Word on the Street: Fred Ashley still primed and ready; TD Concrete sold

The owner of Ashley Pump & Irrigation said the recent sale of The Dalles Concrete in the Port of The Dalles to Interstate Concrete and Paving had some assuming his business had been sold as well.

Not true.

What is true is that Fred and brother, Chuck, 51, owned The Dalles Concrete together. That sale, which finalized on March 29, was limited to just the concrete batch plant and property in the Port of The Dalles. It did not affect Ashley Pump & Irrigation or Tygh Valley Sand & Gravel.

“The sale of one business does not mean we sold everything,” Fred said. “I’m not going nowhere.”

He continues to operate Ashley Pump from his ranch in Tygh Valley. He employs Dusty Olson and son Brandon, both 33. They troubleshoot, install and replace pumps and controls. They repair hand line and wheel roll irrigation with an aluminum pipe press. Call 541-296-4700. Emergencies, 541-980-4586.

The decision to sell The Dalles Concrete was tough for the brothers. But the writing was on the wall with a huge volume competitor in Interstate Concrete buying into the region. Interstate will do business as The Dalles Concrete, and they have hired Chuck Ashley to run the plant.

“We don’t have to work until we are 75 now,” said Ashley, noting they were able to retire much debt with the purchase. “It’s good that way. My brother and I can move on.”

Interstate Concrete also purchased Hood River Sand, Gravel and Redimix within an hour of purchasing The Dalles Concrete, Chuck Ashley said. Hood River Sand and Gravel has operations in Hood River, Cascade Locks, North Bonneville, Dallesport and Goldendale. It will also continue to do business under that name.

Interstate Concrete is owned by CRH, a global diversified building materials group, employing some 87,000 people at 3,800 sites in 31 countries worldwide, according to company literature.  CRH is the largest building materials company in North America and the second largest worldwide, it said.