The Record-Breaking Aggregates Industry

The publicly traded companies are out with their full-year 2023 financial reports and by all accounts it was a record-breaking year. The list goes on. While vibrant market conditions continue to drive performance for aggregates operations, there is no discounting the impact of the healthy price increases that companies are also reporting. Rock Products’ pricing guru, Barry Hudson of Price…

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Benchmark 2023: An Exclusive Survey

Rock Products’ Annual Survey On The Opinions, Concerns And Buying Intentions Of Producers Reveals What Is On The Industry’s Collective Mind. So who took the survey this year? More than 200 industry professionals contributed to the survey data. A typical survey respondent was an officer, executive, owner or partner. A production manager, foreman or technical superintendent was next. A further…

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West Virginia Aggregates Operations Honored for Safety

During the recent West Virginia Mining Symposium, which took place April 18-19 in Charleston, W.Va., the West Virginia Coal Association recognized and celebrated “Exemplary Mine Safety & Environmental Excellence” achievements of mining industry operations across the state, including several aggregates operations. “Safety always has been and continues to be our top priority in the [mining] industry,” said West Virginia Coal…

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Leading an Exhausted Workforce

The Last Few Years Have Tested Leaders In Ways They Never Imagined. By Steve Schumacher It is very common that people at all levels of organizations get tired, stressed, burnt out and frustrated. These things happen during start-ups, new product rollouts, peak business times and when systems and resources are stretched thin.  Leaders understand that most of these times are…

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How Do You Deal With Age Discrimination?

Organizations Often Focus On Sexism And Racism But Overlook Ageism. By Steve Schumacher Unlike many cultures around the world that value and respect their elders, our society in America tends to de-value older generations and discount their contributions. As an older adult, I see it in the body language of people I encounter. I have my own business so I…

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Hire For What People Can Do, Not What They Have Done

Candidates’ Past Successes May Not Transfer To A New Environment. By Steve Schumacher Over my career, I have helped many hiring managers transition from horrible to highly effective hiring techniques. I have seen far too many hiring managers make a long-term investment in a new employee with a seat-of-the-pants interviewing process. Considering how much money organizations spend on recruiters, advertising…

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A ‘Fair’ Offer

July 6, 2022 – The local government in Minnehaha County, S.D., created a task force to review and establish a new vision for the W. H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls at its current location, but during a recent commission meeting Knife River Corp. extended a much different idea. “Knife River currently borders the fairgrounds on three sides and those surrounding…

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Leading the Digital Information Revolution

The New Partnership Between Rock Products and Burgex Brings Powerful New Tools to Aggregates Producers. For 20 years, the Aggregates Atlas has been one of the industry’s leading information sources. Featuring maps and listings, readers were able to see the location of aggregates operations throughout the United States. But the print version of the Atlas had its limitations.  In metropolitan areas…

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Hire For What People Can Do, Not What They Have Done

Candidates’ Past Successes May Not Transfer To A New Environment. By Steve Schumacher Over my career, I have helped many hiring managers transition from horrible to highly effective hiring techniques. I have seen far too many hiring managers make a long-term investment in a new employee with a seat-of-the-pants interviewing process.  Considering how much organizations spend on recruiters, advertising open…

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