The Success Story of Calabash Outdoors

Calabash Outdoors

Market Area: Central Florida
Started: 2018
Services: Residential & Commercial
Equipment: Cemen Tech C Series

Calabash Outdoors is a thriving concrete and gunite company based in Orlando, Florida. Established in 2018 by co-owners Chris Brosche and Felipe Bravo, seasoned experts in the pool construction and gunite business, the company aimed to fill a high demand gap for gunite services in the region. Recognizing the vast potential in the Florida market, Calabash soon expanded its services to other cities, such as Tampa and West Palm Beach.

The Challenge

With their business expansion, Calabash faced the challenge of managing the growing operational demands and educating customers on the capabilities of volumetric concrete mixers. The company also wanted to expand their services to pouring concrete in addition to shooting gunite all from the same volumetric mixers.

“We had a conflict with our regular supplier, which was another volumetric company, which are dinosaurs compared to what you guys offer,” stated Bravo about why they needed to change volumetric manufacturers. “Cemen Tech training was easier, less moving parts, more dependable. We have not had major problems with any of them. The training, once you learn Cemen Tech, let’s say you learn on a C Series, and then use G Series, they’re basically the same. It’s just a little different format, but you learn one, you learn them both.”

The Solution

Upon the suggestion of a salesperson from Cemen Tech, Chris decided to explore the potential of Cemen Tech volumetric mixers. Calabash Outdoors purchased its first two volumetric trucks and the fleet quickly expanded to eight. In addition, they are looking forward to incorporating the ACCU-POUR™, Cemen Tech’s proprietary smart fleet technology on their mixers. This system will assist with scheduling, billing, and tracking their vehicles, addressing the logistical issues that arose from their rapid growth.

“The transition from Cemen Tech to having our dealer, Dobbs Equipment, service us, well, our whole sales team has been amazing. They have been able to service anything we need,” stated Brosche. “They keep all the parts in stock, so our downtime is drastically less than it was when we first got started, which is a huge thing for us.”

When asked about how the support is for parts, Bravo stated, “Awesome. I mean, we call it in, they have it in stock, they ship it overnight. I have telephone numbers for support guys that will run us through the procedures to keep it, to make it run again, to replace it, whatever they can. They’re always on the phone. They have this system CONNECT where we can video call with them.”

Results and Impact

Adopting volumetric trucks has offered numerous benefits to Calabash Outdoors. It has enabled the company to serve its customers more efficiently, with less trucks and in a timely manner. Also, the volumetric trucks have allowed for flexibility in their service, enabling pours of varying sizes and reducing product wastage by allowing operations to shut down between pours.

Moreover, the company experienced an unexpected positive result: intrigue from its clients. Clients were fascinated by the capabilities of the volumetric trucks and this opened up an opportunity for Calabash to educate them about these advanced tools.

Partnerships and Community Engagement

Throughout this journey, Calabash Outdoors found reliable support in Cemen Tech and Dobbs Equipment to keep their company running efficiently so they could be active in the community and give back. Calabash has partnered with the Gina McReynolds Foundation, which is a breast cancer foundation.

“It was started 11 years ago for one of my best friend’s wife who was pregnant with her third child when she found out she had breast cancer. So we started the charity to help them,” said Brosche. “And she said if I accept this help, we have to help at least one other family.”

“Through spring of 2023, we’ve helped over 200 families, covering out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, taking them to doctor’s appointments. Anything that they need, we support. And then through those 200 families we’ve helped, they started the Gina’s girls, which are all the women fighting breast cancer, that they support each other,” continued Brosche. “They help walk each other through the processes of battling cancer, and then when they’re having a bad day, they have that support group that has grown exponentially. We’re very proud to be a big part of that, and we’ll continue that relationship for many years to come.”

Conclusion

Calabash Outdoors’ journey from a small, local company to a growing industry player from Tallahassee to the Keys in Florida highlights the importance of embracing innovative solutions. Their strategic decision to incorporate Cemen Tech volumetric concrete mixers helped streamline their operations and elevate their customer service. Moreover, their commitment to the community continues to strengthen their local standing. With the planned incorporation of the ACCU-POUR system, Calabash Outdoors is well-positioned for future growth.