Beyond the Pump: Workforce Development Stories

The concrete pumping industry is ripe with jobs and opportunities for growth. Many of today’s industry leaders started out as concrete pumpers and worked their way up to the positions they currently hold. What they had in common was a desire to learn and expand into new roles.

Last issue, we profiled Bruce Young, who started his career as a concrete pump operator in 1980 and is now president and CEO of Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping; and Dan Mace, who spent 18 years as a concrete pumper before taking on the positions of product safety manager at SCHWING America and safety training consultant at ACPA.

This last installment of our two-part series focuses on finding success within family-run businesses.

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT: LEE ROY THOMPSON

Lee Roy Thompson is an ACPA regional director and poised to take over as second-generation owner of the family-owned Champion Concrete Pumping. While Lee Roy says his father was “hooked” once he started working as a concrete pump operator more than three decades ago, it took Lee Roy a bit longer to settle into his career.

As a child growing up in the business, Lee Roy was fascinated by the large trucks and grew accustomed to a small business atmosphere in which after-hours work calls often were answered at home.

“I remember going on Saturday jobs with my dad at times as a kid and working for him during the summer when I was in high school, mostly emptying trash cans and sweeping the shop,” Lee Roy says.

Lee Roy initially enrolled in college to become a pharmacist but gravitated back to concrete pumping because he knew it would be a good career. Another incentive was he wouldn’t have to go back to school and incur debt. The training would happen on the job.

He started at the bottom and moved up to operating the company’s bigger boom trucks. It wasn’t until he got married that, through conversations with his wife, he began to imagine a career beyond operating pumps. This led to a move to dispatch and floating around other areas to help where needed. By 2012, Lee Roy had moved into operations and field management and was offered an opportunity to work toward ownership.

Lee Roy Thompson — Manager, Champion Concrete Pumping, Hauser, Idaho ACPA Regional Director

“I just kept earning my stripes, earning my positions,” says Lee Roy. “Everything was trial by fire until here we are, 10-plus years later. We’re transitioning the business to my leadership when my dad retires later this year.”

“Be teachable. Pursue the training to make yourself more valuable. The opportunities are out there, and this industry always needs people.” — Lee Roy Thompson

Champion Concrete Pumping welcomes new employees who, as Lee Roy once was, are still exploring their options. “We like to hire people we can train from the ground up, to bring them into our culture and the way we do things,” says Lee Roy. “And we look for younger workers who aren’t necessarily on a career path yet. They’re just looking for a job, but they’re ambitious and they have some drive and a work ethic.”

Lee Roy believes the next generation of industry leaders is out there, but hard to reach. “They’re not on Facebook, and only about half of them are on Instagram,” he says. “There are some attending college, but they don’t like it or don’t know what they’re going to do with it. Many high schools have taken away the shop classes. People don’t know how to change a tire; they don’t know how to build a back porch. They don’t have this concept that they can work in the trades.”

Lee Roy, who also serves on the ACPA Workforce Development Committee, is hopeful that trade associations’ outreach efforts to junior high and high school students will be fruitful in the coming years — and young people will see the many opportunities they can have in a concrete pumping career.

MOTIVATED TO EXCEL: CARL WALKER

Carl Walker has been a member of ACPA’s Board of Directors for 21 years. Currently serving as ACPA regional director, he also served as president from 2011 to 2013 and vice president in 2010. In 2020, he was named an ACPA Hall of Fame Award recipient for his advocacy and activism. Carl’s impressive tenure in concrete pumping began humbly — with a part-time job more than 30 years ago.

In 1989, Carl began his journey by working part time as a mechanic and operator for his father-in-law at Central Concrete Pumping. Carl, a proud Fort Worth native, took the job shortly after his in-laws moved the family business from California to Texas. At the time, he also was working nights in a machine shop.

Carl Walker — Partner/GM, Central Concrete Pumping, Fort Worth, Texas Former ACPA President

“My father-in-law became my mentor and taught me everything he knew about concrete pumping,” says Carl. “He did that because I made it clear that I was willing to learn.”

Over the years, Carl says he did whatever was needed to keep Central Concrete Pumping operating smoothly and successfully. He worked as a line pump operator, boom operator, dispatcher and salesman. When he took over safety responsibilities, he used ACPA resources to launch a formal safety program. As a result of Carl’s dedication, he became an integral part of the company’s growth.

“Make safety a priority … and never stop learning!” — Carl Walker

In 2000, Carl became general manager and partner of the business. He works alongside his wife to run operations, and they are supported on the job by one of their sons and a nephew. Carl also owns Longhorn Line Pumps, a SCHWING concrete pump dealer for the state of Texas, which he founded in 2001.

Carl’s advice for anybody looking to grow their career and move up company ranks is to make their intentions known.

“Don’t expect advancement to just happen,” he says. “Work hard and let your boss know you’re interested in advancement. Ask what you can do to make it happen.”

At the same time, he encourages employers and others in the industry to show people that operating a concrete pump is a great career.

“You can make good money, and job opportunities are always available for experienced operators,” he says.