Message from Adam
With our show and tell luncheon at the new Carlisle hollow core facility on June 5 and our family party at the Iowa Cubs game on June 28, we had a couple of chances to get everyone together as PDM. It was great to see everyone, especially all the kids at the ballgame, having a good time together.
As always, a lot is happening in your company. The new hollow core facility in Carlisle and the plate processing machine in the Carlisle steel plant allow us to continue to grow both our concrete and steel capabilities. In addition, we continue to add resources to our glass and glazing business and see great growth opportunities there.
The most recent change is that we have acquired control of the former Kelderman AG Lime property, immediately to the east of our Granger precast facility. This will be something we grow into over a few years, but this additional land will allow us to further expand our capabilities to produce both structural and architectural concrete safely and efficiently.
This year is a reminder that company growth rarely happens in a straight line, but the outlook for all three of our business units remains bright and we are continuing to set ourselves up for more success in 2025 and beyond. I hope everyone has a safe and great summer and thanks again for all your efforts to make PDM a great place to work.
– Adam
MESSAGE FROM LUKE
One of our five core values is Innovation. We define it by saying “We embrace and foster change.” But what does that mean to each of us? What does it mean to PDM as a whole?
In the classic movie, The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne says he has a simple choice to make: “Get busy living or get busy dying.” He is saying he either needs to change things to survive and hopefully thrive or he needs to give up because not evolving is a death sentence. Could take month or years but it is inevitable.
Many companies never even ask themselves about that simple choice. Instead, they get stuck in a culture where the attitude of “that’s the way we’ve always done it” or “that is good enough” rules and the company doesn’t innovate and doesn’t change. Unfortunately for those companies most variables do change: customer needs, work force, competitors’ capabilities, and available technology just to name a few. The world changes and a company that doesn’t won’t do well for long. If a company wants to achieve on-going, lasting success, innovation and change are necessities.
At PDM, we want to embrace innovation every day. There is always a way to do something better, safer, of higher quality, or easier to complete. Some changes and innovations are big, like building a new facility, or adding lasers to our precast facility. Others are smaller, like a change in how we stage materials, or creating a standard way of communicating a change order, but all these changes together move us forward as a company.
An innovative idea can start at any place in the company and by anybody, so I encourage everyone to think about ways to make something in your area better or safer. Whether the idea is big or small, bring your ideas forward. I can’t promise that every idea will be implemented, but I know that, as a group, we can produce a lot of good ideas. Remember that most of you are the experts in what you are doing, and you are all empowered to express concerns and ideas.
Prioritizing our efforts and budgets has and will always follow our “Pillars:” Safety + Quality + Happiness + Productivity
“Get busy living or get busy dying” is another way of saying that if a company isn’t getting better, it is setting itself up for failure. By embracing growth and change, we can ensure that PDM continues to thrive, continues to be the best choice for customers, and continues to be a great place for a career.
Have a great and safe summer!
– Luke
Department Spotlight
wood/foam/rebar team
The wood/foam shop is where all projects at the Granger facility begin. They are the first set of eyes on drawings at the plant and for us to be successful with any project, planning at this stage is key. Each product type has a different requirement, and these requirements serve as the foundation on which their formwork plans are made. From reveals to door openings, their focus is to provide formwork to production which will result in the highest quality precast product possible.
The addition of the new wood/foam shop building has made the quality of work life significantly better for the team. It has given them the space needed for both the wood and foam operations to be conducted 100% indoors. As important to the quality of work environment was the addition of the CNC machine which has made foam cutting and processing much cleaner and more precise (and yay, no more fume from the burns!). The combination of the new space and the CNC machine has enabled us to process foam with Nu-Ties installed in the foam before loading for delivery to the production beds. This is a big win for the facility as it streamlines the production process on the beds.
When rebar moved to the Granger facility, it made sense to tie that operation into the wood/foam shop team. They work together in supplying all the pre-production needs to ensure the production crews are set up for success each day. Rebar is processed and delivered to the bed, and broken down by panel each day. With the help from the inter-company team in Carlisle, all embeds and inserts are also delivered and presented to the production lines per panel, further streamlining the day for our production crews on the beds.
This team is an integral part of our daily success at the Granger facility, and they are much appreciated!
Greenfield Hospital
On May 21, 2024 a powerful tornado hit Greenfield, Iowa. Included in the damage was the Adair County Memorial hospital. PDM jumped into action, quickly fabricating and replacing 50 window frames and 130 pieces of damaged glass. Employees from many departments within PDM assisted including Greenfield resident, David Cooper. The work was completed quickly and was a great example of PDM supporting our local communities.
project profile
The Union at Rivers Edge
The Union is a 216-unit, $56.1 million multi-family residential located at 214 Jackson Avenue in Des Moines, IA. PDM provided the precast and steel for Union. The project consists of 801 total pieces of precast including 162 wall panels, 77 columns, 99 beams, 3 solid slabs and 460 pieces of hollowcore. The hollowcore planks on Union were the last planks produced at our Granger location and the first produced at our new Carlisle production building. Precast design and detailing began in November of 2023 and continued through April of 2024 and production spanned 13 weeks. Union’s steel components include 57.6 tons of columns, beams, and miscellaneous fabricated components.
Celebrating Growth
On June 5th, PDM employees gathered for a show and tell and ESOP share price reveal luncheon at the new hollowcore facility in Carlisle. It was a beautiful summer day to tour the new facility and learn that our new share price had increased to $28.69!
Support Your Community
We are well into the year and PDM owners have done an amazing job supporting several causes with monetary donations, efforts, and time. PDM continued to support BBBS with Bowl For Kids Sake, Carlisle Dollars For Scholars, ALA’s Fight for Air Climb, American Heart Association, Kingdom Living, NAWIC, Shoes That Fit, and Variety to name a few. It is exciting to see new faces participating and we hope this trend continues. The Des Moines Corporate Games have officially kicked off as well, and we are excited to see people represent PDM with pride! These events are great team building activities and continue to build on our great culture!
If you have a charity that you want to support, fill out a request form!
NEW EMPLOYEE OWNERS
These employees began earning shares under our ESOP plan on January 1, 2024. Congratulations To All!
- Andrew T. Nelson
- Hagin N. Schmidt
- Grant D. Stern
- Tino M. D’Iapico
- Hunter G. Couch
- Peyton M. Harryman
- Shane R. Dunning
- Ellis F. Wilson
- Soumitra Das
- Clark Wegner
- Glen E. Romero
- Michael Bunch
- Wesley W. Wilson
- Joseph L. Barker
2024 family party at the i-cubs game
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHTS
Matt Sanders
Position: Raw Material – Right Hand at SteelYear started at PDM: 2021
Q. What do you want to tell us about yourself?
A. I love all animals and most humans.
Q. What is something about you that surprises people?
A. I have never seen a single Star Wars movie (or a full episode of Breaking
Bad or Shameless). I used to rap.
Q. What do you do for fun outside of work?
A. Ride motorcycles and sleep.
Q. Favorite Food?
A. Good ol’ meat and potatoes. ‘Merica
Q. What are you most proud of?
A. I’ve been clean since 5-15-19. There are a lot of good qualities that ripple out from that.
Q. What would you like to do in the future?
A. Retire at a decent age and travel.
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHTS
Shon Hauschilt
Position: Glazer Install – Right HandYear started at PDM: 2019
Q. What do you want to tell us about yourself?
A. I love to be outside all of the time. I have lived in Des Moines my whole life.
Q. What is something about you that surprises people?
A. I am color blind.
Q. What do you do for fun outside of work?
A. I love to hunt, fish and ride out at my grandparents’ farm. I also love to scuba dive and have done more than 100 dives.
Q. Favorite Food?
A. Prime Rib.
Q. What are you most proud of?
A. I’m most proud of my time at PDM so far and being able to make my own name.
Q. What else would you like to tell us?
A.I love to learn and try new things. I also have a Pug named Jax.