NEBCO, INC. - BUILDING NEBRASKA

NEBCO, Inc. has been part of Nebraska and the region’s history for nearly a century. NEBCO traces its roots to Abel Construction Company, founded in 1908 by George P. Abel, Sr. Today, NEBCO is a third generation, family-owned and operated business. With about 1,000 employees, NEBCO has grown to become one of Nebraska’s largest privately owned firms.

NEBCO’s operations span the state of Nebraska and supply the construction industry with the materials needed to construct buildings, streets and highways. The company’s business interests also include mining, highway and road construction, finance, real estate development, agriculture, transportation, railroading and warehousing. The most recent interests include a public golf course, Quarry Oaks, a professional baseball team, the Lincoln Saltdogs, and a community development project that includes residential homes and town homes as well as a business park and retail center, Fallbrook.

As Nebraska has grown in the last century, so has NEBCO, building Nebraska into areas of concrete and construction materials, real estate, recreation, and philanthropy.

CONCRETE/CONSTRUCTION

CHRISTENSEN CONCRETE PRODUCTS COMPANY

Christensen Concrete Products was founded in 1947 in Grand Island, Nebraska at a time when the town was preparing to pave its city streets. In 1948, Christensen began production of concrete block. In the mid-1960’s, the block production was separated from the ready mixed concrete operation and sold to Calvin Johnson. Johnson owned the Block Company until 1996, when it was purchased by NEBCO.
Today, Christensen Concrete Products sells concrete block and other block products to the contractor and do-it-yourselfer in the Grand Island area.



CONCRETE INDUSTRIES, INC.

Concrete Industries, Inc. traces its roots to 1929 when General Steel Products Company was founded to satisfy the need for rebar and concrete pipe products in the Lincoln, Nebraska area. In 1955, Nebraska Prestressed Concrete Pipe Company was founded to specially design bridge girders and piling needed for new bridges and other building structures across Nebraska. In 1980, these two companies came to operate under the name of Concrete Industries, Inc.

Today, Concrete Industries, Inc. manufactures precast/prestressed concrete and concrete pipe, fabricates steel reinforcing bars, and supplies construction warehouse products. Concrete products manufactured include piling, bridge girders, twin tees for roofs and floors, columns and beams, hollow core planks and wall panels. Concrete Industries is one of the region’s premier suppliers of high-quality precast/prestressed concrete building and bridge systems. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, truck fleet and quality installation services make Concrete Industries capable of meeting any project’s requirements and schedule. www.concreteindustries.com



CONCRETE INDUSTRIES, INC. – NEBRASKA CITY

NEBCO purchased Concrete Industries – Nebraska City in 1981. The company operates ready mixed concrete plants in Nebraska City, Syracuse, Auburn and Falls City and delivers concrete to southeast Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. Concrete block, bagged product, aggregate and other building materials are also available at the Nebraska City plant.



CONSTRUCTORS, INC.

Started in 1908 by George P. Abel Sr., Constructors, Inc. is Nebraska’s oldest paving contracting company. Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, Constructors is a heavy-highway contractor involved primarily with concrete and asphalt paving in Nebraska. Recent projects include East O Street from 52nd Street to Wedgewood Drive; Interstate-180 and Cornhusker Highway Interchange; Interstate-80, East junction Highway US-77 to Greenwood; Highway US-77 between Princeton and N-33; and Nebraska Highway 2 from 84th Street to the Bennet Corner.

KEARNEY CRETE & BLOCK CO., INC./READY MIXED CONCRETE, INC. OF KEARNEY

Kearney Crete and Block Company began in 1946 as M&M Partnership. M&M mined sand and gravel, manufactured concrete masonry units and supplied ready mixed concrete. In 1955, the partnership dissolved and Gunner Mattson began operation of Kearney Crete and Block Company. In 1962, Calvin Johnson purchased the assets of Kearney Crete and Block and divided them into two separate companies. Both companies, Kearney Crete & Block Co., Inc. and Ready Mixed Concrete, Inc. of Kearney, were purchased by NEBCO in 1996.

Kearney Crete & Block manufactures and sells concrete block and segmental retaining wall units to the contractor and do-it-yourselfer in the Kearney area. Kearney Crete & Block has expanded its product line with the distribution of clay face brick, fireplaces, glass block, exterior insulation finish systems and many other residential and commercial construction products including caulking, sealers, decorative landscaping rock and tools.

