P&Q Hall of Fame Profile: Neil R. Hise

Neil Hise has been around construction nearly his entire life.

Hise, the second-generation owner and longtime president of Cemco, emigrated to the U.S. in 1947. Settling in New Mexico with his family, he was regularly around road construction camps, crusher pits and other jobs.

While his father did work building two- and four-lane highways, Hise’s family lived in a 12-ft. trailer in a construction camp on a Navajo reservation.

“In 1954, we got a 35-ft. mobile home and were towing it with a dump truck to the next crusher pit,” Hise says. “[There], my sister and I were playing in the stream 100 ft. from a twin Commander roll crusher plant.”

Soon thereafter, Hise’s father began to work for an oil company. Eventually, his father got tired of working for someone, and he bought a company of his own: Crusher Service Co.

That company ultimately became Cemco.

“It was primarily for maintaining roll crushers and building jaw plates,” Hise says. “Back in that period of time, you couldn’t get them, so you’d have to rebuild them.”
Hise doesn’t mince words when it comes to roll crushers. As he puts it, he despises them.

This feeling came primarily from the fact that he and his father constantly repaired and rebuilt the plates for these crushers, given the hardness of the material in New Mexico.

“This rock out here is decomposed granite or terrible hard river granite,” Hise says. “You could spend Friday night to Sunday night working around the clock – and I did that many a weekend because I was in high school at the time – and by the next Friday, they’d be worn out because the rock is so hard and the customer is perturbed. All your hard work is wiped out in a week.”

With Hise and his father frustrated, they realized there must be a better way to crush the hard rock. And from that frustration, Hise’s version of the vertical shaft impact (VSI) crusher was born.

Creating a crusher

At Hise describes, the concept of a VSI crusher already existed at the time. But it didn’t work well due to the quality of the castings.

Hise and his father worked with West Coast Alloy – whom they were already working with for welding rods – to make wear cast parts for Cemco. Taking the same material makeup they used on their welding rods, Hise manufactured his first VSI in 1967.

Initially, it wasn’t an easy sell.

“We [dragged] it all over New Mexico trying to sell it,” Hise says. “It just didn’t sell because it wasn’t simple. It was not a simple thing [you could] turn on, go get your lunchbox and let it crush rock for a long time. With VSIs, you can’t do that. You have to look at them daily or weekly.”

Eventually, the first VSI sold to a mine in 1969 – and it is still in service. Cemco’s first VSI export came in the mid-1970s, when the company sold one to an operation in England.

Hise took over as president of Cemco in 1981 following health issues that forced his father to step away. Under his leadership, Cemco greatly improved the technology and quality of its VSI crushers.

Jennifer Hise-Trujillo, Hise’s daughter and former owner of Cemco prior to the company’s sale to Superior Industries, was present for much of that growth. Along with the VSI, Cemco went on to offer additional equipment for aggregate processing, recycling, precious mineral extraction and clean energy applications.

“I’m seriously blessed,” Hise-Trujillo, when asked about the opportunity to work with her father. “[My parents] involved myself and my sister in the family business before we were even walking.”

Preserving a legacy

Hise stepped down as president of Cemco in March 2022, taking on an advisory role as chairman of the board. Hise-Trujillo took over in his stead.

Last October, Superior acquired Cemco and rebranded the company under its name. One thing that won’t change, however, is the “Cemco” name on Superior’s VSI crushers.

“That was very important to all of us as a family,” Hise says. “I think it’s important to the industry because of our success. The reason we are successful is the people working at Cemco.”

Allowing the Cemco VSI name to live on was equally important to Hise-Trujillo.

“It was something we as a family have all been discussing and wanted to make sure things are sustained,” she says. “I wanted to make sure the VSI [name] continued and the Cemco team had a place [at Superior].”

Upon hearing her father was selected for induction to the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame, Hise-Trujillo was ecstatic.

“I was thrilled, excited, so proud – all of that combined,” she says. “I am truly excited and thankful for this recognition. It continues my dad’s legacy.”

Related: P&Q Hall of Fame Profile: Thomas W. Hill