Pit & Quarry, February 2017

Paul Detwiler Jr An unrelenting passion for the industry drives the ultimate quarry operator across a half century BY KEVIN YANIK he conversations typical ly lasted only five or 10 minutes but George Sidney came to expect them from time to time when Paul Detwiler Jr was in the area He Detwiler would be driving around and he would call me to ask if I was in the office says Sidney president and COO of McLanahan Corp based in Hollidaysburg Pennsylvania He wanted to stop by When a phone call like this came a quarry project of some sort was likely on the mind of Detwiler now chairman of the board at Pennsylvania based New Enterprise Stone Lime Co Inc Soon after making the call Detwiler would pull into the parking lot outside of Sidneys office and the two would talk Hed say Im thinking about doing this Sidney says And hed ask What do you think about that Wed have a little discussion Hed never even shut off his car Hed jump in his car and go On one occasion Detwiler wanted to pick Sidneys brain about mobilizing some rather large equipment within a quarry A number of similar impromptu conversations were had between the two over the years The conversations largely centered on equipment innovation Hes such an innovator Sidney says of Detwiler Hes an equipment guy He goes into a plant and hes very hands on He looks around to see how he can do things better and innovate to do things better Thats what Ive always admired about him Conversations like the ones with Sidney are just one way Detwiler seeks solutions Detwiler is very well read says Jim Barley president of New Enterprises West Region Detwiler who has served as a director of New Enterprise since 1972 absorbs every morsel of information he can in trade publications and industry books He is also a regular at trade shows where hes shown himself to be on the leading edge of innovation He and his wife Pat regularly attended trade shows worldwide Sidney says The reason He was always looking for what was new and innovative He would be at Bauma every three years He would be at the quarry show in the U K He would come to Coal Prep down in Kentucky looking for innovation As an example of Detwilers innova Bartlett also steered the industry through the 1990s a decade Grove reflects on as especially challenging economically for the industry The 90s were tough times in recession and the highway industry he says but Bob was a good spokesperson for us EARLIER YEARS Bartletts tenure at NSA was far from his first career stop Born in 1931 Bartlett attended and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1953 with a bachelor of science in engineering He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U S Army serving in the U S Army Corps of Engineers as an officer in Korea and throughout the United States After retiring in 1957 as a captain Bartlett joined Bethlehem Steel Co as an engineer and labor relations specialist His career took a unique turn when he became secretary of highways for Pennsylvania and chairman of the states highway commission from 1967 to 1970 steering the development of the Keystone States extensive highway network Later Bartlett served L B Smith Inc as an executive vice president where he remained committed to highway advocacy through the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association PHIA which he served as president Bartlett received PHIAs Transportation Advocate of the Year Award the organizations top honor in 1986 as he transitioned into the next phase of his career at NSA Bartlett was controversial at times but he spoke up and represented the industry extremely well Grove says I was proud to have known him and proud to have worked with him Associate Editor Megan Smalley contributed to this article 70 PIT QUARRY February 2017 pitandquarry com