Ready Mixed Concrete of Kearney provides ready mixed concrete to the local market.



KERFORD LIMESTONE COMPANY

Kerford Limestone Company, located in Weeping Water, Nebraska, was founded in 1966 and today is Nebraska’s largest and most productive limestone mine. Limestone is what exists beneath most of Nebraska but is mined only in the eastern part of the state because of its quality and shallow depths. Each year Kerford produces over 2 million tons of limestone that is used in asphalt and concrete for the construction of roads.


NEBCO FARMS

NEBCO has a long history in agricultural endeavors dating back to 1939. NEBCO owns and cultivates Nebraska farmland in Lancaster, Seward, Saunders, Cass, Sarpy, Gage, Otoe and Morrill Counties. Crops produced on the farms are corn, soybeans, milo and alfalfa.

The farmland was originally purchased because of its proximity to the Platte and Blue Rivers, and to other areas which contain underlying gravel deposits. The land is a resource that is being held for future aggregate production. Crop farming will continue until the land is needed for mining.


NEBCO INTERMODAL

Buildings in Nebraska City that once housed brick and lightweight aggregate production operations have been remodeled and converted into superior rated storage facilities since NEBCO purchased NEBCO Intermodal in the early 1980s. Located in Nebraska City, Nebraska, it operates a warehouse that stores USDA food commodities, public food commodities, and animal feed commodities. Close to I-29 and Highway 2, NEBCO Intermodal offers convenient access to its warehouse. Proximity to the Missouri River, the railway, and major highways present a variety of convenient shipping options.



NEBRASKA ASH

Nebraska Ash was formed in 1976 for the express purpose of handling coal combustion products at coal fired electric generating stations. Nebraska Ash provides services such as marketing, storage and disposal for Omaha Public Power District, the city of Fremont and Nebraska Public Power District through its subsidiary Plains Pozzolanic.

During the combustion of coal, the residue that remains forms two products. The primary product being fly ash, a finely divided material, and the other being bottom ash, a coarser material. NEBCO engineers pioneered the use of fly ash in Nebraska as a raw material for Portland cement concrete production and as a soil stabilization material. The bottom ash is utilized as a fill material and road aggregate. Prior to this all coal combustion products produced in Nebraska were disposed of in landfills. Nebraska Ash has plants in Omaha, Nebraska City and Fremont.



OMAHA, LINCOLN, AND BEATRICE RAILWAY COMPANY (OL&B)

OL&B was organized in 1903 as an interurban railroad to connect Lincoln to Omaha to the northeast and with Beatrice to the south. Although it carried over 378,000 passengers in Lincoln in 1905, its first year of operation, its efforts to link the three cities failed. The Lincoln system continued to serve as a carrier, but passenger service was eventually discontinued in 1928.

NEBCO purchased OL&B in 1929 to haul freight between University Place and 14th and X Streets. Interchange tracks with other rail lines were built in the vicinity of 17 & Holdredge Streets. Today, the OL&B is a Class III switching railroad that interchanges cars from the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads to industries such as Ag Processing, Inc., ADM Farmland, Snyder industries, Lincoln Lumber Company and Ready Mix Concrete Company.



PLAINS POZZOLANIC

In 1980 Plains Pozzolanic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nebraska Ash was incorporated to meet the needs of Nebraska Public Power District at its Gerald Gentleman Station located near Sutherland, Nebraska. Plains provides coal combustion product marketing, storage and disposal similar to the services provided by Nebraska Ash. Fly ash is supplied; for use in Portland cement concrete and as a soil stabilization material; throughout Western Nebraska, Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado. Bottom ash is utilized primarily as a road aggregate and base for counties and ranchers in the surrounding area.



READY MIXED CONCRETE COMPANY

To meet the increased demand for concrete paving, George P. Abel, Sr. founded the Ready Mixed Concrete Company in 1929 building one of the first permanent ready mixed plants in the nation at 18th & Y Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska. At that time, ready mixed concrete was mixed in loads of 3 cubic yards and delivered from the plant in dump trucks to Lincoln construction sites. Today, NEBCO’s ready mixed companies supply concrete to job sites with 10 ready mix plants and a fleet of more than 100 transit mixer trucks.

