Pit & Quarry, April 2013
PIT QUARRY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES Charles W Ireland Guided top crushed stone producer into corporate world he top crushed stone producing company in the United States Vulcan Materials Co would not be the megaproducer it is today without the vision of Charles W Ireland who developed a plan after World War II to expand his family company Birmingham Slag In the early 1950s Ireland saw an opportunity for Birmingham Slag to became a major supplier of the crushed stone that would increasingly be in demand for President Dwight Eisenhowers 175 million interstate highway system Ireland however knew his company could only play a major role in the systems expansion if it grew quickly Becoming a publicly traded company was one way to achieve such rapid expansion Ireland orchestrated a merger along with Barney Monaghan the companys outside legal counsel and longtime advisor to purchase New Jersey based Vulcan Detinning Co which was being traded on the New York Stock Exchange at the time Birmingham Slag made the acquisition on Dec 31 1956 officially incorporating Vulcan Materials Co Initial shares sold for 1269 and 13800 shares were exchanged after the first five days of trading Over the next few years Ireland steered Vulcan through a series of mergers and acquisitions that elevated the company into the national spotlight In 1959 he appeared on the cover of Business Week magazine and was featured in an article that praised his role in the creation of the company Charles was a man who operated with vision and imagination and was not afraid to stick his neck out for something he really wanted Monaghan once said 32 PIT QUARRY April 2013 www pitandquarry com
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
