You’ve seen them all over town:
Parked at a neighbor’s lot
Heading up Skyway or Clark
Winding their way down cozy side streets
The big white concrete trucks, blue-striped barrels spinning, ready to deliver the foundation to a new home, business, or backyard.
Located at the bottom of Skyway, just 9 minutes from Town Hall, Mathews Readymix has been the primary supplier of concrete for home foundations, commercial builds, parking lots, and even new patios in Paradise. Their iconic blue striped trucks are everywhere in Town these days, vital suppliers of materials needed to help rebuild homes and businesses across the Ridge.
Mathews Readymix was founded in 1947 by Gordon Mathews, now with plants in Chico, Yuba City, and Oroville, and an office in Paradise. It changed ownership first in 1972 and then again in 2020 when it was bought by Teichert, Inc., who insisted the company keep the original name. “It’s been established as part of the community for so long,” said Nick Steinberg, Mathews Readymix Sales and Marketing Manager.
Community, indeed, has been at the core of Mathews Readymix operations throughout its 75 years in operation, and a driving force behind its involvement in helping Paradise rebuild.
“At Mathews Readymix, we feel we have a civic duty to help rebuild the town,” said Steinberg. “Not only because we are the main supplier in town of a very unique and special product, but it’s also touched our employees, families, and friends in a very personal way.” Several Mathews Readymix employees lost their homes, and many had family members affected as well. “Everybody feels a duty to do what they can to help rebuild the community.”
This help has come in several special ways:
In 2020, Mathews Readymix donated 33 concrete trucks’ worth of concrete to the rebuilding of the Honey Run Covered Bridge. Knowing how important this bridge is to the residents of Paradise and Butte County, their donation allowed for the foundation, columns, abutments, and slope protection to be completed in preparation for the next phase of the bridge reconstruction.
The following year, Mathews Readymix donated the concrete for the foundations and walls of three Habitat for Humanity homes on Garden Lane in Paradise, as well as donating the concrete for the footing material on the Paradise Welcome Sign.
In addition to these philanthropic endeavors, Mathews Readymix is dedicated to bringing businesses and residents the best rebuilding experience possible despite the pandemic and supply shortages.
“We’ve been working diligently to increase capacity by increasing fleet size and truck utilization,” noted Steinberg. “We’re trying to take on as many orders as possible on a daily basis.”
Readymix, also known as the pre-made concrete mixture spinning around the back of one of the big concrete trucks, is used throughout the Ridge and surrounding communities for a variety of commercial and residential projects. With over 85% of their raw materials considered local according to LEAD, Mathews is helping lay the literal and metaphorical foundations for homes, bridges, sidewalks, airports and other projects for development contractors all the way to homeowners pouring patio slabs.
With so many rebuilding factors to consider, said Steinberg, Mathews Readymix team is determined to make the process of getting concrete as headache-free as possible. “From order placement to payment, our team is experienced, friendly, and helpful. We train our staff to be able to walk a customer through the whole process, and we have reliable, safe readymix drivers.”
As a member of the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce and long-time Paradise supplier, Mathews Readymix feels honored to be a part of the future of the Paradise. “We’re so dedicated to this because we’ve been a part of this community,” said Steinberg. “Mathews Readymix cares so much about Paradise, and we want to be as helpful as we can in rebuilding.”
