Vulcan Materials invests in Georgia plant

The Vulcan Materials Co. quarry in Stockbridge, Georgia. Photo courtesy of the South Metro Neighbor.

Vulcan Materials Co. invested $50 million in plant safety and customer service updates at its Stockbridge, Georgia, plant, according to a report from the South Metro Neighbor.

Vulcan Materials’ vice president of permitting and external affairs, Jimmy Fleming, says the plant is fully automated, allowing click-and-point operation to produce construction materials.

“This allows safer and more-efficient gate operation and more consistent loads for customers at load-out bins,” Fleming says. “Emphasis during construction was also placed on environmental controls and features, such as automated dust-suppression valves and road sprinklers.”

According to Fleming, the Stockbridge quarry is the oldest continuously operating aggregate operation in Georgia. Originally starting operations around 1875, it became the Stockbridge Stone Co. in 1946. In 1958, Birmingham, Alabama-based Vulcan Materials acquired it, forming the basis for its Georgia operations.

About 150 Vulcan Materials employees and family, as well as elected officials and neighbors, turned out for the ribbon-cutting event, Fleming says. Company representatives included vice president of Georgia operations Rickey Vickery, area manager Travis Holman, plant manager Dan Wilson and plant supervisor Vickie King.

Federal and state officials included Georgia Department of Natural Resources board member Ray Lambert Jr., former District 17 State Sen. Rick Jeffares and Teresa Cooke of the office of District 13 U.S. Rep. David Scott.

From Stockbridge, city council members Neat Robinson and Elton Alexander, city manager Randy Knighton and main street program staff members Kira Harris-Braggs and Lisa Fareed attended, according to reports from the South Metro Neighbor.

“Vulcan supplied much of the material that built America’s infrastructure over the last 100 years since their beginning right here in Stockbridge,” Alexander says. “The quarry is truly an amazing natural tourist attraction. James Albert King, Dr. Martin Luther King’s grandfather, worked in the historic quarry as well. Hollywood has been to the quarry several times for filming.”