Our team supplied ready-mix concrete to the St. Regis Chicago, a 101-story, 1,198-foot skyscraper designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang. The work required 12,000 PSI high-strength concrete, a 3,500 cubic yard mat foundation poured at 500 cubic yards per hour, and pumping concrete from Lower Wacker Drive to the upper floors. The St. Regis is the third-tallest building in Chicago and the tallest building in the world designed by a woman.
The project’s significance reaches well beyond its height. The tower is a defining new silhouette on the Chicago skyline and a landmark for what a Studio Gang-designed building can be. It is LEED Silver certified, with specialized blue and green glass that maximizes energy efficiency, reduces glare, and protects migrating birds along the Chicago River corridor. We are proud to have contributed to this project that received the 2022 Award of Excellence for Best Tall Building in the Americas from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The way Prairie Materials operates is shaped by Our VC Way, the values shared across Votorantim Cimentos North America. Our principles of Safety and Health, Ethics and Diversity, Open Dialogue, Customer Focus, Trust and Simplicity, Act with Ownership, Learn and Evolve, Lasting Results, and Sustainable Legacy. Our principles are the foundations of our work, evident in how we operate every day.
With decades of experience in construction, Prairie Materials brings knowledge to every load we deliver. Our original Bridgeview yard still anchors our network, linking where we started to the work we support today. This continuity reflects a focus on Lasting Results, with materials and relationships built to sustain over time.
Across our team, long careers and multi-generational families are a familiar part of Prairie Materials. Safety and Health supports that stability, with programs such as our mobile Wellness Clinic and ongoing training, including an annual Safety Leadership Conference that brings in outside expertise to strengthen how we work.
We support the customer experience with tools that keep projects moving and on schedule. Truck tracking keeps time-sensitive deliveries on schedule by monitoring location and status in real time, eTicketing replaces paper processes with accurate digital documentation, and Concrete.ai mix optimization through the Prairie+ program reduces material costs while improving concrete performance. These systems reflect our values of Customer Focus and Trust and Simplicity, helping contractors plan, adjust, and move forward with confidence.
Quality carries through every part of our work. Prairie Materials meets IDOT and applicable ASTM specifications, supported by our technical service and quality control teams that are involved throughout the project lifecycle. This same approach extends to Sustainable Legacy, with Prairie+ low-carbon mix designs, recycled aggregates, and practical environmental programs that support responsible construction.
Prairie Materials operates as an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) approved concrete supplier and works to applicable ASTM specifications. We are part of Votorantim Cimentos North America (VCNA), and through that affiliation, participate in industry programs including the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and the broader VCNA sustainability and biodiversity initiatives.
Prairie Materials supports the communities where we live, work, and grow, helping to build what matters most. Our VC Way principles of Lasting Results and Sustainable Legacy show up here not just in the materials we deliver, but in how our teams contribute to the places they call home.
Our teams have partnered with Habitat for Humanity on home builds, bringing both materials and volunteers to help create safe, affordable housing for those in need. These efforts connect our day-to-day work to the broader needs of the communities we serve, reinforcing the role we play beyond the jobsite.
We also partner with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where volunteers help prepare and distribute meals across Chicagoland. Through VCNA’s Earth Day partnership with One Tree Planted, ongoing employee wellness programs, and local sponsorships supporting schools, food security, and youth sports, Prairie Materials stays connected to its communities well beyond any single project.
Prairie Materials is founded in Bridgeview, Illinois. The first truckload of material was loaded, and the foundation was set for a business that has run for generations. Bridgeview remains our corporate headquarters today.
We expanded through acquisitions and new ready-mix yards across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs to keep up with the region’s post-war growth. Each new yard brought Prairie Materials closer to the contractors and project teams who depend on us, and the organic, location-by-location growth pattern that still defines the network today takes shape.
We expanded into Central Illinois. The move extended Prairie Materials’ service area beyond the Chicago region for the first time and started the long process of becoming an Illinois supplier rather than a Chicago-area supplier.
Prairie Materials was acquired by Votorantim Cimentos North America (VCNA). The acquisition connected us to a global cement and building materials company, opened access to shared technical resources and sustainability programs, and folded Our VC Way into how we operate every day.
We began exploring AI-driven mix optimization through a partnership with Concrete.ai, well before AI tools in the industry became mainstream. The work eventually became the Prairie+ low-carbon ready-mix line, with more than 50 mix designs now available at the average plant and a portfolio of projects, including Prologis Cicero, that prove low-carbon concrete can hit aggressive performance targets.
We expanded into Northwest Illinois with the acquisition of four plants in the Rockford area. The expansion was the most significant geographic move in nearly three decades and brought the same Prairie Materials standards, fleet, and technical services to a new corner of the state where construction demand is growing.
“Gratidão seria a palavra mais
adequada para descrever essa história
de mais de 30 anos. A VC tem sido uma
escola infinita de aprendizagem e
desafios. Construímos sonhos,
erguemos esperança e concretizamos
felicidade. Nosso respeito à inclusão e
diversidade nos faz cada vez mais
fortes e soberanos, deixando um
legado que nunca será esquecido.”
“Gratidão seria a palavra mais
adequada para descrever essa história
de mais de 30 anos. A VC tem sido uma
escola infinita de aprendizagem e
desafios. Construímos sonhos,
erguemos esperança e concretizamos
felicidade. Nosso respeito à inclusão e
diversidade nos faz cada vez mais
fortes e soberanos, deixando um
legado que nunca será esquecido.”
“Gratidão seria a palavra mais
adequada para descrever essa história
de mais de 30 anos. A VC tem sido uma
escola infinita de aprendizagem e
desafios. Construímos sonhos,
erguemos esperança e concretizamos
felicidade. Nosso respeito à inclusão e
diversidade nos faz cada vez mais
fortes e soberanos, deixando um
legado que nunca será esquecido.”
“Gratidão seria a palavra mais
adequada para descrever essa história
de mais de 30 anos. A VC tem sido uma
escola infinita de aprendizagem e
desafios. Construímos sonhos,
erguemos esperança e concretizamos
felicidade. Nosso respeito à inclusão e
diversidade nos faz cada vez mais
fortes e soberanos, deixando um
legado que nunca será esquecido.”
