Swayze’s Concrete on 201 One Avenue East in Assiniboia’s industrial area on the north side of town burnt down on Thursday morning, January 30. The loss to the town was significant as Swayze’s Concrete had been a part of Assiniboia’s business community since 2005.
However, Swayze’s Concrete intends to reopen in town within six weeks. Considered an essential service in the COVID-19 pandemic era, Swayze’s is also searching for a new site manager to help run their Assiniboia location.
“There’s going to be a brand-new facility,” said Ryan Swayze, part-owner of Swayze’s Concrete along with his brother, Randy. “We’re going to be looking for a new plant manager – we’ll be looking at hiring within the month,” Swayze added.
Swayze outlined the qualities of an ideal site manager for their concrete plant in Assiniboia. “The manager should have a good handle of dealing with customers and employees. They should be also be present in the community,” he explained. “We want to put the best foot forward.”
Although having a background in concrete isn’t essential, it’s a preferred qualification for the site manager, as well as holding either a Class 1A or 3A truck driving licence.
While the fire destroyed the plant in Assiniboia this winter, Swayze’s had never actually left town. “We have a functioning office in Assiniboia,” Swayze said, adding that an employee has regularly stopped by to check on their property and read the company’s business-related emails in their Assiniboia office across the street from the plant.
Initially, a fully contained, semi-portable batch plant will be used to supply Swayze’s Assiniboia operations with concrete during the spring and summer. Meanwhile, the entire plant will be rebuilt, with plans for completion within 6-8 months. “The idea would be to have it totally completed by the fall,” Swayze reported.
The owners, Ryan and Randy Swayze, were born and raised in southeastern Saskatchewan. The family-owned business has provided communities across southern Saskatchewan with ready-mixed concrete and washed aggregate for almost 60 years. The company bought out Larson’s Construction-Redi-Mix Concrete in Assiniboia in August 2005. Previously, the site was owned by North American Lumber for several years until 1982 until Larson’s took over the business.
