Matich Corporation –
Connecting People and Ideas Since 1918
In 1918, Yugoslavian immigrants John and Nikolas Matich set out to create the best quality grading and paving available in Southern California. They started with small driveway and city street jobs, focusing on safety, quality, and a fair price. Their fame and reputation quickly grew. Matich Brothers Paving Company was soon asked to bid on highway jobs by the state of California as well as military installations, flood control works, and other complex concrete projects. While the original partnership was named Matich Brothers, John and Nick were actually first cousins. Their slip in translation would prove to be prophetic in the years to come. Williamina Matich often cooked and cleaned for her husband John and the crew while they were out building roads in the 1920s and 1930s, far from metropolitan areas. John Matich died in 1950. Williamina turned the company over to their sons, Jack and Martin, who were 27 and 23 at the time.
In 1950, Jack and Martin expanded Matich Brothers operations throughout the Western United States. They led the construction industry in developing techniques still in use today and raised the bar for quality and integrity in heavy engineering construction. Their reputation was so strong that in the 1960s the firm was asked to help author Plan Bulldozer for the United States government, which coordinates the U.S. construction industry in the event of a national disaster. Several members of the Matich family have presided over local, state and national chapters of the Associated General Contractors of America, also a testament to what Matich stands for. Matich Corporation helped found the American Concrete Pavement Association and the Asphalt Pavement Association.
In 1964, Jack and Martin developed a device from an old barn door to float out the irregularities in concrete paving, producing some of the smoothest concrete roads the region had ever seen. For years, it was affectionately referred to around the office as simply “the Float”. Matich highways built in the 1920s are still in use today and holding up as well as their newer counterparts. Portions of Redlands Boulevard are the original Highway 99 that took folks from Los Angeles to the desert, all built by Matich Brothers Paving.
Not to rest on their laurels, Jack and Martin took the Matich Float back to Oklahoma City with them in the 1960s. There they met Bill Swisher, founder of CMI Corporation, and together developed what would become the first 25 foot wide concrete highway paver of its kind. Their paver needed no forms to build concrete highways. It simply slipped across a very stiff concrete mix and formed it as it went. Matich ran and tested the prototype, and set the first world record for highway paving with later production models. Matich Corporation was the first highway paving company to pave one, then two, and finally three miles of highway in one day. On the three mile day, Matich batched and placed over 4,000 cubic yards of concrete.
The Matich Brothers construction company was incorporated in 1954. The Matich Brothers trademark is still used today for the firm’s trucking company. The Matich fleet ensures prompt and dependable delivery of asphalt products to our customers. This became a necessity when the company began to produce and market Matich asphalt in order to provide the best quality and service to Matich projects, as well as those of our customers.
Our family has successfully completed over 3 billion dollars of construction as one of the nation’s most experienced and respected builders. The Matich family business continues its legacy with the construction services we now offer; private and public road contracting, asphalt sales, and construction management.
While our concrete construction today consists mainly of curbs, sidewalk, and driveways, the third generation has put its own mark on company innovation. Matich’s newest asphalt plant near Palm Springs, California, has been recognized as one of the cleanest facilities of its kind. It employs warm mix technology to virtually eliminate pollution without sacrificing the quality Matich is known for. We also operate asphalt plants in Redlands and Rialto as well. Matich Corporation offers a full range of asphalt products, including conventional mix, rubberized asphalt, RAP and coated chips for seal coat operations. Our service areas cover all of Riverside and San Bernardino County in Southern California.
Thank you for sharing our story; please enjoy a look at our project gallery. We welcome the opportunity to serve your construction needs as we continue our commitment to quality.