The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) recognized aggregates operations in the United States and Canada with an extraordinary commitment to safety, superior environmental stewardship and community involvement in 2013-2014. The underlying goal of these recognitions is to spur innovation and encourage continual quarry improvements, according to the association.
The awards announced include the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners of NSSGA’s Safety, Environmental and Community Relations Excellence Awards. Also announced were winners of the association’s top honor, National Stars of Excellence, for operations that accumulate Gold Awards in Safety, Environmental or Community Relations over a five-year period.
New to the 2015 program is the Platinum Award, which will go to the top award winner in each of the Environment and Community Relations categories and will be announced live at NSSGA’s Annual Convention, March 16.
NSSGA President and CEO Michael W. Johnson explained, “The Platinum Award recognizes the ‘best of the best’ in environmental stewardship and community responsibility. NSSGA maintains that an active safety, environmental and community relations program is the most meaningful way for an aggregates producer to demonstrate that an operation can be an asset in any community and that the individuals who manage and work at aggregates operations are both good neighbors and responsible corporate citizens. After all, it is only with the goodwill of the public that we continue to operate.”
Two Stars of Excellence Winners
NSSGA’s National Stars of Excellence Program began in 2001 and is presented to those operations earning two or more of any of the following gold awards over a five-year period: Safety Excellence, Environmental Excellence and Excellence in Community Relations. Each operation is awarded a number of stars corresponding to the number of Gold Awards won.
Balcones Aggregates Quarry CEMEX Construction Materials South New Braunfels, Texas
(Community Relations Gold 2014/Environmental Gold 2013)
Pottsville Quarry Rogers Group Inc. Lewisburg, Tenn.
(Community Relations Gold 2014/Environmental Gold 2014)
Rutherford Quarry Rogers Group Inc. Murfreesboro, Tenn.
(Community Relations Gold 2014/Environmental Gold 2013)
Safety Gold Award Winners
Safety Excellence Award Winners
The Safety Excellence Program was created in 1987 to promote safe working conditions and practices and to recognize, on an annual basis, individual operations with exemplary safety records among NSSGA member companies. Safety Excellence Awards recognize individual operations that have gone the longest duration without a reportable injury in their size category. Data on which the award is based is provided by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
| Southington Sand and Pit | Tilcon Connecticut Inc., an Oldcastle company | Small | Southington, Conn. |
| Dubois Quarry | Martin Marietta Materials | Medium | DuBois, Neb. |
| Kentucky Avenue Mine | Martin Marietta Materials | Large | Indianapolis , Ind. |
Sterling Safety Award Winners
The Sterling Safety Award was created in 1994 to recognize companies that have the lowest total accident incidence rate for the previous year in their size category among NSSGA members. Data on which the award is based is provided by MSHA.
| Iddings Quarry, Inc. | Small | Miffinburg, Pa. |
| J.F. Allen Company | Medium | Buckhannon, W. Va. |
| Luck Stone Corporation | Large | Manakin Sabot, Va. |
Environmental
The Environmental Excellence Awards Program was created in 1992 to provide national recognition for aggregate producers that meet and exceed technical, environmental and regulatory requirements. This award is given to the top 10 percent of facilities receiving the highest score from NSSGA’s selected group of independent judges.
| Bristol Sand & Gravel Plant | Lehigh Hanson, Inc. | Ennis, Texas |
| Harding Street Quarry | Lehigh Hanson, Inc. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Leesburg Plant | Luck Stone Corporation | Ashburn, Va. |
| Mallard Creek Quarry | Martin Marietta | Charlotte, N.C. |
| Pottsville Quarry | Rogers Group Inc. | Lewisburg, Tenn. |
| Servtex Quarry | Lehigh Hanson, Inc. | Garden Ridge, Texas |
| Swampscott Quarry | Aggregate Industries – Northeast Region, Inc. | Swampscott, Mass. |
| Thornton Quarry | Lehigh Hanson, Inc. | Thornton, Ill. |
Community Relations
Finally, the Excellence in Community Relations Program was created in 1989 to recognize aggregates producers whose community involvement and support activities have enhanced the public’s perception of the aggregates industry in general and the public image of the individual producer’s aggregate operation in particular. This award is given to the top 10 percent of facilities receiving the highest score from NSSGA’s selected group of independent judges.
| 100th Street | Stoneco of Michigan, an Oldcastle company | Byron Center, Mich. |
| Balcones Aggregates Quarry | CEMEX Construction Materials South, LLC | New Braunfels, Texas |
| Crabtree Quarry | Lehigh Hanson, Inc. | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Cross Plains Quarry | Rogers Group Inc. | Cross Plains, Tenn. |
| McCook Quarry | Vulcan Materials Company | McCook, Ill. |
| Pottsville Quarry | Rogers Group Inc. | Lewisburg, Tenn. |
|
Rutherford Quarry |
Rogers Group Inc. | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
| South Limestone Quarry | Rogers Group Inc. | Tanner, Ala. |
NSSGA Chairman Paul Detwiler III, president of New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc., said, “Our winners have every reason to be proud of their achievements. They demonstrate their commitment to their employees and have become true partners who take an interest and understand the stakes they hold as being part of their communities. By recognizing these winners, we encourage our members to share their best practices, innovate for safety and think differently to achieve exemplary records for their facilities.”