Solid performance: 100 year old Sangrey Concrete in rare company as it is a fifth generation | Local business
Mike Sangrey has spent some time lately helping his father pour sidewalks, prepare patios, and install curbs for Sangrey Concrete.
“I love working and studying next to my pops,” says 18-year-old Sangrey, who envisions one day taking over Willow Street. “I’ve thought about doing something else before, but I’m really passionate about the business.”
If Sangrey takes over a day, he’ll be the fifth generation owner of a concrete company that’s celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. This is a seldom reached milestone even in Lancaster County, where family businesses have long been the norm.
“It’s unusual,” said Mike Mitchell, director of the high center at Elizabethtown College, citing statistics from family business consultant John Ward’s 2011 book Keeping the Family Business Healthy, which found only four percent of family businesses are in it create the fourth generation.
“They are certainly in a small percentage of the companies that do that,” says Mitchell of Sangrey Concrete.
Neglected succession planning and family conflicts can be one of the reasons a family-controlled company doesn’t survive long-term, said Mitchell, whose organization is committed to strengthening family businesses. But there are other success stories in Lancaster County, according to Mitchell.
“I think there are some close families in Lancaster and more families (businesses) in general,” he says.
Sangrey Concrete’s longevity has been helped by family members who appear to get along well and have shown an interest in running the company while keeping it small enough to be easier to maintain. Today the company consists mainly of a father and a son who work together with a few summer workers. This type of operation has long suited its owners.
“With more employees, a lot of time comes with more headaches,” says Carl Sangrey Jr., who runs the company, which was founded in 1920 by his great-grandfather, George Sangrey. “It has always been small and independently owned by the Sangreys from the start.”
Michael Sangrey, 18, left, Carl Sangrey Jr., and Carl Sangrey Sr., right, in business as Sangrey Concrete, are celebrating 100 years of their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
All in the family
41-year-old Carl Sangrey Jr. says he is happy with the collaboration between him and his son and has no interest in expanding the company he literally grew up with.
The Sangrey Concrete store and headquarters at 204 Peach Bottom Road on Willow Street is behind the longtime Sangrey family home where Carl Sangrey Jr. now lives. When he was 10, Carl Sangrey Jr. said he mowed the grass around the store before working with his own dad over the summer as a teenager.
“I just enjoyed the whole thing, being close to the equipment, the work,” he says.
While the family concrete business was a large part of his growing up, Carl Sangrey Jr. didn’t embrace it until he’d worked for a major construction company for several years, which was followed by a stake operator at Arconic, the former Alcoa.
Carl Sangrey Jr. said working at larger companies has opened his eyes to how they manage bulk orders and what is expected of employees. “I was tired of working 12-hour shifts and nights and weekends.”
The company stamp on Sangrey Concrete’s driveway on April 8, 1975 as they celebrate 100 years of their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
While helping his brother-in-law with a small, specific project at his house, Carl Sangrey Jr. said he was serious about taking over the company his father had run while he was away. While his father, Carl Sangrey Sr., still owns the company, Carl Sangrey Jr. has led it since 2017 when he changed the name from Carl Sangrey Construction.
Carl Sangrey Jr.’s wife, Brook, answers the company’s phone, and Carl Sangrey Sr. is still helping out with the business, loading trucks, fixing equipment, mowing the grass, and maintaining a garden in the shop.
“I’m not someone who just sits down and does nothing,” says 75-year-old Carl Sangrey Sr., who bought the business from his own father, George Sangrey Jr., when he was in his thirties.
Shut down
Carl Sangrey Jr. is celebrating 100 years in his family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Carl Sangrey Jr. is celebrating 100 years in his family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Michael Sangrey (18), left, Carl Sangrey Jr. and Carl Sangrey Sr. (right) show the company stamp as Sangrey Concrete celebrates 100 years in his family-run concrete company on Willow Street.
Carl Sangrey Sr. finds the company stamp in the shop when Sangrey Concrete celebrates 100 years in his family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Carl Sangrey Sr. is celebrating 100 years in his family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
“You can make a decent living doing it, but you won’t kill,” says Carl Sangrey Sr., who early on made many sidewalks and curbs in Lancaster City where the company’s oval stamp can still be seen on some sidewalks .
“And then in the 1960s the terraces were big,” he says.
Sangrey Concrete has long specialized in small-scale jobs, but a marquee contract was to pour concrete for the “gold” course at the Village Greens mini golf course that debuted at the Strasbourg attraction in the mid-1980s.
“It takes someone special to keep a business like this going. It’s not just me, “says Carl Sangrey Sr.” You have to have someone with the initiative and the makeup to do it. Bottom line is, it’s hard work. “
Carl Sangrey Jr., 21 years old, at Sangrey Concrete, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
Getting help to stay small
The fact that Sangrey Concrete was small helped him survive in slow times, including this spring when business closings designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 brought many jobs to a standstill.
“There is work when you work from home, it could be smaller jobs, but you are sure of a job,” says Carl Sangrey Sr. It’s a philosophy that helped his son weather downturns.
Working on landscaping projects for homeowners helped save the company until normal construction activity resumed when the lockdowns were lifted. Now Carl Sangrey Jr. says there is more than enough residential and commercial jobs to keep him busy.
And when there is too much work for one of the company’s crews, Carl Sangrey Jr. says he uses his network of similar small firms to sell each other’s work out.
Shut down
Carl Sangrey Sr. has an original invoice from 1939 when Sangrey Concrete celebrated 100 years in his family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
The office in the Sangrey Concrete store as they celebrate 100 years in their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
A toy cement truck sits in the window of Sangrey Concrete’s shop as they celebrate 100 years of their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Some of the equipment used by Sangrey Concrete celebrating 100 years in their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Stamped concrete like this sidewalk is one of the examples of the work done by Sangrey Concrete, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary at their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Carl Sangrey Sr. has an original invoice from 1939 when Sangrey Concrete celebrated 100 years in his family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
The office in the Sangrey Concrete store as they celebrate 100 years in their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
A toy cement truck sits in the window of Sangrey Concrete’s shop as they celebrate 100 years of their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Some of the equipment used by Sangrey Concrete celebrating 100 years in their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
Stamped concrete like this sidewalk is one of the examples of the work done by Sangrey Concrete, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary at their family-run concrete business on Willow Street.
“When we get a big project, we all just come together and do it,” says Carl Sangrey Jr. “If I have one, they’ll help me. If they have one, I’ll help them out for a day or so. “
Depending on this informal network of similar businesses, adding employees is preferable as a larger size means constant pressure to find enough for everyone, says Carl Sangrey Jr.
“Once you’ve developed something and it works for you, you really don’t know how to do it any other way,” he says.
Carl Sangrey Jr. also takes an informal approach to guaranteeing his job by offering his own word and the company’s long history as a substitute for a written guarantee.
“I say,” Call me if something happens, “he says,” I’ve been doing this for a while, I’m pretty sure everything will be fine. “
What to read next
Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm registration of the list.
Error! An error occurred while processing your request.
Comments are closed.