Richard O'Brien

Dear Members,

On March 21st, our industry lost one of its original “pioneers” with the passing of Richard O’Brien of O’Brien Concrete Pumping in Denver, Colorado. While many of you may have only know Richard for his emails and newsletter The Irish Dreamer, at heart he was a true champion of the industry devoted to educating pumpers on the value of their services and how to increase profits. 

Richard was a long time ACPA member and served for many years on the ACPA Board of Directors. He received an ACPA Pioneer Award in 1991 and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

In his Lifetime Achievement Award presentation, the late Bob Weatherton had this to say about Richard:

“Richard O’Brien has been in the pumping business and equipment business for a long time. Dick started out as a very successful plastering contractor in Denver and the ‘70s; when plastering slowed down, he looked for another area to expand his business and chose concrete pumping. In the early days when people were trying to figure out what they had to do to pump concrete, many people channeled over to Dick and he always took the time to help them think about billing, service, how to deal with customers and so forth. He has been a long-time resource for good business practices, having had a most successful plastering business, as well as being involved in the hotel and mini-warehouse businesses, just to name a few endeavors.

Dick has been a friend to the concrete pumping business and many people in this industry got their first start with Richard O’Brien. In the early days, when trucks with chrome wheels and shiny mirrors and bumpers were unheard of, Dick was the first to endorse beautiful equipment so that operators could take pride in its appearance. Dick is a winner and the concrete pump industry is a winner because of having Dick in it”.  

Services will be delayed due to the COVID-19 quarantine, but you are welcome to leave your condolences at the link below.

https://horancares.com/obits/richard-e-obrien/

Please keep Richard’s wife, Jackie, and the O’Brien family and co-workers in your thoughts and prayers.

Warm Regards,

Christi Collins
ACPA Executive Director