Mack RoadLife 2.0: AAA Zoellner Materials

Mack Trucks featured AAA Zoellner Materials, a multi-generational family owned and operated ready-mix concrete and building materials company, in the eighth episode of Mack’s RoadLife 2.0 series.

AAA Zoellner Materials has a long history with Mack, running a range of products from Mack’s offering for vocational applications. The all-Mack fleet includes Mack Granite concrete mixers and dump trucks, Mack TerraPro concrete boom pumps, and Mack Pinnacle day cabs.

“My husband always said it’s the workhorse. That’s the truck we need for the area we’re in,” said Patricia (Pat) Zoellner,  known as “Momma Z”, co-founder of AAA Zoellner Materials. “The service, the wear, the tear, everything, the longevity of life with a Mack truck. He loved it. He couldn’t say enough good about Mack.”

Founded in 1994, AAA Zoellner Materials, based in Imperial, Mo., is a producer and provider of concrete mixes for all types of commercial, industrial, and residential applications in the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

AAA Zoellner Materials decided with its last truck order to introduce something new, spec'ing the Mack mDrive HD automated manual transmissions in two Mack Granite model mixer trucks with Mack MP7 11.0L engines.

“So far, so good,” said Patrick Zoellner, vice president of AAA Zoellner Materials. “The guys actually rave about them.”

“The way they shift – they take off good,” said Tony Tettaton, longtime head technician. “The way they make the downshift and let the truck slow down without using the [engine] brake so hard, I think it’s a good transmission.”

The company recently followed up with an order for four model year 2022 Mack Granite mixers, all spec’ed with the Mack mDrive HD 14-speed with creeper gears. The addition of two ultra-low, creep-speed reduction gears to the overdrive transmission provides flexible gearing for low-speed applications and improves performance in off-road applications.

"[AAA Zoellner Materials’ business is] very, very vocational-focused, so the trucks are critical to getting the job done,” said Dan Green, new truck sales manager at Vanguard Truck Centers in St. Louis. “They've got to be able to get into jobsites, on uneven terrain, and not get stuck. The performance of the trucks is critical."

Mack Granite cabs are built for the jobsite. Mixers come ready for upfit right out of the factory, cutting down on installation time and reducing cost. Optimized for construction applications, including concrete pumping, the Mack TerraPro cabover features a compact cab design that puts operators closer to the job and able to maneuver into tight spaces. Mack’s purpose-built pump chassis, with its120 ksi steel frame rails and durable support system, is designed to absorb heavy loads without stressing the frame.

Mack provides concrete mixer and concrete pump customers 24/7 direct access to specialized support through its exclusive concrete mixer and concrete pump hotlines.