How GCI INC. Sparked An Industry Revolution

Back in the early 1990s, a small Indianapolis company called Gravel Conveyors Inc. (GCI) came up with an idea that sounded almost too simple: take a regular dump truck and add a powerful conveyor that could “shoot” gravel, sand, or stone up to 70 feet away with pinpoint control.

Before that, getting material from the street into a foundation or trench was hard, slow work. Trucks dumped piles at the edge of the job, then crews spent hours—sometimes days—pushing it around with skid-steers, wheelbarrows, and shovels. It was messy, wasteful, and expensive in both time and labor.

GCI’s first shooter trucks changed the game completely. One truck and one operator could now deliver the load and place it exactly where it belonged, at whatever speed the job needed, with a full 180-degree swing. A backfill that used to eat up two or three days was suddenly finished in a couple of hours.

Contractors saw it once and were sold. Word spread fast through the foundation and flatwork world, and soon anyone who wanted to stay competitive was either running a GCI truck or figuring out how to get one.

That single innovation didn’t just improve the old way of doing things—it created an entirely new category: mobile material placement. What began as a retrofit kit on used dump bodies grew into purpose-built slinger trucks that are now a common sight on job sites everywhere.

Over the years the applications have grown far beyond foundation stone. Today you’ll find these trucks placing topsoil and mulch for landscapers, spreading roofing gravel on commercial buildings, padding pipelines, restoring beaches, even throwing salt and sand for winter maintenance. Thousands of units are working across the country, with a particularly strong presence throughout the Midwest.

Through every change, GCI has kept doing what we’ve always done: build equipment that’s tough enough to handle real jobs day after day, keep parts in stock so you’re never down for long, and answer the phone with people who actually understand how the machines work in the field.

More than thirty years later, many of those original GCI trucks are still out there earning their keep, and we still support every one we’ve ever built, and we’re still just as focused on helping you get material placed faster, cleaner, and more profitably.

That’s the GCI story so far—simple beginnings, big results, and a commitment to keeping things straightforward and reliable.

We’re glad you’re part of it.