ABOUT US : History

1951
Guaranteed Gravel & Sand Company of Mankato, Minn., purchased a small concrete drain tile and ready-mix concrete plant in Wells, a small farming community in south central Minnesota. They named the company Wells Concrete Products Co.

1957
Wells Concrete Co. expanded into the prestressed concrete products business. The fledgling company started its operation with a 4-foot wide steel form stretching 400 feet, capable of producing double tees measuring 4 feet wide and 14 inches deep. The first form was set up in the middle of a field on the outskirts of Wells. When contract work was unavailable, they decided to construct a building to house the operation out of standard columns, double tees and panels produced mainly on the original form.

1960’s & 1970’s
Wells Concrete expanded its production line, introducing 8-foot wide double tees, insulated sandwich wall panels and short span quad tee and double tee bridge members.

1980’s
Wells Concrete developed a unique vapor barrier system to fulfill the requirements of cooler and freezer applications. Because of its expertise, Wells Concrete became an industry leader in the quality concrete construction for the food processing industry, constructing facilities for companies such as Geo. A. Hormel & Company, Swift-Eckrich, Iowa Beef Processors, SeaFest Fish Processing, Swiss Miss, Davisco, Malt-O-Meal, Jennie-o, and Long Prairie Packing. The Hormel foods building in Austin, Minn. is the largest facility ever constructed by Wells Concrete.

With the growth of Architectural and Structural Precast/Prestressed operation, Wells Concrete has also grown in its oldest operation-the Ready-Mix division. In 1983, front discharge Ready-Mix trucks were added to the fleet and in 1989 the company purchased Minnesota Lake Ready-Mix. The new addition to Wells Concrete expanded the Ready-Mix division to include plants in Mapleton and Blue Earth.

1990’s
By the end of the 80’s customers were asking for more finish options, so Wells Concrete added a separate facility in 1990 to produce architectural concrete panels. The panels are available in a variety of finishes, textures, and colors to meet the need of designers and specifiers. Wells Concrete’s use of architectural concrete panels is showcased on many buildings in the Upper Midwest and on the company’s new corporate offices, which was completed in 1996.

Wells Concrete acquired Concrete Inc. in Grand Forks, ND in 1994 and Alden Concrete Products Co. in Alden, MN in 1997. The prestressed concrete capabilities at the Grand Forks Plant are similar to the Wells operation. However, plant capacity is smaller. The two subsidiary companies have expanded Wells Concrete’s product line to include concrete steps, septic tanks, and burial vaults.

2000
In 2000, Wells Concrete constructed two buildings to accommodate the demand from clients for architectural panels. With their high demand, came the need to address environmental issues such as wastewater recovery and dust collecting. With “state of the art” systems, addressing the environmental needs, we also realize labor savings in “finishing” the panels. The finisher’s are better able to see what they are working on. This building is comprised of three “dry” bays for sandblasting and three “wet” bays for washing and acid etching. All the ductwork and piping systems are housed in a “concrete attic” for protection from the finishing environment. The total square footage of the Finish Building is 18,750 sq. feet.

2009
Albany, MN production facility opens. The main production is 165,000 square feet. The facility also includes a 16,000 square feet finishing and concrete batch plant and 4,000 square feet aggregate storage area.

In addition to producing Wells Concrete’s existing line of architectural and structural products the Albany facility will produce Architectural and Structural Precast concrete products new to Wells Concrete’s line including twelve-foot double tees for parking structures, hollow core planks, and insulated hollow core wall panels. Also in 2009, Concrete Inc changes name to Wells Concrete bringing all Wells Concrete facilities under one name.