January 2003 AGGMAN Management

Drew Meyer Named AggMan Professional of the Year 2002

After more than three decades in the industry, Meyer has a steady hand at the helm of aggregates groups.

By Therese Dunphy

Serendipity. That is the best description of how Drew Meyer joined the aggregates industry. In 1966, Meyer completed his master’s degree in mineral economics at Pennsylvania State University. Having gone through college with the ROTC, he had a military obligation to meet. Before fulfilling that obligation, he requested six months to earn some additional money to support himself and his bride, Dixie. He soon realized that not many employers were looking for a new employee who could make only a six-month commitment. Then he heard that a company named Vulcan Materials Co. was interviewing on campus. The rest, as they say, is history.
More than three decades later, Meyer is an integral part of Vulcan Materials Co. and numerous organizations impacting the aggregates industry. As vice president, marketing and transportation services, of Vulcan’s Construction Materials Group, he is responsible for the company’s marketing, marketing research, marketing support services, transportation sales and support services, and economic forecasting and analysis.
Outside of Vulcan, he serves as vice chairman, at large, of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA); is a member of the board of directors of the International Concrete and Aggregates Group (ICAG); is chairman of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration’s (SME) newly formed Construction Materials and Aggregates Committee; serves on the board of trustees of the SME Foundation; is a member of the board of directors of the Mineral Information Institute (MII); and serves as chairman of MII’s nominating committee. Meyer has also served as an advisor of Aggregates Manager’s Marketing section.
In recognition of his long-term service and dedication to the aggregates industry and its advancement, Drew Meyer was selected as the AggMan Professional of the Year for 2002.
“Drew is revered throughout the industry for his knowledge of aggregate production facilities and reserves across the country,” says Charlie Hawkins, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NSSGA. “The industry relies on his counsel and input, and for years, he has supported the industry associations through participation on committees and in leadership positions. Drew makes a positive difference in everything he undertakes.”

Pioneering market research
When Meyer graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mineral economics, market research was nearly unheard of in the aggregates industry.
“Vulcan was really out in the forefront by having a market research department. Their first manager of market research was hired (in 1961) from GE, which was known worldwide as being a very good market research oriented company,” says Meyer, who notes that the company has supported market research with both the staff and tools it needs to do the job.
When Meyer joined Vulcan, the company was already the largest aggregate producer in the United States, but was much smaller than its current size. It grew from a $160 million company in the late ’60s to a $2.8 billion company largely by acquiring regional companies. While growing via acquisition, an unbiased view of prospective markets and targets provided Vulcan with invaluable information upon which to base their capital expenditures.
“One of Vulcan’s secrets to success is that we’ve consistently been in the right places at the right times. We’ve been lucky in some instances, but in most cases, we’ve made decisions to open greenfield sites or acquire existing operations based on sound marketing data,” notes Don James, chairman and chief executive officer of Vulcan Materials Co. “Drew Meyer has been invaluable in establishing and leading the marketing support team that helps us make decisions. On a day-to-day basis, Drew and his team also help ensure that our legacy operations have the information and data they need to compete effectively. In a very competitive industry, Drew is a key player in helping maintain our position as the number-one producer in the nation.”
One way of maintaining a competitive edge is by taking aggregates out of a commodity mentality. “It is true that you can’t make somebody buy stone if they don’t have need for that type of material,” says Meyer. “Once they’ve decided that they need a construction material and stone fits the bill, there are lots and lots of reasons why you can convince them that they should buy from you — Vulcan Materials Co. — rather than someone else.”
Meyer points to Frank Purdue’s claim that “if you can differentiate a dead chicken, you can differentiate anything.”
“The definition of a commodity says that there is no difference in the product so the only way to differentiate is on price,” says Meyer. “By it’s very nature, rock has a differentiating quality.
“Grading bands that define a particular grade are very broad,” he adds. “If you push it to one side of the gradation band, it will work one way. At the other end of the spectrum, it may not work the same way.”
In addition to mineralogy and production methods, Meyer says there are numerous ways to differentiate product. These may range from stockpile handling and loading, to credit policies and payment terms.
“There are a lot of things you can do to differentiate your product and take it out of the commodity mentality,” he notes. “Understanding your market is part of that — understanding what the structure of the market is, who your competitors are, what they are doing, and how they are doing it, is an extremely important thing to marketing your product as a differentiated product as opposed to a commodity.”

