Pit & Quarry, August 2017

Lee HeffLeY Lee Heffley manages quarry construction and coal equipment sales at four of Brandeis Machinerys eight branches Based in Louisville Kentucky Brandeis is a fourth generation family owned Komatsu and Wirtgen distributor that was founded in 1908 How did you first make your way into the aggregate industry I started in the aggregate processing business in 2001 and just completely immersed myself in it That company was acquired by Bramco Brandeis Machinerys parent company in 2010 and we rebranded it as Bramco MPS where I managed sales until early last year In April Legislation and employment Those are two of the most critical issues on our customers minds 2016 I moved over to our Brandeis Machinery division What are some of the greatest challenges you see the aggregate industry facing at the moment Legislation and employment Those are two of the most critical issues on our customers minds With legislation its one of two things either the overreaching regulation weve been dealing with for the past several years with regards to dust water and safety or the anticipation of some much needed infrastructure spending and sufficient funding resources to support it Were very hopeful of the opportunities that lie ahead of us VP Regional Sales Manager Brandeis Machinery Supply Co The other challenge is employment It weighs heavily on our customers minds how they can attract enough high quality labor necessary to meet the demand for material that we see on the horizon This really ties back to the people leading this industry and the legislative agenda I mentioned How about dust What sentiments and concerns do you hear from customers about how dust will be legislated in coming years Its certainly something on their minds The OSHA Occupational Safety Health Administration silica ruling for example seems excessive toward the aggregate industry in comparison with other industries The problem you run into with something like this is that being against it in the political arena can present challenges when the opposition chooses to paint you as though your intentions arent good Whats the feeling at the moment regarding highway funding in the states you cover Well Indiana just passed something that is going to really be beneficial to them and I feel like were on a path to that in Kentucky Kentucky is in a situation similar to where we are at the federal level We have a relatively new administration and there is a lot of conversation at both levels of government right now Theres a tremendous opportunity to implement change Its tied to the overall budgets tax reform and job creation Visit PITANDQUARRY COM LeeHeffLeY for our full conversation with Lee Heffley fIVe THINgS fIRST INDUSTRY JOB Sales rep for a Komatsu forklift dealer in Louisville Kentucky VACATION SPOT Hilton Head Island South Carolina with my family HOBBIeS Following my daughters sports teams books and podcasts and shooting sporting clays SPORTS TeAMS University of Kentucky Wildcats for me everything else pales in comparison BOOKS At the top of the list is Start With Why by Simon Sinek My most recent read is Team of Teams by Gen Stanley McChrystal 70 PIT QUARRY August 2017 pitandquarry com ISTOCK COM MIChaeljung