DELTA COMPANIES INC. HOSTS MISSOURI STATE LEGISLATORS
New Missouri Speaker of the House
Todd Richardson (District #152) accepted
the invitation to tour Delta’s facilities in
the Poplar Bluff area, which is also in the
district that he represents. Delta was
delighted and honored to have the following
Representatives, in addition to the Speaker,
in attendance on July 28, 2015: Paul
Fitzwater (District #144), Shelley Keeney
(District #145), Kathryn Swan (District #147),
and Holly Rehder (District #148).
Delta Companies Inc is a highway
contractor specializing in asphalt paving
and road construction materials, including
aggregates, ready-mix concrete, hot mix
asphalt, liquid asphalt, and emulsions. The
Poplar Bluff facilities include a limestone
quarry, ready-mix concrete plant, and hot
mix asphalt plant. The visit began with a
brief presentation about Delta Companies
overall, and then focused on the Missouri
operations.
The presentation illustrated Delta’s
economic impact on the state economy
through its number of employees, number
of vendor and supplier employees, and the
taxes paid due to its activities. It concluded
with several slides provided by the National
Asphalt Pavement Association and the
American Society of Civil Engineers showing
the need for transportation and infrastructure
funding. Ric Neubert (President and CEO),
Jerry Farnham (Plants and Equipment
Manager), Rick Moody (Regional Manager –
Construction), Dan Grier (Regional Manager
– Manufacturing), Randy Hobbs (Area
Manager – Ready Mix), Mike Martin (Area
Manager – Aggregates), Debbi Robinson
(Manager – Human Resources), and Don
The “stark reality” of
transportation funding was the
recurring focus of formal and
informal discussions.
Rosenbarger (Vice President of Operations)
presented an overview of our Missouri
operations. The legislators were allotted
time to ask questions and share comments
regarding other matters; transportation
funding was the dominant issue.
The “stark reality” of transportation
funding was the recurring focus of formal
and informal discussions. Missouri’s state
gasoline tax rate was last adjusted in 1992
and is currently 17.3 cents per gallon.
Missouri has the 7th largest transportation
system in the country with nearly 34,000
miles of state highways and roads, and
the 5th lowest gasoline tax rate. Since
2009, there has been a 50% decrease in
investment in Missouri infrastructure – roads
and bridges. Among a host of reasons
for this is a decline in fuel consumption
and an increase in the cost of doing
business, including material escalation and
rising healthcare expenses. A short-term
answer and a long-term solution must be
implemented soon to avoid further decay of
our transportation system.
Representatives Richardson, Fitzwater,
Keeney, Swan, and Rehder, as well as the
rest of the group, were presented with
the proper Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) including hard hats, vests, and safety
glasses. It was a very hot and humid day, so
everyone was encouraged to stay hydrated.
This is the same message provided to all
employees as the building and maintaining
of roads requires work in extreme weather
conditions.
The legislative contingent was interested
in the transportation industry and Delta’s
operations. Representative Rehder even
helped with the production blast at the
quarry by detonating 12,000 pounds of
explosives.
Other participants involved in the tour
included Wes Sutton with Representative
Rehder’s office; Len Toenjes and Denise
Hasty with the AGC of Missouri; Laura
Markway and Daryl Duwe with the Missouri
Asphalt Pavement Association; Steve Rudloff
with the Missouri Limestone Producers
Association; Mark Shelton, Andy Meyer, and
Matt Seiler with the Missouri Department of
Transportation; David Johnson and Mark
Massingham with the City of Poplar Bluff;
Don Anderson, Robbie Myers, and Gary
McDaniel with Butler County; and Warner
Brines (EHS Manager), Jerry Neels (Safety),
and Quentin Kelley (Account Manager –
Heartland) with the Delta Companies.
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