Volunteering time and expertise
While Meyer has many important responsibilities at Vulcan Materials Co., he makes equally significant contributions within various national organizations where he generously volunteers his time.
“The management of our company felt that it was very important for us, as the principal player in this industry, to be active in associations representing the industry,” says Meyer. “We’ve always looked at these associations as part of our responsibility to help further the goals of the industry itself and, secondarily, as an opportunity for us to learn more and improve our own operations.”
One of the ways Meyer has been able to coordinate the goals of the company with those of the industry is through his efforts in regard to education and professional development programs.
Education has been a long-term priority for Vulcan, especially through its adopt-a-school programs. As an extension of the company’s focus on education, Meyer was asked to become involved with the MII. Through its lesson plans and teacher information, Meyer says that MII is a very valuable tool for helping to educate the public, through children, about the benefits of the aggregates industry.
“We saw the Minerals Information Institute as something we ought to help foster and grow. That came out of our longstanding commitment to schools and communities,” he says.
Through his work with NSSGA, as both a vice chairman and as co-chair of its Training Academy, Meyer worked with both NSSGA and MII to facilitate the production of the Rock Odyssey video program that went on the market in 2002.
“The Institute had struggled for five years to obtain the rights to reproduce this video and provide a broader distribution to classrooms across the country,” says Nelson Fugate, MII’s president. “Drew helped package and position the program, and its sponsorship was picked up by the NSSGA. The program… is now available and affordable through MII and NSSGA.
“It’s a treat to have a director who pays attention, answers the mail, and promotes us with other companies and individuals. He doesn’t just think of things that staff ought to be doing — he rolls up his sleeves, dives in, and helps bring them to fruition.”
The collaborative effort between MII and NSSGA is an underlying goal of Meyer’s efforts with various organizations. “I’ve always felt very strongly that associations have such limited resources,” says Meyer. “We need to be sure that we do not duplicate anything that can be done by somebody else who is willing to either provide it or pay for it. We have to be very careful not to always say ‘We have to do it because if we don’t do it, it’s not any good.’ We have to look for people who are doing the same or similar things and then get the synergy of working together.”
“From the time I started working with Drew — years ago when he chaired our Market Development Division — I recognized his quiet energy and analytical zing,” says Joy Wilson, president and chief executive officer of NSSGA. “We have profited greatly from his probing questions on how the association can do more, do better, more efficiently, more cost-effectively, yet ensure that the return on investment is as high as possible to maximize benefits to our members. His insights have helped forge stronger partnerships within our association pre- and post-merger, and with external organizations as well. Drew Meyer is a quality leader with whom we are honored to work.”
That same cooperative spirit led to Meyer’s involvement with SME’s newly formed Construction Materials and Aggregates Committee, which extends the society’s professional development program with a curriculum targeted at the aggregates industry.
“Many mineral commodities have declined or simply are not produced any more in the United States,” says Meyer. “The big exception to that is construction aggregates. Construction aggregates, on a tonnage basis, is by far the largest mineral that is produced in the United States.”
As a result, colleges were seeing their graduates choose the aggregates industry over more traditional mining employment venues. SME leaders tapped Meyer, who had been a member of SME since his college days at Penn State, to spearhead the society’s new committee.
“Drew has accepted the challenge to help SME improve its visibility with the construction materials and aggregates community with enthusiasm, dedication, and energy,” says Michael Karmis, SME president-2002. “We have appreciated his vision and leadership.”
In addition to his education and professional development goals, Meyer aids in strategic planning for ICAG. Meyer became involved with the group when Con/Agg was owned by the National Aggregates Association prior to that group’s merger with the National Stone Association, which resulted in the formation of NSSGA.
After the merger of Con/Agg and ConExpo, the amount of non-dues income the show contributed to the association grew in a corresponding manner to the show’s size.
“It became a very important entity for NSSGA,” says Meyer. “We saw a lot of threats that were occurring to the viability of ConExpo-Con/Agg from shows such as the World of Concrete. That’s when we began to address the issue of what we needed to do to maintain the viability and income from the show.”

