The spirit of the aggregate industry

Pit & Quarry‘s December 2017 cover image. Photo by Eric Warinner

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit two Luck Stone plants near Richmond, Virginia. Upon completing a tour through the company’s Rockville Plant, a Luck Stone representative walked me through a small facility where a striking photo was on display.

The photo, which is very similar to the image you see on this month’s Pit & Quarry cover, showcases a section of the Rockville Plant where an American flag proudly flies at the end of a conveyor. Eric Warinner, Luck Stone’s UAV pilot, captured this particular image during a drone mission, seizing on an opportunity when he noticed the potential for a decent photo.

Using the flag as a wind direction indicator, Warinner flew the rotorcraft to the flag. He found the ideal perspective and snapped the frame.

“It captured more than a flag attached to a conveyor, though,” Warinner says. “It captured the teamwork and the unity of the Rockville crew. And that is what you will find at each Luck Stone location. People that are proud of their work and the culture they have contributed to.”

A sense of pride is largely shared across the aggregate industry, at the thousands of pit and quarry sites where American workers are hard at work providing the crushed stone, sand and gravel that make up our roads and bridges – the infrastructure that’s fundamental to our way of life here in the United States.

As we produced this month’s special report on the State of the Industry, it became apparent that the photo Warinner took captured the spirit of the industry. 2017 was a good year for aggregate producers – and a very good year for many. And, in a year when patriotism is under fire, the businesses that make up our industry and the employees who serve as the lifeblood of those companies continue to take pride in their daily work.

Producer opportunity

While this month’s State of the Industry report contains a number of takeaways in the pages that follow, another opportunity for producers to engage with Pit & Quarry is at the upcoming Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference.

The Jan. 30-31 event at Streamsong Resort near Tampa, Florida, will bring producers together with manufacturers, dealers and others for productive networking, roundtable-style discussions, education, golf and more. The Roundtable has been a Pit & Quarry staple since 1996, giving producers a forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the aggregate industry.

Topics discussed in recent years include new equipment and technology, infrastructure development, mine safety and health, labor and more. Pit & Quarry will cover the event registration for qualified producers, as well as one night’s lodging and an optional round of golf at Streamsong Resort. Interested aggregate producers can learn more about the event and apply to attend at www.pitandquarryroundtable.com.