Just prior to my joining Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group, the leadership team set out to identify the Core Values and Core Focus of the organization. They were trying to put their finger on the defining attributes of our culture. Among the values exhibited by our team, the four that stood above all others were SELFLESS, QUALITY, EXCELLENCE, and DRIVE. Mt. Carmel Stabilization employees serve others, provide the best product, pursue improvement, and stay long hours in tough conditions to see a job through.
Likewise, our Core Focus—our North Star—was identified, defined, and refined at this time: We set the standard in soil stabilization by building long term relationships with our customers and employees. Relationships are at the center of everything we do. Our founding was more than 100 years ago, with over 75 years of stabilization excellence, and it was built upon the strength of long term relationships.
When I consider this, my mind immediately runs to some of our employees. Mike Seiler started at Mt. Carmel Stabilization in 1982. When we launched our Core Values Awards program, Mike was the first winner of our award for SELFLESS. He’s retiring at the end of this year, and we are extremely grateful for not only the work he’s done, but all the knowledge he’s poured into other field operators over the last 44 years. Juston Wheeler is a pup by comparison, but he’s been a part of our team for over 32 years. Juston is a Core Values Award winner as well and started out pushing a broom in the shop. Since then, he’s become one of our most well respected field superintendents by employees and customers alike.
Customer relationships are no different. I think about our history with Ames Construction, which stretches back more than 30 years. We have been performing soil drying on an Ames project for much of 2026, and we were there in Colorado when Ames was working on the Denver International Airport in the 1990’s. Consider also Louisville Paving and Construction, whose President Hunter Strickler spoke highly of Mt. Carmel Stabilization on the internationally consumed Dirt Talk podcast. These are just a few of the many examples of customers who we’ve developed deep relationships with over the years, and it is important that as new generations of leaders arise within each of them, that we continue to nurture those relationships.
I was blessed to attend the World of Coal Ash in 2026 as a part of our delegation, and an industry leader I spoke with put it this way: “We work together on a job, and let’s say you make a mistake. Now we have to have a tough conversation, but everyone recognizes we’re all working toward the same goal, and we all want to exceed our customers’ expectations. No one gets hurt feelings, which is good because the next time we work together, my guys make a mistake and now we have to go through another tough conversation from the other direction. Over time, it all levels out because we’re not trying to get one over on each other. We’re all trying to grow together and take care of our people.”
This man understood there’s give and take in a good relationship. It’s a dance. Every once in a while, toes get stepped on, but we acknowledge our clumsiness and get back on rhythm. This is why I tell folks Mt. Carmel Stabilization is not just stabilizing soils, we’re stabilizing reputations. The work we perform should make our customers look better in the eyes of their customers and the end user. At the same time we’re treating soils, we’re also nurturing relationships. When you first form a relationship with a customer, you basically just need to show up and do what you say you’re going to do to prove you’re trustworthy. Excellent companies exceed expectations and leave customers feeling a sense of delight with the choice they’ve made. Over time, customers who have been nurtured in this way develop a stronger bond and can eventually see you as a valuable partner in their success.
Customers are one piece, and employees are another, but our vendors fit into this Core Focus as well. Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group has had a relationship with Meyer Truck Equipment for more than 20 years. That relationship was built upon shared values and trust by providing high-quality products and a great customer experience. This relationship with Meyer recently entered a new era through their graphics department as we worked together on a vinyl wrap for Mt. Carmel’s newest lowboy hauler.
In 2025, Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group finalized our brand standards as a company and developed a brand style guide. This document gives us rails to run on that help to cultivate a higher level of brand awareness and provide a consistent look and feel in all our communications, media, documents, and swag. These guidelines were helpful for the team at Meyer as we worked together to develop a design for the wrap that was daring without being obnoxious. The finished design for the vehicle is something that looks ahead to our future while also giving a nod to our past. The design is inspired by our signature Wirtgen WR240i stabilizers and incorporates our signature “gator green” color that calls back to the RayGo Gator soil conditioner/stabilizers that filled our fleet for decades.
The graphics department at Meyer is a recent addition, so this project was unique for both sides. There was a process of getting to know one another as I met the graphics team, but not in the same way as a brand-new relationship. While we as individuals were building new relationships, the brands we each represent have the relational capital that established a higher level of trust at the outset. Andy, Meyer’s designer, and I were able to immediately begin collaborating on the design. He visited Mt. Carmel to take measurements of the vehicle and obtain color samples. Mt. Carmel content creator Caleb Stevenson and I were able to get to know the people, learn the equipment, and witness the process of creating and installing this wrap. We were granted behind the scenes access at Meyer’s shop to film the printing and installation, too.
The finished wrap looks terrific. When the truck pulled out of the bay, the team was high fiving one another and taking lots of photos. I personally felt emotional because of the great honor that I get to serve in this role at Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group. I asked to get a photo with the team from Meyer because I was grateful for the project we’d completed together. I appreciate these folks for their collaboration, hospitality, enthusiasm, and hard work.
This lowboy hauler will be driven by Devin Stoll, another Core Values Award winner at Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group. Our lowboy drivers are like ninjas, incredibly effective and often showing up before the job begins or after it’s been completed. In, out, and on to the next assignment. My goal is when people do see it on a job site or pass this vehicle on the highway, their eye naturally follows the lines of the design to our logo and insignia, then ultimately to the equipment on the trailer. For anyone unfamiliar with Mt. Carmel, I want that to generate curiosity within them to learn more about us!
My hope is that everyone who sees it, most importantly our employees and customers, have a positive gut feeling about Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group. I’d like our employees to feel a sense of pride in working for a company that is striving for their continued success and wants their families to thrive. I’d like our customers to feel a sense of security in trusting a best in class soil stabilization contractor to serve their soils and their reputations through strong relationships and the highest quality work.