Sept. 22, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Concrete Materials.

It won’t be long before Tristen Wentzel will spend his workdays behind the wheel of a Ready Mix truck.

Two months ago, he’d never driven anything like it.

Weeks later, he’s the holder of an unrestricted commercial driver’s license, or CDL, that he knows means career opportunities are ahead.

“I’d never been in a truck, and now I have an unrestricted CDL and a job right away, and the training process showed they really care,” said Wentzel, who lives south of Sioux Falls in the Parker-Marion area.

His new career at Concrete Materials in Sioux Falls started back in the control room of a television station, where he used to direct newscasts until consolidation eliminated his job in early 2020.

As the pandemic happened, he stayed on unemployment for about eight months, and then tried college for a year trying to figure out things. A family friend worked at Concrete Materials and suggested Wentzel check it out.

“He said they had a program where if I was interested in getting a CDL, I could drive a Ready Mix truck,” Wentzel said. “I’d heard a lot of good things about the company, so I thought, let me try it out.”

In July, he entered an in-house training program at Concrete Materials to begin working toward his CDL.

“They helped me start by learning about the trucks, going through videos and reading and discussing it with the trainer,” he said. “And then we started practicing in an area where they had cones set up to do different maneuvers, and then they took me on the road to practice. The entire time I had someone walking me through the entire process.”

This is the second full year that Concrete Materials has offered the program, which typically takes six weeks. It’s a combination of classroom-style instruction with a lot of hands-on practice.

“We talk about worker safety, documentation required for drivers, pre-trip instructions, and there’s a drug and alcohol component because CDL holders have different rules even in how you approach your personal vehicle,” transportation supervisor Andy Henning said.

Henning, who teaches the classroom portion, is a former high school teacher who is supported on the hands-on portion by drivers with decades of experience.

“You get a different perspective when you’re in a truck driving around Sioux Falls,” he said. “I’ve had people who grew up in a city their whole life who have never been on a tractor, and in a couple weeks they’re saying it’s not bad at all.”

Wentzel acknowledges it was “kind of intimidating,” he said.

“I didn’t have experience with anything like this, but it went well. It was a really good experience. The trainer was really cool and didn’t get upset when I made mistakes and walked me through how to do different maneuvers.”

Concrete Materials has had 11 employees go through the program so far this year. It’s offered for free, with the request that newly licensed drivers work there at least a year.

“We’ve had a very high retention rate,” Henning said. “After being in a truck for six weeks, they realize what an investment it is to have a license.”

Concrete Materials has an ongoing need for drivers with commercial licensing, human resources manager Molly Smith said.

“We need CDL drivers often. We’ve had several people we hired as entry-level workers, and they’re still with us with a full CDL,” she said. “Right now, we have Ready Mix driver positions still open. They do require a CDL, and typically we’ll open entry-level driver positions at the beginning of the year, so you get trained to get a CDL so you’re ready to go in the spring when the season kicks off, but we still have spots in Sioux Falls down to Sioux City, Yankton and Vermilion, so around the area.”

Offering an on-site program for free is unique, she said. Concrete Materials has worked with the South Dakota Department of Transportation to certify its program, which is an upcoming federal requirement.

“Our culture is very focused on safety,” Smith said. “That’s at the forefront of everything we do. We watch out for our employees and want to make sure they’re fully trained. We don’t want them to be afraid they’re not sure how to do something.”

A variety of people find driving with a CDL is a fit, she said.

“We have people with a farming background, people who have done over-the-road driving where they maybe want to drive locally, and people who have driven garbage trucks and school buses and now want to do something different.”

All drivers work locally, “so you’re home every night and not driving overnight,” she added.

After a little more time working specifically with Ready Mix trucks, Wentzel will be out on his own. So far, it has been a positive career change, he said.

“I don’t have any complaints. Everyone has been really nice,” he said. “It’s been really cool, and everyone has been pretty awesome.”

To start your career with Concrete Materials, click here.