A Place Cemented In Island History
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It’s impossible to miss Ameron Hawaii’s blue-and-white trucks with the familiar rotating cylinder in the back rolling down the road - there are 80 of the distinctive trucks on Oahu. Inside those cylinders are the rocks and concrete that have helped build everything from downtown skyscrapers to Waikiki hotels to freeways to home foundations and driveways.
Ameron celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and it plans to continue rocking and rolling as part of Hawaii’s construction industry, providing rocks for ready-mix concrete for the next century.
At the helm of the company as president since 2007 is Wade Wakayama.
“We’ve worked on so many projects, including Kaneohe Marine Corps Base, Hickam, and pouring the concrete for the First Hawaiian Tower.
We really want to celebrate our centennial by saying thanks to our customers, employees and families for all these years.”
While recent local and national news headlines have too many stories about big and small businesses closing, Wakayama attributes Ameron’s long-term success to two things:
“It’s the employees and the vision of the leaders that make this company strong. There’s a lot of pride in the company; the employees are so very proud. There are some folks who have worked here for three generations. They’re proud of that, and that they can provide for their families.”
Company founders a century ago were three construction men, a retired sea captain and a quarry owner who gave it its original name, Honolulu Construction and Draying Co. Ltd. At one point, they had a quarry in Moiliili in an area that now comprises the UH Manoa lower campus. By 1932, the company name was shortened to HC&D. During the 1930s and ‘40s, quarrying prospered in Palolo and Moiliili. But increasing suburban development dictated a move to Windward Oahu as Kapaa Valley became a key source of aggregate.
During the 1950s, the late radio personality J.Akuhead Pupule (Hal Lewis) and local musician Jack DeMello created a jingle that makes folks think of HC&D as “Hot Coffee and Donuts.” In the 1970s, HC&D merged with American Pipe and Construction Co. - or Ameron Inc. - and the company took on its present name, Ameron Hawaii.
Among its customers are Royal Contracting, Ralph Inouye Co. and Ono Construction. Another customer, Suncrete Hawaii president Bob Tyler, says he uses concrete and aggregate almost daily.
“They’re fantastic,” he says enthusiastically. “They get their deliveries on time. They go out of their way. I couldn’t be as far ahead as I am without them.
Everyone is great to work with, from the office staff to the drivers.”
Wayne Kawano, president of the Cement and Concrete Products Industry Association, notes that Wakayama and Ameron Hawaii have been helpful in supporting the 43-year-old trade organization by providing class instructors and people to help with performance exams. (CCPI has a certification program four times a year with a workshop for 60 concrete technicians to train engineers, construction inspectors and agencies.)
“Ameron Hawaii is one of our major members, along with Hawaiian Cement and Island Ready-Mix,” Kawano adds. “They’ve been very supportive.”
Wakayama, a Kauai High School graduate and civil engineer by trade, joined Ameron Hawaii in 1990 and worked first as a sales engineer.
The Hawaii Kai resident humbly says one thing he brought to the table was to listen to an employee who suggested they have one party with all the
employees together instead of separate parties. “One party for all,” notes Wakayama. “We have blue collar and white collar celebrating together.”
When Wakayama isn’t handling things with the firm, he enjoys spending time with his wife Linda, attending UH football games and playing golf. Their son Jared works at Kiewit Pacific, and daughter Tana is a freshman majoring in Japanese at Pacific University in Oregon.
Hawaiian Dredging Construction president Bill Wilson says Ameron Hawaii has been a very productive and reliable supplier. “We have a long personal relationship with them,” he says, noting that the 106-year-old HDC has employees with relatives who work at Ameron. “If there’s a problem, they’re always willing to work with whatever issues arise, and we are always able to make it a win-win for everyone.”
Wilson, who marks his 34th year with Hawaiian Dredging this month, compliments Ameron’s community service. “They’ve been a good corporate citizen.
They think and act locally. When the kids go back to school, they try to keep some of their trucks off the road to ease traffic.”
Future Ameron goals include continued emphasis on the environment and to carry on its community service. They’ve helped out, for example, at cleanups with Chuck Burrows for Kawai Nui Marsh, which is adjacent to the company’s Kapaa Quarry, cleanups on the H-3 freeway and Kailua’s July 4 parade.
Ameron Hawaii is rockin’ and rollin’ into its next 100 years.
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