With the construction of the newest plant at 19th and Saltillo Road, Ready Mixed Concrete Company now operates 4 Lincoln locations that are world class, state-of-the-art plants. Each uses a computerized dispatching system that predicts travel times from each plant to each job site and automatically updates the database as projects are ordered and completed.

In addition to the 4 Lincoln locations, NEBCO’s ready mixed operations include 6 other plants in southeast and central Nebraska. These additional plants are located in Ashland, Auburn, Falls City, Kearney, Nebraska City and Syracuse.



REIMERS-KAUFMAN CONCRETE PRODUCTS COMPANY

In 1946, NEBCO, Inc. purchased Reimers-Kaufman, well known in Nebraska since 1906 for production of concrete construction blocks. In 1995, Reimers-Kaufman upgraded its operations with the newest, most versatile equipment available to meet modern construction challenges. New machines, mixing systems, computer controls and kilns were installed to increase production capacity to 30,000 blocks per day.

Reimers-Kaufman is fundamental to building Nebraska. Its standard and architectural concrete block, concrete pavers, segmental retaining wall systems and building products are distributed throughout the state. Reimers-Kaufman is also a supplier of clay face brick, fireplaces, glass block, exterior insulation finish systems and many other residential and commercial construction products. The sales area offers a variety of construction industry products to contractors and the do-it-yourself market. These products include caulking, sealers, decorative landscaping rock and tools.



TRAFCON

In 1980, Trafcon, Inc. was incorporated to manufacture and rent highway traffic control equipment including barricades, signs, warning lights, arrow boards, message panel boards, and other on-site equipment needed during the construction process. Trafcon has since added a road striping division (temporary & permanent road striping) and a commercial sign manufacturing division that includes screen printing, digital printing and computerized vinyl cutting of graphics and lettering. Sign products include banners, decals, vehicle graphics, reflective products, construction signs, logos, parking signs, etc. for indoor or outdoor.

Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, Trafcon has become one of the largest traffic control & commercial sign manufacturing operations in the state, selling and renting a variety of signs and traffic control equipment.



U-MIX PRODUCTS COMPANY

To accommodate demand from the do-it-yourself construction market, U-Mix Products Company was founded in 1986. Located in Ashland, Nebraska, U-Mix annually packages more than 1.5 million individual bags of construction materials including mortar mix, concrete, rip-rap, cement, sand and decorative aggregates and distributes them to home improvement stores and wholesale distribution centers all over Nebraska and parts of Iowa.

U-Mix also produces 3,000-pound bulk bags for use in the commercial masonry market. Dry mortar and grout mixes are placed in these super sacks and then discharged into portable job site silos that feed wet mixers.


UNIVERSAL SURETY COMPANY & INLAND INSURANCE COMPANY

Universal Surety Company was founded in 1947 and Inland Insurance Company was founded in 1958 to serve the construction industry by providing contract surety bonds.



WATKINS CONCRETE BLOCK, INC.

Watkins Concrete Block Company, Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska was incorporated in 1946, manufacturing only a handful of concrete block items. Today, Watkins is part of a network of block manufacturers throughout the state of Nebraska that are owned by NEBCO, Inc. Watkins manufactures over 400 items in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. The Watkins highly computerized automated block plant is capable of producing up to 30,000 blocks per day. In addition to standard concrete gray block, Watkins also manufactures segmental retaining wall components, concrete pavers and architectural concrete block.

Watkins product line includes clay face brick, fireplaces, glass block, exterior insulation finish systems and many other residential and commercial construction products. The sales area offers a variety of construction industry products to contractors and the do-it-yourself market. These products include caulking, sealers, decorative landscaping rock and tools. www.watkinsconcreteblock.com



WESTERN SAND & GRAVEL COMPANY

With its beginnings in 1955, Western Sand & Gravel Company mines aggregates along the Platte River near Fremont, Ashland and Louisville. Concrete aggregate makes up 70 percent of the mines’ product. More than 60 additional products ranging from coarse rock material used in landscape decoration to fine-grained sands used for golf course greens and athletic field construction.

Everything mined and produced at Western Sand & Gravel is nonpolluting and recyclable. Plant machinery is electrically operated and produces no hazardous waste. Former mining sites, originally Nebraska pastures and farmland, have undergone reclamation procedures and have been transformed into recreational lake developments.

