Our VC Way starts with three commitments that shape how we conduct ourselves, how we work with customers, and how we prepare for what comes next.
How we treat people defines who we are as a company. We hold safety as a non-negotiable, maintain honest relationships with our contractors and communities, and foster open conversation across our plants, quarries, and offices.
Our customers rely on us because of how we coordinate, communicate, and follow through. Whether the project is a residential foundation or a supertall high-rise, the expectation does not change. We listen to what the job requires, and we deliver accordingly.
Consistent operations matter, but so does the willingness to improve them. Prairie Materials invests in new technology, cleaner production methods, and the development of our people because this industry rewards those who adapt and grow alongside their customers.
The three commitments above branch into nine principles that put Our VC Way into daily practice. Together, they guide how Prairie Materials serves contractors and communities.
Our goal is that every person on every job goes home safe. Our mobile Wellness Clinics served 455 employees in 2025, and our annual Safety Leadership Conference brings in outside specialists like Andy Barker and Angelica Grindle, Ph.D., from DEKRA, to teach how we prevent serious injuries.
Every operation at Prairie Materials runs on the same foundation: honest work and mutual respect. Different backgrounds and perspectives lead to better decisions on the job and stronger relationships with the contractors and communities we serve.
Good decisions start with listening. We direct sponsorships to organizations like Friends of the Chicago River and the Jackson Center for Conductive Education based on ongoing conversations with local communities about where support is needed most. That same openness shapes how our teams communicate internally about safety and operations.
The Prairie Materials team works close to its customers on purpose. No two projects are the same, and Prairie Materials does not treat them that way. Customer Focus means we take the time to understand what your project actually requires, then build our process around that. The result is concrete that fits the spec, documentation that supports the schedule, and a team that stays engaged from start to finish. Whatever your needs are, we aim to meet them.
Prairie Materials has operated from the same Bridgeview headquarters since 1948, and many of our contractor relationships span just as long. Clear communication and consistent follow-through, project after project, are how those partnerships hold.
Responsibility does not stop at the job site. Our teams volunteer alongside the Greater Chicago Food Depository, participate in the Manteno Veterans Run, and support health initiatives like the Happy Heart Health Fair in the neighborhoods where our employees live and raise families. We Act with Ownership not only by helping build the infrastructure our communities rely on, but also by engaging directly with the people that make up those communities.
Standing still is not an option in our industry. In 2021, Prairie Materials partnered with Concrete.ai to develop Prairie+, with over 50 AI-optimized mix designs now available. We also support research and education through the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers.
Some projects are measured in cubic yards. Others are measured in generations. Structures like St. Regis Chicago are a tangible expression of our commitment to building Lasting Results. The St. Regis Chicago, a 101-story, 1,198-foot supertall tower, stands as the tallest building in the world designed by a woman, architect Jeanne Gang. Aqua Tower, also designed by Jeanne Gang, is an 84-story skyscraper that received 100,000 cubic yards and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award for Skyscraper of the Year in 2009. The St. Regis Chicago, Aqua Tower, Bank of America Tower, and the 606 Bike Trail are woven into the landscape of Northern and Central Illinois. So is the O’Hare Terminal 5 Parking Garage, the Mile Long Bridge, and the ongoing Elgin O’Hare Western Access Tollway.
Prairie+ mixes have avoided more than 13,686 tons of CO2 emissions to date, with over 350,000 cubic yards delivered across diverse projects. The way we produce and deliver concrete today shapes what we leave behind for the communities around us. Our teams across our business units also participate in tree-planting efforts with One Tree Planted. Prairie Materials’ partnership with One Tree Planted reflects Sustainable Legacy in its most literal form: supporting reforestation, biodiversity, and climate resilience in the communities and ecosystems where we operate.
