Better, Better, Batch: Breshears to open concrete plant in Dallesport
Bob Breshears stands next to a brand new concrete batch plant at his new Gorge Crete site in Dallesport. Breshears is readying the plant for operation after it was delivered on Friday, April 18 and hopes to be mixing on Wednesday.
By Tom Peterson
Dallesport, Wash., April 21, 2025 — Bob Breshears is mixing up a nice batch.
The Hood River owner of Mission Construction is raising the roof on concrete, looking to recapture the culture and service of The Dalles Concrete with the construction of a new batch plant in the Dallesport Industrial Park.
Need a couple of yards? He can do that. Need 40 yards- he can do that too.
It’s officially called “Gorge Crete” and Breshears is pushing to open by Wednesday, April 23.
The plant is on 2 acres at 135 E. Kreps Drive in Dallesport - go past the substation.
We caught up with Breshears on Monday, April 21, where he was installing a vent hose for capturing dust on his brand new Gemco 300 batch plant. They planned to raise it this afternoon.
“It was struck by lightning at the manufacturing plant in Olney, Texas,” he said after crawling out the side of the plant. And it did not quite fit through an underpass on its semi- voyage to the Gorge. “It’s got a lot of history, already,” he said, laughing.
You may know Breshears from his many concrete projects around the Gorge through his company Mission Construction. He and his wife Katie (Alley) Breshears have been pushing projects since 2005 - including the slab work at the Skills Center at Columbia Gorge Community College. Katie’s the President and Bob is the VP in charge of operations.
Jason Shearer with Mission Construction aimed the shute of a concrete truck into the sidewalk forms at the commercial building at 500 Washington Street in The Dalles on March 6, 2023.
CCCNews has run into Mission Construction crews everywhere, ranging from residential foundation work to sidewalks. Customers speak their praises.
Bob, while originally from The Dalles, now lives in Hood River, and now he will be spending quite a bit of time in Dallesport.
But how do you go from pouring and finishing concrete to mixing and selling and delivering it to contractors, farmers and customers all over the Gorge?
Simple. Opportunity.
“Supply and demand,” Breshears said. “It’s hard to get concrete.”
Bob Breshears and James Parmiter are quite happy with their state-of-the-art equipment as they prepare to deliver concrete all over the Gorge. The company has five standard concrete trucks and has two front loaders coming in soon to access all jobs.
That is especially true now that Hood River Sand and Gravel is the only game in the Gorge with the recent closure of Rapid Readimix in Bingen.
“I’ve had a lot of contractor and community support,” Breshears said. “We need to focus on local contractors and projects.”
Breshears said he went ahead and made the purchase of the batch plant and seven concrete delivery trucks after 16 months of developing his business plan.
“I just made my second payment,” he said on Monday. He thanked Will Swope, a corporate Vice President of Intel for his assistance - Yes, the semi-conductor chip company. The two met a decade ago when Breshears helped him with a retaining wall. And Swope offered assistance to Breshears as a business advisor.
Bob Breshears, 44, and Chuck Ashley, 58, pose for a photo this morning. The two go way back with a mutual love of baseball and hard work.
Breshears also had some help from The Dalles Concrete’s veteran Chuck Ashley. Ashley, 58, met Breshears when he was 13. Ashley, and Breshear’s dad, Dale coached the 13-year-old's Babe Ruth Kiwanis All Star Team.
Dale, who was an Oregon State Trooper, had also previously ticketed Ashley for running a stop sign.
Small world.
This batch plant can tip itself upright with its hydraulic rams. It can batch 10 yards of concrete at a time, or a full concrete truck in 3 to 5 minutes.
And that’s what Breshears is banking on - all of that quality work he has done within the industry has networked him to reach out to contractors and farmers and project developers who need concrete but are finding it difficult to get.
“He’s got a good crew to help him,” Ashley said of the Gorge Crete team of seven employees who are veterans in the business and have local ties. “He’s got Ken Dunn, a longtime resident of The Dalles.”
The group, collectively, have well over 100 years of experience in the business.
“I am super excited,” Breshears said. “I feel the community is ready for a local supplier. The Dalles Concrete raised the bar. Chuck did a great job for a lot of years, and we want to get back to his customer service and company culture.”
Gorgecrete.com also offers additional information about the business, including estimated pricing and a concrete calculator to help you figure the number of yards you will need.
Call the office at 1-509-870-0400.
