In 1970, Jay Morrell and a partner set out to purchase a small ready mix plant in rural Minnesota. Though this plant is no longer a part of the JME business, it serves as a reminder of where the company once was, how far it has come, and to a certain degree, how it wants to stay. Today, JME Companies consists of over twelve different operations, including five concrete production plants, two aggregate facilities, a sales and distribution center, and separate transport, snow plow, maintenance, and roll-off dumpster divisions. In the middle of it all, Jay and his immediate family - all active owners of the company - continue to expand the organization with modesty and a genuine concern for the legacy of JME. Even though the size and the scope may have changed, customer service, hard work, and quality products continue to be the cornerstones of Jay Morrell's business - just like they were with that first small plant.

When it comes to changing size and scope, the biggest difference has been the technology that is now incorporated into those five concrete production plants. These plants began with the sole purpose of serving the ready mix needs of their respective communities, and they did so with success for many decades prior to becoming a part of JME. However, through reinvestment in current, state-of-the-art technologies, they are now able to handle the additional duties of producing multiple types of concrete masonry units as well as JME's own line of retaining wall blocks (LondonStone), paving stones (LondonPaver), and 1-ton gravity wall units (LondonBoulder). All of these products are sold throughout greater Minnesota and the surrounding five-state region, making JME a leader in concrete products for building and landscape architecture. And with innovative proprietary products such as LondonLites, Rugged LondonStone, and the LondonStep they are - as their tag line would indicate - "a step ahead of the rest."

The following are highlights of JME Companies portfolio of operations:

Concrete Products of New London, established in 1937 was one of the few outstate modernized plants of that time. In 1991, under JME ownership, the plant was renovated and the product line was expanded including its own retaining wall, Londonstone. In 2003, the entire production line was replaced with the latest concrete products manufacturing equipment including automated color, controlled color blending, Columbia CPM30 with handling line, automated cubing line, and curing system upgrades.

Other physical expansion included storage for over 150,000 eight-inch concrete masonry units and an aggregate pit. Through an emphasis on quality production and building long term relationships with its customers, the product demand requires production 24 hours per day, six days per week, throughout the entire year.

Alexandria Concrete was founded in the late 1930's. It was purchased by JME in 1986. Through similar efforts, the plant grew adding its own aggregate operation in 1991. In 2000, the entire block productions equipment including the curing rooms, were replaced with the latest Columbia Machine offered. New product lines such as concrete pavers were added, as this highly efficient machine opened up more production time.

Concrete of Morris (CMI), Wadena Ready Mix, and an affiliate company, Hutchinson Concrete are the remaining production plants of JME. These ready mix plants also had been in business for over fifty years prior to their purchase, with the exception of Hutchinson Concrete. Hutchinson Concrete is a brand new facility, built in 2000. All of the ready mix plants are equipped with Command Data computerized batching and are MNDOT certified.

JME Corporate Headquarters is located in Monticello. This facility also includes: JME roll-off dumpsters, transport, maintenance and snow plowing divisions, and Monticello Block.

JME Roll-off Dumpsters can be seen at construction sites all over the state. A strong commitment to timely service keeps the 750+ roll-off dumpsters in continual use.

The Transport Division hauls bulk cementitious products for its own plants as well as other concrete product plants throughout the state.

The Maintenance Division services the companies' over 250 vehicles and outside company work, as well.

The Snow Plowing Division, specialized in commercial lots as it is equipped with the necessary front-end loaders, end dumps and tandem plow and sand trucks to handle prompt and complete service.

Monticello Block is the sale and distribution division, which serves its rapidly growing customer base in the metropolitan market.

As a family owned, Midwestern company, the folks at JME understand that the formula for success is best defined by the customer. In that spirit, JME Companies plan to continue its growth by acquiring other companies and adding new products to better serve those customers. Its future will depend, as it always has, on God's will and the quality employees who built it.