Founded in 1983 by C. Larry and his wife Paula Cox, the couple set out to make construction products for their growing contracting business. The original product line was wastewater management and culvert pipe. After being in business a couple of years, a local rancher reached out to Larry to pour some concrete feed troughs. After some thought Larry said why not and poured enough to fit that operation’s needs. Larry bought the form but then added metal skids so that ranchers without front end loaders could easily move troughs. As the business grew, agriculture products began to take over. Troughs were then made with concrete legs and water trough production began. Today, the yard is full of new and exciting products ranging from agriculture, construction to landscaping.

After over 35 years in business, Cox Concrete Products is now ran by the second generation, Charlotte Phillips and Ryon Cox. Still committed to high quality pre-cast products and customer service, Charlotte and Ryon plan to take the family business another 40 years.

Charlotte, the oldest of three siblings, was born and raised in Northeast Texas. Growing up, she loved dance, taking many classes throughout her childhood and serving 3 years on her high school drill team. Her senior year in high school, she took her first accounting class and immediately knew this would be her career path. After graduating with honors from Mt Pleasant High School, she headed West to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University. (Wreck ‘Em!) When Charlotte was 21 years old and a Junior in college, her baby brother Ryon was born. Though she bleeds black and red (Guns Up!), she couldn’t imagine not being around to see him grow up. So, she quickly transferred to the University of Texas at Tyler to be closer to him and her family. After graduating with her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting in 1996, she moved back home to Mt. Pleasant where she has worked in both public and corporate accounting and obtained her CPA license. In the Cox family’s kitchen during a casual conversation about the exhausting jet setting corporate world, a plan was hatched for Charlotte to open her own accounting firm and help out at Cox Concrete. As the years passed and Cox Concrete grew, Charlotte’s workload veered more and more towards being full time with Cox Concrete. She found the variety of the job refreshing and enjoyed working with farmers, ranchers and contractors. She has now been with the family business for over 17 years and has been involved in every aspect of the company. When asked for her title, she can’t help but laugh. She just replies, “I’ve bent rebar, cut wire, cleaned the toilets, compiled the financial statements, prepared the tax returns and literally everything in between. If something needs to be done then I consider it part of my job.” Today, she and that same baby brother Ryon now run the family business and have big plans for the company’s future. Charlotte, her husband Stayce and their son Tripp enjoy camping, boating, showing livestock and spending time with friends.

Ryon is the youngest son of Larry & Paula Cox. Born into a beef cattle operation and the agribusiness world, Ryon has always had a passion for agriculture. The minute Ryon was old enough to show livestock at the county show, he joined 4-H to start showing hogs. Growing up on the ranch it was a natural fit for Ryon to jump in feet first in the National FFA Organization when he entered his freshman year at Mt. Pleasant High School. After a successful FFA career in high school that included showing Hereford cattle, public speaking, and judging teams; Ryon was elected to serve as Texas FFA President in 2013-2014. Over that year, he and the state first vice president traveled 50,000 miles, visited 325 schools and spoke to over 80,000 people about premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Then it was on to Texas A&M University to major in Agricultural Sciences. While at Texas A&M, Ryon served on the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences student council and was a member of the 2017 collegiate livestock judging team. Upon graduation in May of 2018, Ryon returned to Mt. Pleasant, Texas to run the family business with sister Charlotte and to also focus on the seedstock Hereford operation he’d been building since high school.

Today Ryon lives on the ranch in Mt. Pleasant where he enjoys ranching with his Hereford cattle, working with FFA members on various projects and heading up sales and marketing at the family business.

Cox - The Concrete Feed Trough

Note