HUMBOLDT — Driving a cement truck is usually serious business. Drivers from across Kansas and Missouri came together at Monarch Cement Company on Saturday to test their skills, engage in a little bit of friendly competition and have fun.
For the past four years, Monarch has selected its top two drivers at each of its 10 subsidiary companies to compete in a series of tests and an obstacle course to find the two best drivers in the company.
In total, the companies have about 200 ready mix drivers. This year, 16 drivers made it to the Monarch competition.
Those top drivers gathered at Monarch’s headquarters in Humboldt to determine the two best drivers overall to send to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association National Drivers Championship, which will be at Nashville, Tenn., this fall. The drivers will compete against the best of the best from around the nation for cash prizes and awards.
“These stations represent skills a driver uses every day while driving a ready-mix truck,” Kent Webber, Monarch president, said.
The stations are designed to be just as much fun as they are a serious test of skills.
For one station, a driver has to back a ready-mix truck through a narrow stretch of road lined on each side with tennis balls perched on cones. The goal is to avoid hitting the cones and balls.
Another station features a swinging ball that hangs from the chute on the back of the truck. The goal is to drive forward and knock down bowling pins.
Other competitions test the driver’s ability to stop at a certain distance from a target.
The competition also includes a written test and a truck inspection station.
“There are also items on the truck inspection that are general safety items that we want our drivers to know, as safety is a huge deal here at Monarch,” Justin Tucker, subsidiary operations manager, said.
A shortage of ready-mix drivers across the nation means companies must be creative to attract and retain a workforce, Tucker and Webber said. The contest is a way to foster friendly in-house competition and refresh skills.
“Being a ready mix driver means that you have no set hours, you may work 8 to 3 one day, and start at 1 in the morning and max out your available hours the next day,” Tucker said.
“Many days they get wet, hot, cold and sometimes yelled at by some unprofessional customers or dispatchers. They climb in and out of their trucks and up and down their ladders many times per day, and are expected to put a 72,000 pound commercial vehicle in spots where most people wouldn’t think of putting a Jeep.”
At the end of Saturday’s contest, Levi Hererra of Concrete Materials Inc. in Kansas City, Kan., was named champion. Eric Huhn of Kay Concrete Materials in Monett, Mo. was named runner up.
