Outback Material thrives on concrete and relationships

A supplier of ready mixed concrete, rock and sand founded in the Bass Lake and Oakhurst area in 1968 has managed to endure and flourish without abandoning its regional roots.

More recently, the state’s controversial high-speed rail project has played a role in that. From 2014 through December 2018, the company will supply 450,000 cubic yards of concrete for the first segment of the planned bullet train rail line.

“We were successful with obtaining the purchase order for the concrete for the California High-Speed Rail Construction Package 1 with Tutor Perini/Zachry Parsons,” said Curtis Lovette, owner of Outback Materials. “And as a result, we’ve invested a significant amount of money in putting up this new concrete plant, and hiring new employees and drivers, investing in trucks.”

The small company’s new $3 million concrete batch plant in northwest Fresno is not replacing its existing plants in Auberry, Friant, O’Neals, Oakhurst or Mariposa. It is just a new member of the family and an expansion into the Fresno market...

NOTE: This article was published in full within the 2016 Pride edition of The Madera Tribune this spring.