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Quarry business makes strange bedfellows
September 1, 2010
By: Pit & Quarry Staff
When officials from the city of Azusa, Calif., voted 4-1 to approve the expansion of a Vulcan Materials quarry there, they went from being a difficult suitor to an ally in very short order. They also pitted themselves against the neighboring community of Duarte, which now plans to file suit against Vulcan and Azusa for moving the project forward. It took much community outreach and plenty of cash for Vulcan and Azusa to become best friends. The company will reimburse the city $613,000 for an environmental-impact report conducted before the vote, and will also cover the legal fees for Azusa to defend the expansion project against the coming Duarte lawsuit. Sometimes the quarry business makes strange bedfellows, but if the end result is a permitting victory, the investment is worth it. – Mark S. Kuhar
Not having a blast
August 27, 2010
By: Pit & Quarry Staff
At Route 221 Stone Quarry in Washington County, Pa., which is operated by Connellsville-based Fayette Coal and Coke Co., an errant blast sent an 80-lb. chunk of flyrock crashing into someone’s house a quarter mile away. Its contractor, Senex Explosives, set off the blast, according to newspaper reports. With today’s sophisticated blasting techniques and emphasis on safety, I bet you’re wondering how a chunk that big was launched so far, with the potential for so much damage. Speculation is that the blast might have been helped along a bit by methane gas, but the event is under investigation. All I know is, one chunk of 80-lb. flyrock from one blast under a strange set of circumstances, and the media reports that follow, are enough to undo years worth of safe blasting and put a quarry’s entire drilling and blasting program under intense scrutiny. Take time to tout the safety and effectiveness of your blasting program in advance so you have a track record to run on. You may need it up the road. – Mark S. Kuhar
Strike this
August 20, 2010
By: Pit & Quarry Staff
According to news reports, union workers at a Massachusetts Aggregate Industries plant have gone on strike against the company over benefits and minimum work hours. At issue, according to Local 170 Business Agent Edward J. Peloquin, is workers now having to pay for part of their health insurance and pension benefits. He acknowledged that many employees who work at other companies have to pay at least part of their health-care costs, but the workers had negotiated for company payment of health-care costs in the past and they shouldn't have to give up that benefit and start paying part of their health premiums. I'm not sure what's in the drinking water over there in Massachusetts, but last time I checked, unemployment was rampant in the construction industry and in general, and almost every job out there requires employees to kick in something for health-care benefits. Now I believe in an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, and fair cooperation between management and employees, but here's a message to the disgruntled workers of Aggregate Industries: 1) Be thankful you have a job right now, and 2) go back to work and pay part of your health insurance like the rest of us. And your time might be better spent lobbying on behalf of your industry for a new federal infrastructure-spending bill that will ensure you have a job in the future. – Mark S. Kuhar
Cat moving forward
August 16, 2010
By: Pit & Quarry Staff
One reliable sign that predicts growth for the construction and aggregates industries is the activities of Caterpillar. Based on what I see, the company is positioning itself to take advantage of the future. Cat announced plans to build a new plant in Winston-Salem, N.C., that will create 400 jobs. The company will open an engineering design center in Rapid City, S.D. The new facility, known as the Black Hills Engineering Design Center, will provide additional engineering support services for Caterpillar's U.S. operations and will complement the company's existing engineering design centers in Chennai, India, and Champaign, Ill. Caterpillar will also add more than 325 jobs over the next five years as it makes a $28 million investment at its Lee County, N.C., plant. The company said that the expansion, which will include a 270,000-sq.-ft. building addition, will provide additional capacity to meet growing global demand. Ann Duignan, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, said in a report, “We believe the market is overlooking what could turn out to be the beginning of the next multi-year construction cycle in the U.S.” Caterpillar obviously sees the same thing, and will be ready when that cycle comes full swing. – Mark S. Kuhar
Improving attitudes
August 12, 2010
By: Pit & Quarry Staff
Though not a big surprise, quarries remain one of the least desired development projects in the United States, according to the 2010 Saint Index, a survey of 1,000 random adults regarding attitudes on real estate and development. The Saint Consulting Group, a land use political consulting firm, conducts the annual survey. In overall opposition, quarries (59 percent) rank third behind landfills (74 percent) and casinos (72 percent) on a list of 14 categories. But there is a plus in all of this. Opposition to quarries has fallen each year since its peak in 2007 (76 percent), trending downward to 64 percent in 2008, 62 percent in 2009 and 59 percent this year. So the aggregates industry must be doing something right. Keep those lines of communication open and work to educate your community about your operation. – Brian Richesson
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