Concrete Forms Service’s Ez-Tilt-Up can hold a straight line in hot, wet or dry weather.

In four years, Concrete Forms Services LLC has gained a reputation as a company with an innovative alternative for the concrete construction market. Based in West Jordan, Utah, the company offers footing, flatwork, curb and gutter, and tilt-up concrete form systems that use aluminum, eliminating contractors’ reliance on wood.

Founders Darrel Spencer and Kurtis Jones started the company in 2003. “Darrel had an idea [for a system] that would eliminate wood and pursued that idea,” Jones remembers, noting that his background is in manufacturing, while his partner had experience in concrete. It proved to be an effective combination. 

Previously, Jones founded a fabrication company in 1991, working with all types of metals. “Aluminum produces great advantages in many trades; concrete placement is one of them,” he states.

Traditionally, President Lynn Quilter says, concrete footings are custom-built with wood. “That takes an awful lot of time,” he says. “At the end of the day, [the] wood isn’t always straight. You wind up with a finished footing that is inconsistent.”

In comparison, the company’s Ez-Footings system offers much more consistency, he says. The system’s high-grade aluminum is fully adjustable in length, and its grade knobs allow users to adjust the form height in all soil conditions. Additionally, each pour saves concrete as there are no overlapping panels.

The Ez-Footings system also uses plastic ties that prevent forms from spreading. “It cuts down the amount of time that you have to spend with the tie wire and putting steel in place, leaving the top of the footing clear for pumping and finishing,” Quilter says. “At the end of the day, you put it in with a fraction of the labor. The end-product is superior. It saves a ton of labor and eliminates wood, which is pretty much a throwaway thing in this business.”

Andrea Reynolds, who oversees purchasing for Concrete Forms Services, says the reusable systems also benefit the environment. “Our customers are not throwing away [wood] board after board after board,” she states.

The company’s Ez-Tilt-Up, Ez-Flatwork and Ez-Curb & Gutter systems are also made with aluminum and provide similar benefits.

For instance, its Ez-Tilt-Up forms can hold to a straight line in hot, dry or wet weather conditions, without suffering the warping that would be experienced with lumber, all with fewer braces needed than wood. This means fewer holes and less patching, it says.

Concrete Forms Services has earned client acclaim for its products. “Ez-Footings have tripled my production,” said Todd Hughes, vice president of operations of Hughes General Contractors, in a statement. “I’m doing three times the amount I used to do in a day with the same manpower. There’s no question in my mind it’s a winner.”

In addition, Richard Cyr, owner of Master Craft Concrete said that the Ez-Footing system has impressed his local building inspectors and is easy to learn. “Not only will it save me thousands of dollars per year in labor, but I won’t be spending thousands on lumber year after year,” he added.

Concrete Forms Services enjoys repeat business, as well, Jones says. “We have [clients] over the years that have taken multiple sets,” he states. “It’s just a better way to place concrete.”
 
A Wise Investment
Both Quilter and Reynolds joined Concrete Forms Services within the past year, and note that they both saw potential in the company.

“I’ve known Kurtis for a number of years,” Reynolds says. “When I saw this revolutionary product, I knew I had to get on board.”

The key to Concrete Forms Systems’ growth, Quilter says, has been to bring the products to its customers. “Then it sells itself,” he says. “Once you get a customer using it, they won’t go back [to wood].

“The company believes good customer service is vital prior to, during and after each sale,” he says. Concrete Forms Services is available for on-site demonstrations to help clients utilize the advantages of the system.

The firm is in the process of expanding its reach, Quilter says. Already, it has sold its systems to clients coast to coast as well as in Canada, with more than 200 sets in place across North America. The company’s sales in different markets have presented new opportunities, Quilter says.

“We’ve found that there are different ways of doing things in different parts of the country,” he says. “It seems like everybody’s got a different take on what the correct methods [are]. We are able to meet those needs, regardless of location.”

Despite these challenges, Jones says Concrete Forms Services is “No. 1 in the nation” for placing aluminum-footing forms, due to their ease and usability.

“It is a snap to build virtually any size or shape of footing,” he says.

He adds that the company has been awarded for its work. At a recent World of Concrete show, the company received the Most Innovative Product award for its Ez-Footing system.

Jones predicts the spread of the systems will eventually supplant the use of wood. “Everything’s going to be formed with aluminum,” he declares.