Who Can Benefit from Custom Concrete Drum Solutions?

In concrete construction, not every job fits neatly into standard specs. Whether you’re pouring curb and gutter, flatwork, channels, or specialty structures, project requirements can vary widely from one site to the next. For many contractors, custom shaping solutions offer a way to handle these challenges efficiently — saving time, reducing labor, and improving overall results.

Let’s take a closer look at who can benefit from using custom concrete drum solutions.

1. Contractors Facing Unique or Non-Standard Specifications

City, county, or DOT projects often call for very specific curb profiles or drainage designs that don’t match common molds. Rather than spending extra time building and adjusting forms — or hand-shaping pours — contractors can use custom drums matched precisely to their project specs. This ensures consistency across long runs while maintaining proper dimensions.

Custom drums are particularly useful when:

• • • Municipalities require specific curb and gutter profiles.
    • Flume or drainage channels have unique shapes.
    • Subdivisions or private developments call for monolithically poured roads with curb and gutter.
    • The shape creates a complex or demanding pour process.

2. Project Managers Trying to Stay on Schedule

Every additional step on a jobsite can create delays. Hand-shaping, reworking poor placement, or adjusting forms all eat into project timelines. Custom drums allow project managers to complete pours more efficiently by eliminating much of the manual shaping and correction that would otherwise slow production.

By reducing passes and rework, custom solutions help:

• • • Keep projects on schedule.
      
    • Improve daily production totals.
      
    • Limit delays due to weather or labor shortages.

3. Companies with Labor Constraints

Finding skilled finishers is becoming increasingly difficult for many contractors. Custom concrete drums reduce the level of skill and labor required to shape complex pours, allowing crews to operate more efficiently — even with smaller teams.

Custom drums can help address:

• • • Labor shortages or high turnover.
      
    • The need to train less-experienced crew members.
      
    • Reducing physical strain on workers during shaping and finishing.
      
    • Lowering repetitive motion tasks.

4. Business Owners Looking to Improve ROI

For owners and executives responsible for the bottom line, custom drums offer a way to increase production without expanding labor costs. Investing in equipment tailored to specific project needs can create long-term savings by improving efficiency and reducing costly jobsite delays.

Benefits for owners include:

• • • Faster payback on equipment investment.
      
    • Lower labor and overtime costs.
      
    • Consistent quality that minimizes punch lists and callbacks.

5. Contractors Taking on Specialized or High-Profile Projects

Custom equipment solutions allow contractors to confidently bid on — and successfully complete — projects that might otherwise feel too risky or complicated. Whether it’s a large infrastructure job or a one-off specialty project, having custom equipment built to the task can make the difference between winning or passing on the opportunity.

Custom drums are well-suited for:

• • • Stormwater infrastructure
      
    • Transportation projects with specialty drainage
      
    • Industrial and commercial sites with custom flatwork or edge designs

For example, PCI Roads used custom equipment to successfully complete a stormwater tunnel project in Minneapolis that required precise shaping 80 feet underground — a job that standard equipment couldn’t handle.

In another case, a contractor tackling a challenging highway on-ramp pour leveraged their custom drum to shape the concrete faster than they could have traditionally — keeping their entire crew productive and minimizing downtime.

Exploring Custom Drum Options

Not every job requires a custom drum — but when it does, having the right partner to help design, build, and support your solution can make a real difference. Whether you’re looking at curb and gutter projects with the Curb Roller CM4000 or larger specialty shapes with the Hydra-Screed or a tailor-made machine, custom drum solutions help contractors take on more work with greater confidence.

If you’re unsure whether your next project might benefit from a custom drum solution, reach out to your local dealer or Curb Roller Manufacturing sales rep to explore your options.

Quick Summary: Custom Drums May Be Right For You If:

• • • You’re facing non-standard project specs.
      
    • You’re short on experienced labor.
      
    • You need to increase production with your current crew size.
      
    • You want to minimize rework and jobsite delays.
      
    • You’re bidding on unique or specialized pours.