J&M Concrete Contractors

J&M Concrete Contractors (J&M) is a growing architectural concrete contracting business located in Orange, Calif. With roots dating back to 1953, J&M provides production and architectural concrete services to numerous owners in diverse market segments. Today, J&M’s team of approximately 150 employees offers diverse services for projects requiring site concrete.

Mike Barth, president of J&M, leads the growing team with decades of project experience in the industry. His insight and expertise have contributed to hundreds of successfully built projects since taking over leadership of J&M in 1972. Barth works closely with Yolanda Spedden, director of marketing at J&M, to promote J&M’s business model and showcase its diverse projects.

“It is really amazing what this team can do with concrete,” Spedden explains. “Starting with our input on initial design concepts usually with the owner and project architect and ending with a well-constructed installation, our crews do incredible work. Our architectural concrete capabilities, however, are what really set us apart from other concrete contractors.”

The company’s portfolio of architectural concrete installations is extensive. “Our portfolio includes exposed aggregate concrete, cast-in-place J&M Stratifed and SmoothCastT walls, Aggretop aggregate paving, newly developed AeroPave and PoroPave paving, chemical staining, embossed stamping, as well as a beautiful paving system that incorporates uses custom hand-seeded aggregates installed under a patent pending process called Intecrete,” Spedden continues. “We began installing Intecrete hand-seeded aggregate paving just a few years ago; however, we believe our results have placed us at the top of the architectural concrete contractors in this industry.”

An Artful Science

J&M also provides basic production concrete work, such as sidewalks, driveways, ramps, curb and gutter, steps, wall footings and almost anything related to concrete that a general contractor or owner might desire outside the building footprint. “Most of our work is in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties; however, if the project is large enough, we will travel most anywhere in the state of California,” she elaborates.

In recent years, architectural concrete projects have been growing in number. As a specialty item, decorative concrete work has been steady in the region, facing fewer obstacles than other sectors of the construction industry. With an aesthetic eye and sound technical approach to concrete placement, J&M’s crews install hardscape designs that are often complex, as well as attractive and durable.

“Last year, we completed work on the city of Anaheim’s Convention Center Grand Plaza project,” Spedden elaborates. “That project was recently featured in Landscape Architect and Specifier News, and won a distinguished award for Decorative Use of Concrete from the Southern California Chapter of The American Concrete Institute [ACI]. We installed over 58,000 square feet of Intecrete concrete paving consisting of four custom aggregate types, and two very large fountains using both J&M’s proprietary Smooth Cast and Stratified Wall cast-in-place wall system. This fast-tracked project started construction in July 2012 and finished on time before Christmas in December 2012.”

Thriving in a Changing Market

With the national economy on a slow but upward trend, construction has been picking up steadily across the country. J&M is busier than ever and is well-prepared to continue on a path of sustained growth. “We set ourselves ahead by maintaining relationships, which has been the key to our growth,” Spedden says. “We also have a long track record for employee retention.”

Like Barth, many of J&M’s team members have worked for the company for decades. With long-term employees, the company has deep, sustained experience in-house. Additionally, familiar faces on construction sites tend to maintain lasting relationships with general contractors and owners.
“A majority of our people have been here for a long time,” Spedden notes. “We just had a retirement party for one of our employees who had been working with J&M for over 35 years. That devotion has a big impact on our relationships with owners. This work ethic and commitment to quality continues to keep our company strong.”

These capable, long-term employees deliver the goods, too. With a slew of awards and more to come in the future, it is no surprise that Barth and Spedden credit much of J&M’s success to the company’s employees. Over the years, J&M has attracted the attention of a number of organizations, such as the Portland Cement Association and the American Concrete Institute. J&M’s quality of work has earned awards for outstanding installations of architectural concrete.

Quality is a priority for J&M, but more importantly, Barth wants to ensure that his crews are safe on the job and get home at the end of every day. Therefore, J&M has initiated a leading safety program to prevent accidents and to encourage awareness on every project. “Personal responsibility, watching out for each other and awareness of surroundings contribute to an enviable safety record,” Spedden continues.

In 2013, J&M is celebrating 60 years in business. After all this time, Barth and his team show no signs of slowing down. “As the economy picks up, so has our industry,” Spedden explains. “We are breaking into new market segments such as working on the future high speed rail project in central California. In the coming years, we hope to increase our manpower and continue to grow in areas we already service.” With a positive reputation and a successful portfolio, J&M Concrete Contractors will continue to flourish in a competitive regional market.