New trucks a concrete sign of company’s success

A fleet of 15 concrete mixer trucks congregated on Port Washington’s lakefront Monday, ready for their close up.

A photographer snapped away, catching the best angles of the trucks, the newest vehicles in the Schmitz Ready Mix fleet, to create a special image — one that will be featured in the 2027 Oshkosh S-Series calendar. 

The Oshkosh S-Series vehicles bring the company’s fleet to 155 trucks spread among its 12 locations.

“It’s a very proud moment for us,” Andrea Breen, manager of quality control and technical services, said. “The symbolism of it all — it means we’re growing, it means we’re successful, it means we have the support of our employees.”

The trucks, which Schmitz Ready Mix took ownership of during the past two months, represents an investment of more than $5 million. 

“It’s really significant for us,” Breen said. “We have such demand that we need that many more trucks. This significantly increases the capacity (of the company).”

It also means Schmitz Ready Mix has one of the newest fleets in the marketplace, she said, and the company is hoping that will help it attract more drivers.

The company has drivers for some of the new trucks, she said, but will be hiring more.

“When you have a newer fleet, it’s more attractive for people with a commercial driver’s license,” Breen said, adding that drivers are in demand.

“It’s a big challenge to get people with CDLs,” she said.

But, she noted, driving big trucks like the new S-Series vehicles is a worthwhile career.

“People make an excellent living driving concrete trucks,” Breen said. “It’s a really gratifying job. Our drivers are like, ‘I built that bridge.’ ‘I built that school. These are family-sustaining jobs that still allow drivers to be home with their family at night.”

And they’re an essential part of the process, she said. 

“I can design a concrete mix to do anything, but if I don’t have somebody to deliver that mix, it doesn’t matter how creative I am,” Breen said.

The new trucks are a visible sign of the company’s growth and success, Breen said, adding the company chose the Port lakefront for its photo shoot as a nod to its roots.

“Port Washington is our original home base,” she said. “It’s where we started. We wanted to show off our equipment, but we also specifically wanted to highlight Port and the marina and lakefront.”

Schmitz Ready Mix started in Port in 1949 when cousins Harvey and Nickolas Schmitz founded the  small, family-owned and operated business producing ready mixed concrete in the city.

Breen noted that while many people use the words concrete and cement interchangeably, they aren’t the same thing. She compared cement to flour and concrete to the bakery made with it.

“We buy the flour and mix the cake,” she said. 

Schmitz Ready Mix quickly established a reputation for quality workmanship and reliable service, and in 1953 added a second plant in Mequon.

When Nickolas unexpectedly died in 1972, Harvey took over sole ownership of the entire company. In 1988, his oldest son Alan purchased the company and grew Schmitz Ready Mix operations by opening additional plants in Richfield, Franklin, Grafton, New Berlin and Milwaukee. 

More than 50 red-and-gray Schmitz mixer trucks service the greater Milwaukee area.

In 2013, Alan retired as president of Schmitz Ready Mix Inc. and his son Matthew took over as president, continuing to grow the company with new locations, additional trucks and expanded services.

Breen noted that the new S-Series trucks  will help the company increase safety and efficiency. These vehicles discharge concrete from the front, an operation that can be controlled by the truck’s driver, while trucks that place concrete from the rear require two people to operate, the driver and someone in the back at the chute.