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The year 2011 will go down as the year that RAM G.C. went out and spread its wings, mainly heading in a westerly direction to a place known as the “Bakken Basin,” the oil rich country of western North Dakota and eastern Montana. RAM Inc. had already experienced some post-frame ag building success in this region in 2010. So, we knew there was a need for general contracting/construction management type work out there. For the employees that have been out there, when I say it’s just plain “crazy”, you can all attest to that.
The main reason G.C. looked at going out to the Bakken region is quite simple. The Minnesota commercial construction market was, and still is pretty much non-existent, at least with the private sector type work we’re more accustomed to bidding and designing. Not to say we don’t have anything going on here, but it isn’t enough to keep things moving in a forward motion. If you know me well enough, forward is the only direction I look at going, even being stuck in neutral is enough to drive me nuts. Reverse is not an option. Holy Cow! I’m starting to ramble, so I’ll pick up the pace: Last January, we headed out to North Dakota to look at a few leads. The temperature from the time we left RAM until we got back three days later was never more than -5° for the high. The wind blew non-stop, it was -29° in Williston with a -54° wind-chill. Well, we survived the cold and the trip, and picked up many good opportunities for 2011, and even some for this coming year, 2012. With a few more trips out to the area, we came away with three separate buildings to design-build and manage for Billings County.
Building #3 is also located in Fryburg and
Most of the other G.C. jobs for 2011
All in all, 2011 was the year we went out and spread our wings, and we’ve been, and will be flying high into 2012 and beyond... Special thanks to everyone (Jody, Rich, Michelle and Nate), who have worked so hard at making this all workout. Also, to Neil with his awesome detail to the excavation work he does on our projects, for chauffeuring me around on trips he’s made out to North Dakota in crappy weather. To CJ, and Blake for working so hard on their end to get us what we need for drawings and pricing. To all the direct crew guys and our subcontractors for the sacrifices of spending time away from their families and home, I know it’s never easy. To Danny and Larry, who bust their hump all year to get the loads out, and Craig H. for keeping product coming in. Kimberly, the one person I affect the most, thanks for keeping everything on the financial end of things in line, for understanding (or trying to) my direction and goals, (not only at work, but personally as well). Thank you to everyone! Have a great and prosperous 2012!!!
Rollie Radtke
The Billings County, ND project had three buildings to work on– from digging footings, installing sewer lines, and laser grading the gravel for the concrete inside and out of buildings. The Strata Concrete job in Watford City, ND included demolition of an existing building to prepare for the new batch plant building. Closer to home we had quite a few Working with Ram Landscape Services at Chriss Renier’s farm, we had constructed a new all-weather paddock area on a challenging hillside. We removed a large quantity of soil and Ram Landscape constructed a large boulder wall to hold back the hillside. We then relocated the waterers and placed an ag-lime base. That was then followed by the re-installation of fences and gates, and turned a steep hill into a safer and more usable space that the horses love to walk on now. Another site in Elk River, at the Rob and Mary Knight residence, also had the construction of approximately 6000 ft of wood fence and installation of a 100’ x 200’ outdoor arena. This turned out wonderful and Mary cannot wait to get out there early next spring and finally get to use it. They are also putting in a beautiful front entrance gate that we have been helping with since the crews are pretty tied up. The gate should hopefully finish up before Christmas. At the first of the year, Ram G.C. will be splitting Ram Excavating Services into its own corporation. We are very excited about this and hope to continue to grow into the future. This will help make things easier in the office. This was our third year now with the excavating division, and things continue to be fun and exciting working on all of the different projects that have come along the way. Thank you for another great year, Neil Kerkvliet
Speaking of Rhino Court, we installed 7
I would like to thank all of our great customers from this year and last! Welcome new customers for 2012. If you have plans/ideas for the coming year, give us a call. Have a great winter and let it snow!
Thanks!
