April 2015

the

I N S I D E R

west coast materials inc.

The greatest
Show on Grass
By Dan struiksma

he greatest show on grass is a phrase

known by those who love the game of golf
and refers to the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This is a tournament held every February at the Tournament Players Course in
Scottsdale, Arizona. If you watched the tournament on TV or were able to attend, you probably noticed the white sand filling the bunkers,
which was possible due to the hard work from
the West Coast team.
However, what wasnt
as noticeable were the 2200 tons of drains gravel, 4400 tons of sand for the tee boxes and 1800
tons of root zone mix sand for the greens. The
Opens Superintendent broadcasted on national
TV that the course was in great playing condition all because of West Coasts efforts in the
renovation of this course.

Featured location
TOUCHSTONE PRODUCTS

By Matt Struiksma

ouchstone Products, over the past year, has not only been
able to increase and maintain demands for the LA, Orange,
Ventura and counties located in the Inland Empire, but is
now supplying products to the San Diego market. Since placing
our products in this new territory, we have been able to supply
new customers and are currently in negotiations with other
vendors to carry our line thanks to the help of WC Lakeside.
It was last May when MSU purchased Touchstone Products,
which maintains and produces one of the most authenticlooking manufactured light-weight boulders in the industry.
Touchstone is currently located in the city of La Habra where
the boulders are manufactured in a 13,000 square foot
building.
Some of the molds used today have stayed true to original
designs, but after opening its doors in the 90s, the products
line has since developed and continues to make an impact on
landscapes across Southern California.
In just a years time, we have not only increased revenue, but
have also started to expand our precast line. We continue to
manufacture different profiles and colors of boulders, outdoor
fireplaces and have recently taken over the S&K wall caps,
which were originally manufactured out of RBM Chino years
ago. Efforts have also been made to engineer 24 X 24 handtrowel finished stepping stones, which have yet to be marketed
as we are fine tuning the products and building up inventory
to keep up with the anticipated demand.
Although, there are many different factors and personnel
involved in providing such a product, this would not be able to
go as planned without the dedication and drive of two specific
members of the West Coast Materials family Jose and Javier
Reyes. The two joined the team during the purchase of the
Touchstone Products last year and have worked diligently day
in and day out to produce quality products in a timely manner.
We also have a great sales team that continues to push our line
to many different suppliers within our market. Wade
Struiksma, a representative for MSUs wholesale line, has been
outstanding in not only maintaining and providing excellent
customer service to existing dealers, but also essential in
promoting our line to new dealers. Outside of our immediate
MSU sales team, RBMs Tom Lang and West Coasts Hal Noble
and Bryan Limbourne have been instrumental in acquiring new
accounts through the many relationships established over the
years. We appreciate the support and trust we have received
with our growth and success over the past year and are truly
blessed to work for such a great company.

Southern Hospitality
Our sales for the first three months
show that this ambition is achieving
strong sales numbers and a continued
pattern of growth. Change remains to
be constant and we are looking for our
next loyal employee. Kelsey Hagen will
be moving to purchasing, Adam Good
wants to bring his ambition to
Northern CA, Lionel is now managing
our Chino location and new employees
are being hired to start back-filling
holes created from these types of
moves. Some of our new team
members are: Michael Marron (Chino
counter), Eric Hofstee (Stanton
counter), Jorge Erazo (Stanton yard),
Gabriel Parker (Downey yard) and
Susan Timm (Lake Forest counter).

James
by vreeke

ABITION:
Never settle for
average
performance. You
have the
knowledge and skill
to achieve strong,
sustained sales
growth. Always
aim high so you
can outperform
the competition in
every way.

Core Values Check

Safety: No accidents have been recorded since January 2014 and
our new yard uniforms to seem to be helping keep us safer.

Service:

Our new counter uniforms make us look more

professional, we have obtained new vendors and have made yard
improvements, which have all worked together to increase our
quality of service. We also completed an employee review process
that helped each employee set ambitious goals to continue our high
levels of customer service.

