By Bill Schammert

    SAUNDERS COUNTY, Nebraska (KETV) -- Concrete is a business based around permanency — a fixed solution designed not to crack or break.

But after 56 years in the concrete business, Ray McAtee and his sons are pouring out a new idea.

"Well, you know, there's a need and it's another product we could make," McAtee said. "It does a lot of good. It can help a lot of young families."

Tucked away in rural Nebraska, near Malmo in Saunders County, McAtee Construction has built just about everything, including a lot of septic tanks.

"After those storms hit by Elkhorn, we had some people call us to see if we could convert septic tanks to storm shelters," said Ray's son, Lucas McAtee.

That's not exactly safe, but it did give the family a new idea. Lucas and his brother Tommy went to the heart of tornado alley to look for precast storm shelters, Texas, a state with very few basements.

"We had it custom-made and started pouring them in about March of this year," Ray McAtee said.

The precast was engineered in Texas, but the product is mixed, poured and manufactured in Saunders County.

Storm shelters are delivered and assembled in three parts: the bottom, the top, and the door.

"Some of the places I've been — they have no shelter and they're on top of a hill," Lucas McAtee said. "People are like, 'We get in the vehicle and drive the opposite direction of the storm.' It's like, 'Oh my goodness!"

The storm shelters weigh about 16,000 pounds and are typically buried in 30 to 40 inches of dirt. The shelter doors are Federal Emergency Management Agency-rated to withstand at least an EF-4 tornado, according to Lucas McAtee.

"The concrete steps are poured in, and they can fit at least eight adults," Lucas McAtee said.

This family run business can pour a shelter and have it ready for install in five days. They cost about $4,500, plus a delivery fee that's dependent on how far away a person lives.

"We delivered our first one out to central Nebraska," Lucas McAtee said.

After just a few weeks, they've already built, sold, and installed 20 shelters.

"We didn't expect that many people to want them, but everyone just said, 'We have nothing,' and they think they're awesome," Lucas McAtee said.

The family business is now cementing a new era and taking pride in helping to save lives.

"It does feel good to be helping people," Ray McAtee said. "And to be teaching my sons, we can make something that makes a difference and does some good for people."

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