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As we come to the end of 2011 and begin to think about 2012, it’s good to take a few moments to look back at the year, and to appreciate the things that have gone well. Here are a few of the things that I’m thankful for: • The agricultural market – this has been the strongest market for RAM Buildings in 2011, accounting for almost 60% of our new sales. • North Dakota – New sales in North Dakota totaled just over $1.5 million in 2011, and North Dakota has proven to be a market that can help sustain our company during down times. • Safe job sites – In terms of number of accidents, 2011 tied for the lowest number of accidents in our history. While zero accidents is always the goal, it is encouraging to see that we are moving in the right direction. • Leadership within our crews – By percentage, we currently have more crewmen with less than one year of experience at RAM than we’ve ever had. The ability to produce high quality projects on time and under hours is because of the leadership of our Crew Foremen, A-men, and Dave O, and their ability to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together. • Territory Managers who will go aggressively after every project to ensure that we have work for all our employees. • A production and shipping department (Blake, Craig H, Danny, Larry, and Mike) that made a commitment to process and deliver more buildings with the same resources as in 2010, and made it happen. • Internal support folks that have kept the ship moving in the right direction at all times. • The families of all of our employees. When things get tough (and they sure have in the past few years), the families often feel the pain. Moms and dads that are stressed because of finances, dads and husbands gone for days at a time to job sites in North Dakota, and a host of other things to deal with. They provide a basis of strength for every employee here, and they don’t hear this enough. Thank you! 2012 is coming fast, and here’s what I see in my murky crystal ball: • The agricultural market should still be strong, but some of the tax breaks that have been in place are currently in limbo, so we need to remember the old adage “There’s no such thing as a sure thing.” • North Dakota will continue to be a viable market for RAM Buildings, Inc. and RAM General Contracting, and we will take advantage of that market in 2012. • Equipment will play a larger role in our ability to produce projects safely. We’ve seen the benefits of having the right equipment at the right time, and we’ll continue to work to maximize that benefit. • We will continue to have good people here at RAM who strive to do the right thing every time. There will be bumps in the road, and disagreements will arise, but at the end of the day, the good people who make us what we are will still be here. In summary, thank you for all you do here at RAM. Your commitment to stick with us through good times and bad has not gone unnoticed. Without you, RAM doesn’t exist. You may not hear it as much as you would like, but please know that each and every one of you is appreciated. I am blessed and honored to work with you. Craig Jackson P.S. Here’s the yearly trivia for you to ponder: • In Fairbanks, Alaska, it is illegal to give alcohol to a moose.
1301 Second Ave S This will be our first year at this trade show. We will be located Wednesday, January 4, 10:30am-5:30pm
1525 South Elm Ave Thursday, March 15, 9am-5pm MN State Fairgrounds All you horse lovers, fun for all ages! We will be in the Coliseum in Booth #'s 3150 & 3152. We will be handing out colorful cowboy hats for the young ones (while supplies last). Thursday, April 27, 8:30am-9:30pm
RAM Customer Referral Program This program has proven to be our most rewarding. The benefit to you is receiving $100. The benefit to us is much more satisfying. It brings us great pleasure to know that our customers are so completely satisfied with our work that they would be willing to recommend us to a neighbor, friend, or family member. This program is making a huge difference in aiding customers to choose RAM for their building needs.
There is no limit to the number of people you can refer. Therefore there is no limit to the number of $100 checks you can collect. For full details about the RAM Customer Referral Program you may contact your Territory Manager by calling us at 1-800-710-4726, or visit us at www.rambuildings.com.
All of the following buildings have been entered in this year’s National Frame Building Association competition for Building of the Year. The competition is broken into specific categories in which the building is to be entered. Within that category there are four different awards that may be presented. Most Unique Post-Frame Application • Best Engineering
Go RAM Go!! Stay tuned for our next newsletter to see what happens . . . RAM’s Previous Winners of Building of the Year • 2004 Agricultural Building – Rob Berg
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The first thing I always notice on my trips out there is the amount of vehicle traffic, from all the trucks I pass driving on I-94. There are vehicles from all kinds of construction companies, semis with heavy equipment, piping, trailer houses,
generators and tanks etc... and that’s just from Minnesota to Bismarck! Once you go through Bismarck to either the Dickinson or Minot areas, the amount of traffic doubles because of the oil companies that are creating all the opportunities for companies like ours. Let’s face it, if they wouldn’t be drilling, no one else would be out there either.