Stewardship: We

have both strong customers and strong

vendors. Price increases from suppliers has hit us hard and
implementing costing and selling changes has been a challenge.

things are heating up

in the desert
By Dean Venhaus
We are already reaching triple digits out here in the desert and
with the golf sand months upon us, we are looking forward to
having the new wet plant up and running soon. Under the
direction of plant manager Darrel Zumwalt, it has taken the
efforts of the whole Desert Operations plant and welding crew
to create the plant from scratch and keep us ahead of the
competition. In the picture, David Garcia, Roberto Valasquez
and Michael Hafer are putting some of the finishing touches on
the plant.

This year, Kenneth Romkema

celebrates 20 years working with
West Coast Materials. He began
driving truck in Buena Park for five
years and then became apart of the
mechanic team. After 12 years, Ken
was transferred to Thermal where he
continues his work in the shop.
Thanks to Kenny s worth ethic

and skills as a mechanic, we are able

to keep our trucks rolling each day.

He is our 90-day inspection foreman
and our fleet does not meet the
demand of our customers without
his valued mechanic work. Thank
you for the years of service Kenny,
it is much appreciated and we look
forward to keeping you around for
another 20!
Dean Venhaus

Be sure to follow the companys

social media accounts for updates, including the safety
thought of the week.. To see your
pictures in the next newsletter,
post a picture with a description and either tag us on
Facebook or use our hashtag on
Instagram.
West Coast Sand & Gravel
Resource Building Materials
ResourceBuildingMaterials
#westcoastsandandgravel

Coasting through Buena park

By kevin rogers
and Jacob van gelder

Awarding success. Buena Park

recently completed its Annual Driver
Safety Meeting where managers had
the opportunity to recognize the
drivers in our fleet who have practiced
safe behavior consistently throughout
the year. Brian Corning (pictured on
the left) was named Driver of the
Year, Gary Kuyper (pictured on the
bottom) was awarded for his 40 years
of service and Jarod Hicks was recognized as the Rookie of the Year.

Helping veterans. This past March,

Jacob Van Gelder, Adam Good and
Kevin Rogers attended a job fair
located on the grounds of Camp Pendleton, which was intended for those in
all branches of military who are seeking employment after they are discharged from service. The West Coast
representatives advocated for all companies and locations, hoping to help
the men and women who serve for all
of us. At the end of the day, there was
a solid turn out and West Coast walked
away with a handful of new applicants.

Going all in for safety

by Rachel ligtenberg

Never have the stakes been highermoney, fame and even

our employees personal safety is on the line. No, they are
not making a trek across the country or building the next
great skyscraper. Instead, they are
playing poker and management has
The motto of
approved.
This isnt a quick card game with some
plastic chips with the buddies on
a Thursday night. Rather, it is a game
spanning over 6 months as hundreds of
West Coast Materials employees are
competing for the thousands of dollars
up for grabs.

the
game is Safety Is
No Gamble, but
we can place a
huge bet on
Safety Poker making a difference.

Just like standard poker, the best hand wins the game. Every
month that employees are injury free, they acquire a card
and hope for the luck of the draw for the best hand. In
January, February and March there was $4900 distributed
among the 98 winners.

West Coast Sand & Gravel is

currently hiring at all locations:
Buena Park, Corona, Fillmore, San
Diego, Palm Springs, Modesto,
Sacramento, Bay Area and Visalia.

AFTER

HOURS

Eating Fresh. Once

a month, West Coast drivers receive a free

Subway boxed lunch before heading out for the day as a way to promote healthy eating habits for those who to eat on the go every day.
Complete with a sandwich, cookie, apple slices, water bottle and the
Just for the Health of It newsletter, these boxes give drivers a
lunch break to look forward to, including Visalias Frank Hernandez.

