A generational investment in North Texas
New Martin Marietta plant to supply burgeoning market with cleaner, higher-quality limestone
WITH a strong focus on one of the fastest-growing metros in the US, Martin Marietta are modernizing their Bridgeport-Chico facility in a move that marks not just the second-largest capital project in the company’s history, but a significant step towards realizing a strategy designed to ensure a generational competitive advantage.
The new plant currently being built at the joint operation 80 miles north-west of Dallas will produce a cleaner, higher-quality limestone product that will help supply the massive population growth occurring across North Texas. Construction work at the site is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
‘The key message here is we are strengthening our leading position in North Texas for decades,’ said Oliver Brooks, vice-president of strategic planning. ‘Our team is constructing a safe, sustainable and customer-focused facility in one of the country’s largest metro areas.
‘This is a clear example of Martin Marietta’s Strategic Operating Analysis and Review (SOAR) process working exceptionally well.’
The Chico team will move away from its original Martin Marietta name under a rebranding of the operation. The site will now be known as Bridgeport and North Bridgeport.
‘We’re upgrading the product offering and the customer experience,’ said area production manager Judsen Adams. ‘The limestone will still be the same, but the processing will be different. North Bridgeport’s rock will now be produced to the same specs as the rock provided by Bridgeport.’
General sales manager Mark Morgan says it is the people, be they employees or site customers, that are the most important element in the entire project. ‘We want to make sure that our team members at Chico understand that their site’s name may change, but that does nothing to diminish the value of their work,’ he said.
‘We want them to have a renewed sense of pride and to rally around this new plant. We’re also working to make sure we address our customers properly. We want them to understand everything that we’re doing to enhance the overall customer experience.’
What is most likely to please customers is the fact that the new equipment and fully automated load-out system will allow the North Bridgeport team to cut the time it takes to load a truck by more than 50%.
According to Judson Adams, it currently takes about 22 minutes to load a customer truck, but once the new plant is completed, customers will be in and out of the site in about 10 minutes. The impact is expected to result in more than 500 additional trucks moving through the facility each day.