Building #1 is located in Fairfield, ND. It is an 80’ x 160’ Fire Hall with an 80’ x 40’ office/training area. The post-frame RAM
Building was built by our direct crews and involved many local Minnesota sub-trades. It is a very sharp-looking building from the inside out.
Building #2 is located in Fryburg, ND and is a 100’ x 120’ “Star” steel building. This county maintenance building has all the bells and whistles and turned out to be a first-class facility. Jeff Iverson, the head District #3 supervisor, was always thinking ahead to what his needs were and what he wanted in the end. Jeff always made sure our crews and sub-contractors were well taken care of and was truly great to work with.
was also built by our direct crews. This is a 50’ x 62’ addition to the existing Fire Hall, used mainly for truck parking. Again, the end product turned out looking great. All in all, the three Billings County buildings kept us busy and on our toes in the office, and out in the field for over 9 months, from design phase to final occupancies.
The other G.C. job in the area was done for our long-time customer Strata Corporation. This was another batch plant, 36’ x 72’, located in Watford City, ND. This was also built by our direct crews, who did a fantastic job of working with Strata so they could remain open during construction. One day Strata hauled out more than 1,000 yards of concrete to its customers while our crews were working on the building. Hats off to Dave B. and all his guys for doing a great job!!
were done locally, close to home. All the Minnesota jobs were RAM post-frame building packages. Tenvoorde Ford, located in St. Cloud, is a 72’ x 90’ auto-detail center. G.C. teamed up with Don Schnaser, the RAM Inc. territory manager, to give owner, Mike Tenvoorde a beautiful building and also huge improvements to his car lot and lawn areas. This is a building that truly makes a difference right in the heart of busy St. Cloud.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community maint-enance building was 50’ x 100’. This project was our first for the SMSC, so we worked hard to prove ourselves on this one. When all was done, Jody did a fantastic job of working and setting the schedule right along with the SMSC’s project managers. Another satisfied customer, and we’ve been asked to bid another project for 2012.
Di-Max Corporation is a 70’ x 72’ addition to the existing building they built with RAM about four years 
ago, right here in Winsted. They basically doubled the size, and the owners couldn’t be happier. 
Other projects started for the year that will continue into 2012 include the Knight horse facility in Elk River. Strata has a contract with us for a Batch Plant/Office in Williston. We are also working on about 3 other buildings for Strata out in the Bakken area for 2012.
Ram Excavating has had a good year, with various projects in Minnesota and North Dakota. The weather was good to us this year, with a few breakdowns here and there, but that happens when playing in the dirt.
equestrian projects including one which was an outdoor arena repair for Rebecca and Joe Frisch. The Peter Smith project kept us busy with some drain tile installation, the addition of a large pond for wildlife habitat, and large berm to block views of the highway.
Ram Landscape is happy to say we have completed our second season with the RAM family of companies. We had so many great projects we did this year. One of our largest jobs was the Moore residence in which we did a complete backyard remodel. We added a swimming pool, a Rhino outdoor basketball court, along with a fire pit, and a great patio area with a shade cloth awning. Talk about Landscape Design for Outdoor Living! I bet the Moores are already counting down the days until spring . . .
additional courts this year. It was one of our best years ever. With this kind of interest peaking, we anticipate the number of Rhino Courts installed to continue to increase. As for spring, we already have two great projects lined up. We are speculating 2012 will be bigger and better than last. In addition our designers are now working with 3D landscape software. The software enables you to visualize the changes made within your yard, before actually making them. This improves your overall experience with RAM.
As for now, the cold weather has set in; and we are gearing up for our snow removal phase. With our snow removal, we offer snow push and/or snow hauling to clean parking lots. Last season we also added a salter/sander to the mix. This works great on icy parking lots, driveways, and roads. We take care of senior housing projects, in which we clear sidewalks, as well. The majority of our customers are retail and commercial, but we work residential also. If you have been putting off the inevitable and don’t have a plan for this winter’s snow removal, give us a call. 
It is easy to participate. When you refer someone, ask them to be sure and mention your name. If that person does decide to build with RAM and has a project minimum of at least $5,000. You will receive a check for $100.
