CEMCO Marks 50th Anniversary With In-House Celebration

Under the warm July sun and the aroma of barbecue, the employees and family behind CEMCO gathered on July 17 to celebrate a remarkable milestone— 50 years of designing

and manufacturing concrete batch plants in Olney.

Founded in 1975 by L.F. and Carla Perry, CEMCO has remained a small, tight-knit business with deep local roots and a global reach. The company honored its history and workforce during a celebratory cookout attended by 30 employees, including co-founder Carla Perry, president of the company; daughter Kay Perry Meschkat, financial manager; grandson D.J. Meschkat, design engineer; and grandsonin- law Justin Piegat, sales manager.

“When I view the old buildings, I just see Daddy,” Kay Meschkat said.

“It’s amazing to think it’s been 50 years,” said Deborah Perry German, the founders’ other daughter, who created a shadow box for the occasion that was filled with her dad’s patents and the drafting tools he used to sketch his earliest ideas.

L.F. Perry was a selftaught inventor who built his first mobile concrete batch plant in the late1960s out of necessity. At the time, he and his brother owned a concrete business in Stamford, Texas, and needed to deliver concrete farther from the batching site. His solution—an innovative hydraulic lift system that allowed the plant to stand upright on site— became the foundation of CEMCO’s product line.

“He was basically a self-taught engineer,” Ms. German said. “He could fix anything, and if he didn’t have it, he’d make it.”

Using a $10,000 Throckmorton bank loan and little more than a slide rule, protractor, and pencil, Mr. Perry built the prototype that led to decades of innovation. Ms. German proudly pointed out the original patents, drawings, and handwritten parts lists in the commemorative CEMCO display—testaments to her father’s ingenuity and precision.

Chris Jourdan, one of the company’s longest- serving employees, recalled the early days when every part was made by hand. “It’s a lot faster now with technology, but it’s still the same core product,” he said. “We’ve built plants for places all over the world—even the Navy.”

The company has endured its share of challenges over the decades. During the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, Carla and L.F. Perry kept the doors open without laying off employees.

“They would dig into their own pockets,” Ms. German said. “They were a good team—complementary in their skills and values.”

After L.F. passed away on May 28, 2015, Mrs. Perry continued leading the company with the same steady hand that helped steer it through earlier economic storms.

Her contribution has been described as the “constant from beginning to now,” using her bookkeeping instincts and unwavering support to keep the business on track.

With its legacy of hard work, resilience, and family commitment, CEMCO’s 50th anniversary is more than a celebration— it’s a tribute to the power of invention and perseverance in smalltown Texas.