P&Q Profile: Cemex’s Devon Coppock

As the loadout manager at Cemex’s FEC Quarry, one of the largest producers in the nation, Devon Coppock plays a key role in the operations of the South Florida quarry. P&Q caught up with Coppock to learn about his career, what’s new at FEC Quarry and what trends he sees in the industry.

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What was your career path like and how did you arrive in the role you have today?

I started working for Cemex right out of college in our environmental group. Every two to three years, another opportunity came up in the company, and I would always jump at the new challenge. After 12 years with Cemex, I have done a little bit of everything. I have worked in quality control, environmental, continuous improvement and both the ready mix and aggregates divisions. Each time was a new challenge, a new opportunity to learn, and a new chance to support the business.

However, spending most of my time in support roles, I always had a desire to manage people. In 2017, I had the fortunate opportunity to move back to the aggregates side of our business and join the distribution team at FEC Quarry. It has been a great learning experience for me and has helped me grow as a leader.

What are some of your main responsibilities on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis?

We focus on providing a superior customer experience at FEC Quarry every day. That experience starts with managing the safety of our employees, customers and contractors daily. Our team is responsible for ensuring order accuracy, coordinating production plans with the plant and managing the inventory levels for both truck and rail customers.

What has the 2019 production season been like at FEC Quarry?

At FEC Quarry, we are able to manage several hundred trucks and over 150 railcars daily. FEC Quarry is a world-class facility with an excellent support team that makes it easy to do business at a high level. We know there will always be fluctuations due to the economy, seasonality and large projects. We continue to focus on safety, our customers and work on continuously improving.

Are there any new equipment or plant features to FEC Quarry that you’re most excited about? How is technology changing the way you do your job?

Last year, our site began offering Cemex Go to our customers. Cemex Go allows customers to manage their accounts, track loads and order products from their computers or smartphones. We have leveraged technology to develop a dashboard along with our new Cemex Go Quarry Link that show up-to-date sales volume, customer truck cycle time and many other metrics.

The technology allows me to get a quick snapshot of how the quarry is doing from my phone at any point in the day. Additionally, our scale house AutoID system automatically checks-in empty trucks, then tickets loaded trucks at the quarry. This technology allows our employees to spend more time focusing on the exceptions and lets the technology handle the routine traffic.

Have you noticed any trends in the aggregate industry recently?

The aggregate industry has been undergoing a digital transformation for several years now, and Cemex has been at the forefront of that transformation. We’re providing data to help our customers through digital solutions like Cemex Go. Vendors are also working on their own digital solutions, as well. While the data is there to collect, it is only as good as the decisions you make once you have it.

What are your expectations for aggregate demand for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020?

I hope that we continue to see sustained growth in the industry and continued support for infrastructure spending from the federal government.

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Five Things

Best advice received: Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress
Favorite sports teams: Florida Gators
First job: Sailing instructor
Favorite travel spots: National Parks. Most recently Zion and Bryce Canyon
Do you have any hobbies: Hiking, kayaking, camping