Xtreme Concrete:

This year, the Santa Cruz County area acquired a new gem to add to its ongoing collection of artisans—Xtreme Concrete, a concrete company specializing in precast concrete pieces as well as concrete applications.

For Kevin Dueck and his two business partners, brother Brian Dueck and cousin Ryan Ollenburger, the company is a culmination of their unique talents—all pooled together to create a concrete studio that fabricates one-of-a-kind concrete pieces for their clients.

Xtreme Concrete officially opened its doors in Santa Cruz, Calif., in January 2004, although all three men have been around concrete in one way or another for the past several years.

Ryan was in construction for seven years, spending much of that time on residential construction and cabinetry, and Brain and Kevin have been in the family furniture/interior design business for years--the brothers own two furniture stores in the Santa Cruz area.

Kevin says Xtreme Concrete is currently focusing on promoting both the business as a whole and the company name, and they are using the many connections they have in the area (all are local boys) striving to reach more general contractors and architects. Their upcoming marketing campaign will include mailers and postcards, as well as many lunch meetings with local general contractors and architects.

Another tactic Xtreme Concrete has implemented is the co-op. The company is partnering with Granite Rock, as well as two local kitchen and bath studios. In the case of Granite, Xtreme Concrete's business cards are displayed in the Granite showroom, and Granite is sending clients to Xtreme directly. Kevin is also planning a how-to seminar in the Granite store, and the two companies are sending out a marketing postcard together selling products and services simultaneously.

Much like Kevin and Brian's furniture store WorkSpace, which specializes in progressive computer workstations and ergonomic chairs for the small office and home office, Xtreme Concrete produces work that's outside the box.

Xtreme Concrete offers everything from concrete countertops, to benches, to fire pits, to concrete tiles, to columns, to fence cappings, to overlays, to staining, to retaining walls. "We're an all-inclusive shop," says Kevin. "We're unique in that we offer design, construction and finish work—the whole gamut."

That uniqueness also harkens back to WorkSpace. In a 1997 Santa Cruz Sentinel article, Kevin said of the furniture store, "We don't carry the conventional style of office furniture...we're constantly on the lookout for the most impressive and innovative units in the office furniture market."

The article also noted that Kevin not only sold office furniture but also guided people through the process of developing the proper work environment and provided free in-home and in-office design consultation services.

Kevin said in the article, "Customers are able to develop ideas from our showroom, and we're here to assist them in adapting what we have to offer into their ideal work environment."

And the same can be said of Xtreme Concrete's sales tactics, focusing on any given room as a whole rather than a single job, such as a countertop or table.

Of the countertops they create, Kevin explains that since concrete is durable and can be customized with inlays, shape and colors, each countertop Xtreme Concrete creates for a client is personal and unique. "(Our) new clients are always excited because it's hip and they know they will end up with something unique," he says.

One such unique countertop Xtreme Concrete just created for a homeowner consisted of kitchen countertops in a deep green shade with an area of inlaid, worn, tumbled glass the homeowners had collected over the years from the local Santa Cruz beaches.

And of that jobs, and many others, Kevin adds, "We are constantly researching and experimenting with different materials and techniques to produce innovative designs for our clients' décor."

Xtreme Concrete
Kevin Dueck
2701 41st. Avenue
Soquel, CA 95073
(831) 475-7146 Office
(831) 462-2334 FAX
(831) 566-9922
Send Mail Now - Click Here
www.xtremeconcrete.com

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