In April, employees at former Bluegrass Materials sites marked their first year as part of the
Martin Marietta team. The roughly two dozen operations across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic
and Mideast divisions have acclimated well to Martin Marietta’s safety-first environment.
right emphasis. I hope we’ll move into
some new geographies that are attractive
to us, but I know we’ll continue to build
in the attractive geographies we have
today and provide our talented teams
with new and exciting opportunities.
Q: With 2019 ending, we also have
a chance to look specifically at
what the next decade of the business
will look like. Can you share your
thoughts on that topic?
A: I think the biggest challenge for
Martin Marietta will be continuing to
grow responsibly. Our past growth has
been one of the most rewarding things
that we’ve done, but we’ve seen others
put themselves in a challenging place
by doing that poorly. We’ll have to be
extremely careful regarding the deals
that we do and the way we integrate the
businesses without upsetting our culture.
I believe we’ll be a considerably larger
company in the coming years. I know
we’ll continue to be a safer company.
With regard to the industry, I believe
we’ll see an increasingly challenging
regulatory environment. It will be more
difficult to both open new aggregates
sites and get new deals approved. We’ll
continue to see an array of constituent
that experience with onboarding, and
benefits, and the way we treat each
other. We can continue to build that by
always driving stakeholder value.
Q: In 2020, you’ll be celebrating
10 years as CEO. It has certainly been
an exciting decade. What goals do
you have for yourself moving forward?
A: We have something so special and so
good here. My overarching goal is to try
to do my part to place the organization
and our teams in positions where
they can be safe, they can outperform
and they can succeed. What I ask of
our people is this: ‘Please let me know
what’s in your way.’ I can usually knock
obstacles down. And that’s something
I want to do. Often, people think
I’m saying that simply to be nice, but
I’m serious. Let me know what I can
do to knock down the things that are
wrongfully in your way. We have a
highly capable group of people and I
need to help position them to perform
at the highest level.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to say
to our people as we conclude 2019?
A: Records are never boring. We’re going
to have another record year in 2019
and I don’t take that for granted. I’m in a
position where I get to publicly tell our
story – and it’s a great one. So, thank you,
all of you, for that privilege.
And as we close this year, I want to wish
everyone at Martin Marietta a happy,
safe and warm holiday season with their
families and loved ones. I look forward
to working with you in the new year. ▼
needs that we will have to balance going
forward in this industry.
Q: While growing the company, how
important do you think ONE will be?
A: It will be critical. Among other things,
we’re going to create a much better
Martin Marietta onboarding experience.
If we’re going to keep people with us
for a career – and that’s our intention
– we need to provide more of a common
platform. So, maybe an employee will
start with us in Colorado and then spend
some time in Texas. And, after that,
maybe they come to North Carolina for
a while. We don’t want anyone to feel
as if they’ve worked in three different
companies simply because they’ve
worked in three different geographies. It
would be preferable if they experienced
the commonality that makes all of our
areas great continue throughout the
entire organization. We can start to build
Teams across the company
continue to improve efficiency
and minimize environmental
impact. In the Mid-Atlantic
Division, operations adopted the
Fuelmaster system, which allows
teams to more efficiently use
their diesel fuel, saving money
and reducing emissions.
www.martinmarietta.com | November/December 2019 The Conveyor 13
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