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Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 86F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..
A few clouds. Low 78F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.
Owner Eric Castro and General Manager Robert Mitrow of Universal Concrete review specifications for a batch of concrete.
Owner Eric Castro and General Manager Robert Mitrow of Universal Concrete review specifications for a batch of concrete.
Between destruction caused by two major hurricanes and material shipping delays because of the pandemic, many home and business owners are only now starting their major reconstruction projects. With a brand-new hi-tech plant, Universal Concrete is ready to meet any concrete need on St. Thomas.
Owner Eric Castro is a familiar name in the construction business. Born and raised on the island, he got into the heavy equipment business right out of high school in 1982, and opened Grade All Heavy Equipment in 2001. From there, he expanded to doing general contractor work and he now also owns Allied Heavy Equipment. Castro is expanding once again with Universal Concrete, which he opened at the end of April.
“I just wanted something else to get into, something relative to what I’m doing,” Castro said. “I saw the need for another concrete option.”
Castro and Jim McCoy, a former employee, started to do their homework on opening a concrete plant, but during the process, McCoy passed away, and then the pandemic was in full swing. Castro shelved the project for more than two years, but now, with all the construction going on, he thought the need was there and the time was right to pick up where they left off on the concrete plant project and started looking for a plant location.
Castro was able to obtain an acre and a half in the Subbase area, but quickly realized that was not enough land to do what he wanted to do. He was able to lease additional land from the government, for a total of six acres.
Meanwhile, Castro convinced Robert Mitrow, who had been working with Island Roads, to become the general manager of the new plant. Mitrow’s first job out of college was at a pre-cast concrete plant working in quality control.
“It’s kind of coming full circle for me. That’s where I started and now, I’m back into concrete close to 30 years after being in heavy highway construction, like the downtown rehab projects and the airport and federal highways, with Island Roads,” Mitrow said. “I’m back in the concrete business, which I’ve always enjoyed. It’s always changing with different formulas and different mixes and making different recipes for all these different needs and all the different concrete types.”
Castro and Mitrow knew each other from various construction projects. According to Mitrow, Castro and his crew built the Waterfront project on St. Thomas, while Mitrow and his crew from Island Roads paved it.
Quality control is a top priority at Universal Concrete. A lot of investment went into the design of the plant and the computer systems that control the mixing and batching. They monitor their concrete every day and they use specific computer models and programs to develop the mix designs at the right strengths to ensure the concrete is affordable and durable. As materials come in, they are tested immediately to make sure they meet the specifications that are required.
“I think it would be fair to say we have the most modern plant in the Virgin Islands, by far,” said Castro.
Mitrow is confident that there will never be a shortage of concrete because of their large silo capacity. They can batch out 10 yards every three minutes, he said, so that’s 200 yard an hour. The two silos have a capacity of 155 tons. That’s 500 yards they can produce nonstop if needed.
Concrete is sold by the cubic yard, and customers can purchase as little as one yard or whatever is needed to complete the project. For larger jobs, Universal Concrete will go to the site first to make sure the measurements are correct to avoid shortages or overages, which could delay delivery for the next customer in line.
“That’s part of the whole vision here, with superior service by us so we’re not putting people in a bind,” said Mitrow. “I’ve been in that bind myself, waiting on that concrete. It’s frustrating because you have crews scheduled, you have a pump guy waiting. We go the extra mile to help you measure your concrete to make sure we’re in agreement.”
Universal Concrete partnered with locally owned Unimix Solutions for delivery, using their 10 trucks. Once an order is placed and a delivery time is established, a truck can be loaded and on the road within 15 minutes. Early morning and after hour pours can be arranged.
“We just want the general public to know that we’re here to help them in that phase of their construction,” said Castro. “We’ve got quality control technicians that work for us. We do everything in house. Any information we can help with, we’re more than happy to help you.”
Universal Concrete is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit universalconcretevi.com or call 340-776-6600 for more information.