The custom concrete company is just one of the top winners in the county's annual business awards.
By MELIA BOWIE
Published September 3, 2003
WESLEY CHAPEL - When Acme Concrete Inc. set up shop in Zephyrhills three years ago, it did so with only a few employees and a couple of concrete trucks.
In the past 18 months Acme has grown from two custom-concrete trucks to 11 and from three employees to 14, general manager Joey Tedder said.
Their edge? Customer service and a concrete truck that does it all, from mixing and measuring to customizing concrete strength and quantity on-site.
"We've got a factory on wheels," said Tedder, who added the efficiency of Acme's operation enabled it to open a site in Polk County and plan a move into Hillsborough.
The company's growth was just one of the factors that led Pasco County's economic leaders to name Acme its Division I Manufacturing Industry of the Year on Tuesday night.
During its annual awards banquet, the Pasco Economic Development Council recognized seven businesses for their roles in serving the community and setting the county apart.
Also honored was Alumi-Guard Inc. in Hudson, which won the Division II Manufacturing Industry of the Year award for its success in manufacturing aluminum fencing.
"We've gone from incorporating in 2000 to 92 employees in 2003," said Alumi-Guard president Bill Woodard. And as profits go, "we'll probably hit close to $10-million this year; we've actually doubled our sales since we've been in business."
Alumi-Guard is now planning an 80,000-square-foot building to accommodate its growth.
"I think really what it shows is that there is a strong cross section of companies and industry in Pasco County," EDC director Mary Jane Stanley said of the winners. "All of our eggs aren't in one basket."
The awards banquet and trade show at Saddlebrook Resort drew more than 500 people - the event's largest numbers to date, Stanley said.
Those in attendance came to honor an array of winners chosen for their business leadership, growth and corporate citizenship in the past 18 months.
Taking home the award for Division II Service Industry of the Year was Luke Brothers Inc., the landscaping firm that keeps clients such as International Plaza Mall in Tampa looking good.
The company relocated early this year from leased space in New Port Richey to 21 acres in Holiday.
The million-dollar move enables Luke Brothers and its 300 employees to better serve the area's booming residential and commercial markets. The firm now operates out of a remodeled 27,000-square-foot facility on Auld Lane and just built a 13,000-square-foot maintenance facility there.
"It will enable us to grow and . . . provide more jobs for the area," vice president Pete Lucadano said of the expansion, which includes a new nursery that stocks several thousand plants at a time and a sod installation department. Profits are expected to climb from $8.2-million in 2002 up to $9.5-million this year, he said.
Other award winners were Spring Engineering Inc. in Holiday as Division I Service Industry of the Year. Mirant Shady Hills Generating LLC in Spring Hill won the council's Special Recognition Award. JN Electric of Tampa Bay Inc., an electrical contractor, in Land O'Lakes was honored as the New Service Industry of the Year and International Granite and Stone LLC in Odessa was awarded the new Manufacturing Industry of the Year.
- Melia Bowie covers business in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is bowie@sptimes.com
