fleet of Concrete Materials Co., a division of Cornejo & Sons Inc. The
Wichita company has mixed up the look of its trucks to show its
community support.
Lynn (Kincheloe) Stephan ’64 was the first to call The Shocker magazine offices about seeing a Shocker concrete truck on the streets of Wichita.
“I think I have some news for you,” Stephan reported in early September, adding that “I don’t know where it is now, exactly, but you can’t miss it!”
After some quick research on construction companies and active construction sites in the Wichita area, the eye-catching Shocker truck was identified. It’s one of Concrete Materials Co.’s fleet of 60 trucks.
The company is a division of Cornejo & Sons Inc., which specializes in concrete and asphalt paving, ready mix concrete, sand and gravel extraction, demolition and warehousing. CMC’s Shocker truck sports Wichita State yellow and the university’s wheat logo, along with “Shockers” emblazed in large letters on the truck’s drum, where concrete is mixed. The drum has featured the WSU paint job for about a year now, relates Cornejo & Sons president and university friend Marty Cornejo, who explains that the truck was painted to show the corporation’s community involvement.
Before going ahead with the project, Cornejo Inc. sought — and got — approval to use the trademarked logo from WSU officials, who were more than pleased for the free publicity.
Typically, a paint job on a concrete truck’s drum lasts about five years, but Cornejo says the ones with special paint schemes such as the WSU truck seem to last a bit longer because the drivers tend to take better care of them.
In case you’re wondering, the trucks are quite an investment: about $170,000 brand new, plus an addition $5,000 for painting the drum in special colors and featuring a logo. Putting a non-company look on the rig turns a lot of heads. Cornejo relates, “It’s amazing the attention it brings.”
