Pours required an extremely specific mix that had a low water-to-cement ratio, so Ozinga used a viscosity modifier to ensure cohesiveness and a low slump. Doing this also allowed the mix to be workable, pumpable and flow around rebar while staying within the budget. In addition to Project of the Year, Ozinga also took home awards for the following projects: Robinson Family Pool Ozinga partnered with C&S to renovate a 1972 pool that included a white stone coping material that had to be matched with the concrete color. Ozinga used white cement and C&S poured 250 yards of white stamped concrete while using
MJIB Wood Tilt-Up This 550,000-square-foot warehouse was flipped to a tilt-up that consumed 21,000 yards of Ozinga concrete in 6 months. Open deck slab on-grade pours were done in early mornings to avoid August heat while laser screed used to place the slab concrete was placed on ramps to avoid issues with steel. Kaiser Park Water Utility This underground tank expansion project for the City of Crown Point, IN used 1,938 yards of Ozinga concrete to complete. The tank sits underground in a park and has a pickleball court on top to blend in. FedEx Apron Expansion at Indianapolis Airport projects Ozinga partnered with Walsh on this project that took 3 years to complete and 185,000 yards of Ozinga concrete. We brought a central mix plant to Indianapolis to complete the project, and we had zero rejected loads of concrete throughout the project’s duration.
NEWSLETTERS HAVE GONE DIGITAL IN 2022 The Ozinga newsletter is now delivered via email instead of mailed home. However, we know that some of you prefer a physical copy. If that’s the case, please sign up by visiting https://bit.ly/3bPt08Q.
Georgia buggies to place every yard. 14
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19001 Old Lagrange Rd Mokena, IL 60448