Whether its through the enjoyment

of a newly decorated home or the
success of getting a date, West
Coast Materials stays active even
after business hours. There are so
many opportunities to share and
capture in and out of work,
moments we would love to see.
Dont hesitate to share how you see
or enjoy the company outside of the
office, yard or drivers seat.

VISALIA S VISITORS.

WC Woods
welcomed the Visalia Garden Club for an
private tour of compost, which was
given by Visalias Kevin Oliver.

Making way for msu

BY GREG VANDENBURG

Jeff Krueger shows off his brothers newly renovated home in

Pacific Beach, featuring Resources
rocks on the driveway and in the
planters along with decorative rock
on the walls.

Jeff Struiksmas son, Jack, recently

found himself a date to his senior
Prom with the help of a West Coast
truck, bouquet of flowers and a
sign that reads, Madeline, it would
be loads of fun...JSB?

MSU welcomes truck #1010 to the truck fleet, a new style of

truck with enhanced capabilities. We continue to see a large
demand for flatbed hauling throughout Southern California,
which works well when we are not making deliveries of RBM or MSU
bags. MSU Wholesale has seen recent growth with the Infield and
Pathway mixes and the Decorative Rock program has been successful with its increased placement in different building material yards.
The Home Depot and Lowes business has continued to grow at a
steady pace and we are pursuing other opportunities for bagging
aggregates. MSU just completed the third and final phase for Vulcan
where we bagged different aggregates in 3000 bags to be shipped
overseas. We have also partnered with Resource Building Materials
for several other opportunities, including working together to service White Cap as the supplier for erosion control bags.

West Coast Cooks

Over the next few months, we will be assembling a

cookbook full of the best recipes from everyone in
the company. We ask that you submit recipes for you
favorite casseroles, desserts, dips, soups and even
your own personal masterpieces. Along with your
submission, tell us why you chose this recipe, whether its famous in your family and has been passed down for generations or if it was made up on the fly when
you had to feed a house full of people. We want you to tell us the story about what makes your recipe(s) so
special and delicious. Whichever recipe and story we decide is best will win a prize, which trust us, will be
worth it, so dish out your best! This cookbook currently has a working title and we need your help nailing
down a winner. Please send in your best ideas of a name for the company-wide cookbook and the winner
with the best title will receive a FitBit Zip! Please send your recipes and titles to raligtenberg@wcsg.com.

BY RACHEL lIGTENBERG

From

DANS
DESK

eadership Training is back and underway. This years training is based on the book IMPACT by Tim
Irwin, which the Board of Directors has studied over the past few months, finding it informative and
applicable. The purpose of the book is to make more effective leaders by strengthening and protecting
the core. In this context, the core is our heart and mind. Its the person inside of uswho we really are.
Unfortunately, I have observed many leaders who have sacrificed success because of failures inside their core.
So, how can we protect our core? What are some practical things we can do to guard our hearts and become
better leaders? Here are five things you can do right now.

Identify your foundational beliefs.

Beliefs can change and have the ability to guide us in a negative

direction. Therefore, its important to identify your beliefs and remember that they determine your behaviors
and actions.

Check your beliefs to make sure they are true.

We all hold some false beliefs. Take the time to

examine yourself in order that you may find and get rid of these false beliefs and replace them with truth.

Discern truth from lies.

This is crucial because if we can't determine what is true, we wont be able to guard
our hearts well. You and I did not invent truth and neither did our parents or grandparents. Think about it, there are
key truths that have been around for over 3000 years that continue to guide our lives and western society such as
dont kill, dont steal, dont commit adultery and dont lie. These eternal truths were revealed by the eternal God of
the Old Testament and I encourage you to check it out.

Get feedback.

While its not always pleasant, we need to seek out feedback from others and treasure it when
we receive it because it provides great insight into our core.

Balance.

Our leadership training focuses not only on work, but on our personal lives as well. In fact, we at West
Coast believe that our highest priorities need to be faith, family and then, work. Make sure to check for imbalance in
your life and make the necessary corrections to always keep these main things your top priorities.