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CEMCO Celebrates 50 Years Work smarter, not harder. Wise words to live by, and a motto Mason Hise took to heart through‐ out his life's journey. Coupled with his beliefs on honesty and cus‐ tomer service – and his entrepre‐ neurial spirit – this quest for a way to work smarter is what led him down a path of learning and suc‐ cess, and the further development of VSI (vertical shaft impact) crushing technology. Mason spent the first part of his working life in mines, on highways and railroads. During World War II, he expanded his equipment knowl‐ edge while overhauling engines for the 8th Air Force in Warrington, England. This was also where he met his future wife, Rose. The cou‐ ple had a son, Neil, and settled in New Mexico. The first spark of Mason's entre‐ preneurial spirit was ignited in 1962, when he purchased Crusher Service Co. – the company that would eventually become CEMCO. With the help of Rose and his now‐ grown son Neil, Mason knew he could morph the company into a success. From day one, the family business had no lack of work. With an over‐ whelming demand for repair serv‐ ices, they traveled often and worked around the clock. Other than being labor intensive, their system worked well. By the age of 16, Neil had taught himself how to weld – a critical function in their repair business. Unfortunately, the Southwestern, abrasive rock con‐ sistently kept repair in high de‐ mand, putting roll crushers out of commission after a only a week's worth of crushing. "The rock was so hard you could see sparks fly at night when crush‐ ing," Neil explained. "We needed to find a better way. A new design with the technology to hold up to www.rockproducts.com ROCKproducts • AUGUST 2012 11 the most abrasive of materials." Knowing existing VSI crusher de‐ signs contained casting that was not sound, Mason and Neil were motivated to develop a better de‐ sign. In 1966, Neil brought a pencil sketch of a shaft design to a local shop and requested three common shafts be built. Upon his return, Neil found significant inconsisten‐ cies in the sizes of the shafts, which led him to purchase a used lathe in order to build his own keyways and bearing housings. Soon after, Neil and Mason produced the first CEMCO crusher. the Turbo 54, the first model to be mass‐produced. In 1970, CEMCO produced its first semi‐portable crushers. Today, CEMCO manufac‐ tures eight sizes of crushers and serves 27 countries. In 1980, Neil became president of CEMCO but Mason remained active in the business until his passing in 1993. CEMCO continues to be a family‐run business. Neil's wife, Ty Juana, originally joined as CFO and has been CEO for the past five years. After obtaining her degree as a mining engineer and working as a plant manager for a sand and Anniversary marks company's quest for a way to work smarter. "We produced that first crusher in 1967," Neil said. "I'm proud to say that crusher is still in operation today." Shortly after, CEMCO introduced gravel dredging company, daugh‐ ter Jennifer is now CEMCO's vice‐ president. Neil and Ty's other daughter, Aneile, while not work‐ ing directly for the company, is serving an equally important role in the future of CEMCO – raising the fourth generation of the CEMCO family. M ANUFACTURER NEWS FAST FACT