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

FALLBROOK

A short four-minute drive north from downtown Lincoln, Fallbrook is a real estate development with a small-town feel and big-city convenience. A beautiful, 700-acre place to live and work that seamlessly integrates 1,000 single-family homes, 120 town homes, a 500,000-square-foot office park, and a 122,000-square-foot retail center into a safe, comfortable and interesting neighborhood.

Available for purchase now, Fallbrook town homes and single-family homes are offered in a range of prices. Homebuyers may select a lot and a builder, or choose from the selection of homes already under construction or completed.

Zoned for 500,000 square feet of office space, the Fallbrook Business Park offers your organization a higher standard of identity and functionality. Available for purchase or lease and customized to meet your needs, these distinct office buildings range from 10,000 to 150,000 square feet in space. All are available at cost-competitive prices.

Fallbrook also has retail space available. Zoned for 122,000 square feet, the Fallbrook Village Center is an ideal location for shops, services, and businesses of all kinds. These spaces are available at competitive prices and can be customized to fit your needs.

To learn more about the real estate, retail, or office space opportunities available, please contact NEBCO, Inc. (402) 434-1212, email request@fallbrookusa.com or visit our website at www.fallbrookusa.com.


NEBCO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENTS

NEBCO and its affiliates entered into real estate in 1952 with the purchase of a service station on the northwest corner of 11th & J Streets in downtown Lincoln. Over the next 50 years, NEBCO acquired other properties and constructed office buildings along the Lincoln Mall. Construction of two major office buildings along the mall includes the 2 Landmark Centre, completed in 1986, and 1 Landmark Centre, which was completed and dedicated in the spring of 2003.

The scope of NEBCO’s real estate interests has grown beyond the Lincoln Mall area with the development of Chalco Valley Business Park in Omaha, Nebraska; Quarry Oaks Golf Club in Ashland, Nebraska; and Fallbrook a residential community and office park, located at the north edge of Lincoln.

RECREATION

LINCOLN SALTDOGS & HAYMARKET PARK

Located west of Interstate 180 and Memorial Stadium, and north of the Historic Haymarket area, Lincoln's newest sports complex creates a visually appealing gateway to the Star City and is home to the professional baseball team, the Lincoln Saltdogs. The park includes a Baseball Stadium and Softball Stadium. Like a "Park Within a Park", the stadium includes sidewalks allowing people to walk around the entire complex as well as a pedestrian walkway that connects the stadium complex to the Haymarket and the UNL City Campus.

Since 2001, the baseball stadium has been home to the Lincoln Saltdogs during the summer months and the UNL Division 1 men’s baseball team during the spring. Next to the baseball stadium, the University of Nebraska - Lincoln has constructed a 750-seat softball stadium that is home to the UNL Women's Softball Team. www.saltdogs.com



QUARRY OAKS

Opened in 1997, this 18-hole championship golf course – measuring 7,077 yards from the back tees – is not only unique to Nebraska, but is also unrivaled in the Midwest in concept and design. With four distinct sets of tees, Quarry Oaks offers "something for everyone" and is enjoyable and challenging to golfers of all skill levels. Patrons enjoy our state-of-the-art multi-tiered practice range with target greens, sand and chipping practice areas, and a practice green. Both private and semi-private lessons are offered at its convenient location in Ashland, Nebraska.

The 10,000 square foot clubhouse at Quarry Oaks serves as a serene escape after a game of golf. A full-service bar and casual dining menu awaits the golfer. Meeting Rooms and Banquet & Reception Facilities provide an exceptional gathering place for wedding receptions, business meetings, office parties and retreats. www.quarryoaks.com

PHILANTHROPY

THE ABEL FOUNDATION

Since its beginnings as a small paving company in the dawn of the 20th century, NEBCO has evolved into a large corporation with a wide variety of business interests. The philosophy of the Abel family has always included the tradition of returning a measure of its success to the community through contributions. The first substantial gift from the Abel family was made in memory of George P. Abel, Sr. in 1944 to the newly formed University of Nebraska Foundation. As the success of the family business increased, more contributions were made to various organizations.

In 1946, George P. Abel, Jr. incorporated the Abel Foundation as an orderly means of coordinating the family’s individual and corporate gifts. Since that time, the Abel Foundation has awarded a number of major gifts to Nebraska projects, which have greatly promoted the quality of life in Nebraska communities.

Philanthropic beneficiaries include: