Rock Products is the aggregates industry's leading source for market analysis and technology solutions, delivering critical content focusing on aggregates-processing equipment; operational efficiencies; management best practices; comprehensive market
Issue link: https://rock.epubxp.com/i/97730
Executive Interview: Graham Hardwick Graham Hardwick, senior vice president at Aggregate Industries US (AIUS) talks to Rock Products Editor Mark S. Kuhar about the symbiotic relationship between a strong construction market and economic recovery, and offers pertinent information about AIUS and its role in sustainable business and community relationship-building. How is the construction economy in the Northeast these days? Where the economy has bounced along for the past three years, it is now show��� ing signs of rising off the bottom ��� al��� though, the construction industry has seen spotty growth. Because of private investment in both residential and com��� mercial projects, Greater Boston has shown some encouraging signs. While the residential construction market in Massachusetts is seeing improvement, the New Hampshire residential market is still slow. How long will it take until the positive effects of MAP-21 begin to show up in the market? MAP���21 only continues funding at cur��� rent levels. Although there is more secu��� rity in the two���year bill, the funding level is still well short of what is neces��� sary to address the infrastructure needs. This is especially true in the Northeast largely due to the fact that infrastructure is older and in need of more repair. How many aggregates operations do you have serving the Northeast market area? We currently have seven operations serving the Northeast market located in Wrentham, Swampscott, Saugus, Little��� ton, Raymond, Peabody and Taunton. Are the majority of the ready mix plants you own connected directly with company-owned aggregates operations? No. Less than 25 percent of Aggregate Industries US��� ready mix plants are connected to aggregate operations. Of the four that are connected to aggre��� gate operations, only one is currently operational. Can you describe the impact that emerging technology is having on www.rockproducts.com your aggregates operations? Automation is the key technology that drives our aggregate operations. Real time information harvested from this automation allows managers to make more informed decisions and drives continuous improvement. How does proper equipment maintenance contribute to a successful aggregates operation? There are two main controllables in aggregate operations: labor and main��� tenance. Good predictive and preven��� tive maintenance practices are essential today to be successful. With all the pressure on costs, it is essential to have good maintenance processes to ensure that repairs are done before failure and during scheduled mainte��� nance periods. Are you actively working to permit new operations to serve the Northeast? Please talk about the difficulty of that. Currently we are not actively permitting any new operations. Although, like everywhere, it is getting harder and harder to permit aggregate operations close to the market they are to serve. Talk about your company's commitment to sustainable business practices. Aggregate Industries is owned by Hol��� cim Ltd., a leader in sustainable busi��� ness practices. Both Holcim and AIUS place sustainability at the forefront of their business strategy and day���to���day operations. At Aggregate Industries we continually demonstrate sustainable practices through various tactics includ��� ing the use of fly ash or recycled water in concrete, recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and warm mix asphalt in our as��� phalt business. On the construction side we use recycled concrete as a material alternative. What steps do you take to cultivate a positive relationship with the communities in which you have operations? Aggregate Industries ��� Northeast Region Inc. works continuously to be an active member of the communities where we operate. This includes regular contact with individuals in the communities, which helps us respond to their needs and be a good neighbor. We believe it is important to give back to the commu��� nity. For example: n n n n n Conducting Open Houses or Community Days at a quarry. Providing educational tours of facilities from grade school to college. Provide educational tours to local Boy and Girl Scouts. Provide individual assistance with schools projects. Participate in local ���Touch a Truck��� events. How does safety and health fit into the larger picture of running a successful business? Safety and health are just as important as sales, costs and profits to running a successful business. At Aggregate Indus��� tries, we strive to make safety and health part of the culture. Safety is our number one priority and therefore we are highly focused on it. It is up to everyone in the organization to be ac��� countable for safety. ROCKproducts ��� DECEMBER 2012 11