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@Work: Centerline Concrete

Feb. 23, 2007 — Centerline Concrete on St. John is a company on the move.
"Well be adding people and more trucks," says Manager Doug DuPont.
The company is owned by St. Thomas-resident Eric Tillett of Tillett Development USVI and Howard Jacobson of the Raleigh, N.C.-based SilverDeer.
The company, whose official name is RTI Concrete but does business as Centerline Concrete, opened early in 2006 when it began efforts to purchase what was then Coral Bay Concrete. The deal just concluded recently, DuPont says.
The company currently has six concrete-delivery trucks, with plans to add two more in the next six months. The company also expects to add more people its staff of 11.
Centerline Concrete uses computers to mix batches, DuPont says. "You're getting what you pay for," he says.
The use of computers allows the company to customize batches. For example, road work and driveways call for concrete that's stronger than the concrete used in building most houses, because it has to withstand the weight of vehicles.
"There's usually a little additional stone and a little additional cement, but less sand," DuPont says.
Some companies still buy bags of cement, which is mixed with stone and sand to form concrete, to make their batches, he says. But Centerline Concrete buys its cement by the truckload two to three times a week from a St. Thomas supplier. It also brings in stone and sand from St. Thomas.
Transportation costs are a reason why concrete costs more on St. John than St. Thomas, DuPont says. Concrete on St. John runs about $200 a cubic yard, compared to about $160 on St. Thomas.
Many people claim St. John has a concrete shortage, but scheduling issues explain that problem, DuPont says. Builders are urged to schedule a couple of weeks in advance to avoid having crews standing around waiting for a concrete truck to arrive.
"Our goal is to secure enough materials to allow us to operate every day consistently," he says.
The addition of a head mechanic, Danny Abendego, in September 2006 greatly improved the company's maintenance capabilities, DuPont says. The rest of the Centerline staff includes Dispatch Manager Robert Adkins and Batch Plant Manager Tyron Ryan, as well as crew members Ventura Medina, Lucien L'Homme, Jarvis Hodge, Kennedy Crawford, Martin Breedy, Ferdinand Baly and Curtis Thomas.
The company is addressing problems like cement spilled out the back of trucks onto the island's roads, DuPont says. This happens when trucks head uphill, an issue St. John residents have complained about publicly. (See "Coral Bay Crowd Concerned About Emergency Response, Roads and Dripping Cement.")
"We're trying to be good neighbors," he says.
The company is also working to improve safety procedures to prevent situations like the January overturning of a concrete truck on the island's East End, he says.
DuPont has been on the job since October 2006. He and his wife, Islandia real-estate agent Amy DuPont, got married at Hawksnest Bay, fell in love with the island and decided to make the move eight years later.
After relaxing for a couple of months, the Connecticut-born DuPont saw an advertisement looking for a concrete-plant manager. He graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in marketing, and spent nearly 10 years helping his father grow a Connecticut business that installed and built major kitchen appliances, hearth products and home appliances. After that, DuPont says, he was ready for a change.
The couple bought land in Coral Bay, but haven't started construction.
Reach Centerline Concrete at 715-9730.
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