Looking to the future
Meyer’s strategic planning and forecasting skills are part of his value to both his employer and industry groups. While prognosticating is far from an exact science, Meyer bases his assessments on the best information available.
For example, he sees continued consolidation as inevitable. “The fact of the matter is that with the increase in permitting requirements, environmental regulations, operating constraints, etc., smaller companies are just going to say ‘I’ve had enough of this’ and they will sell out,” he says. “On the other hand, you have some of the smaller companies that are doing exceptionally well because they do understand that they have to operate in that environment and have gotten the expertise and help and are growing. At some point, though, they still become attractive prospects for acquisition.”
Depletion of reserves will also drive consolidation, Meyer says. “In this industry, so many companies operate sand and gravel deposits. By their very nature, those deposits have a limited reserve life. A lot of those companies will go out of business as they deplete those reserves and are unable to get additional reserves. Companies that have extensive reserves are the ones that are likely to be acquired, and they are likely to be acquired by the larger companies.”
The issue of reserves, however, is based on location. “In total, there’s no problem. In certain locations, there is a real problem. That’s why it’s difficult to get a national consensus because there isn’t one,” he says. “There are a lot of places where reserves are available and all you need to do is go through the hoops and you will get them permitted. There are other places where permitting is hard to do no matter what you do. There are other places where there are no reserves, and it’s not an issue of permitting or going through the environmental hurdles or anything else, it’s just not there.”
For example, many of the coastal states tend to be problematic. California and Washington are difficult states — among many others — in which to obtain a permit. Southern portions of Georgia have virtually no coarse aggregate and ship it in from the northern portion of the state. Many of the reserves along the East Coast have either been depleted or developed over.
To supply these areas, producers are investing in alternative transportation methods such as rail and barge. Distribution centers are also becoming a more frequently utilized option.
“We’re very active in looking to expand our use of rail to deliver aggregate,” says Meyer. “Other aggregate companies are doing the same thing. The growth in the amount of aggregate that we have sold that we ship by rail has been growing at a fairly dramatic rate. It’s still a small percentage of our business, but it’s been growing at a much higher rate than the rest of our business.”
Meyer anticipates that overall shipments of aggregate will increase in 2003. Despite uncertainty on federal highway spending, Meyer says that many states have highway trust funds that could help offset the $4 billion FY2003 federal spending decrease if it occurs. While overall state spending may be down, monies in those trust funds remain safe. Meyer cites Arizona as an example of how these state trust funds impact local aggregate consumption. “They have so much bonding capacity to go out and float bonds to help them get over this hump,” he says. “They also have a trust fund, so they don’t see a decline in highway construction that you would expect from looking at the state budget itself.”
Another possibility is that state governments will mitigate the perception of decreased transportation spending through fewer new projects and more maintenance.
“If your budget declines, you can spend less money on engineering big projects and spend more money on overlays, which might actually consume more stone per dollar,” says Meyer.
Looking down the road another 10 years, predictions can be more difficult to make, but Meyer offers the following observations:

There will be fewer, but larger operations;
Large companies will grow, but regional companies will remain strong as well;
Aggregate shipment via rail will continue to increase;
The industry will continue to improve its efforts to protect the safety of its workers;
The use of automation will increase.

When it comes to personal predictions, Meyer may be able to offer a higher degree of probability. In another 10 years, he sees himself on the lake with the grandkids — with family being the same reason for leaving the aggregates industry as for entering it.

January 2003 Management Predicting Opportunities for Growth State by State				Drew Meyer Named AggMan Professional of the Year 2002 After more than three decades in the industry, Meyer has a steady hand at the helm of aggregates groups. By Therese Dunphy Serendipity. That is the best description of how Drew Meyer joined the aggregates industry. In 1966, Meyer completed his master’s degree in mineral economics at Pennsylvania State University. Having gone through college with the ROTC, he had a military obligation to meet. Before fulfilling that obligation, he requested six months to earn some additional money to support himself and his bride, Dixie. He soon realized that not many employers were looking for a new employee who could make only a six-month commitment. Then he heard that a company named Vulcan Materials Co. was interviewing on campus. The rest, as they say, is history. More than three decades later, Meyer is an integral part of Vulcan Materials Co. and numerous organizations impacting the aggregates industry. As vice president, marketing and transportation services, of Vulcan’s Construction Materials Group, he is responsible for the company’s marketing, marketing research, marketing support services, transportation sales and support services, and economic forecasting and analysis. Outside of Vulcan, he serves as vice chairman, at large, of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA); is a member of the board of directors of the International Concrete and Aggregates Group (ICAG); is chairman of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration’s (SME) newly formed Construction Materials and Aggregates Committee; serves on the board of trustees of the SME Foundation; is a member of the board of directors of the Mineral Information Institute (MII); and serves as chairman of MII’s nominating committee. Meyer has also served as an advisor of Aggregates Manager’s Marketing section. In recognition of his long-term service and dedication to the aggregates industry and its advancement, Drew Meyer was selected as the AggMan Professional of the Year for 2002. “Drew is revered throughout the industry for his knowledge of aggregate production facilities and reserves across the country,” says Charlie Hawkins, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NSSGA. “The industry relies on his counsel and input, and for years, he has supported the industry associations through participation on committees and in leadership positions. Drew makes a positive difference in everything he undertakes.” Pioneering market research When Meyer graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mineral economics, market research was nearly unheard of in the aggregates industry. “Vulcan was really out in the forefront by having a market research department. Their first manager of market research was hired (in 1961) from GE, which was known worldwide as being a very good market research oriented company,” says Meyer, who notes that the company has supported market research with both the staff and tools it needs to do the job. When Meyer joined Vulcan, the company was already the largest aggregate producer in the United States, but was much smaller than its current size. It grew from a $160 million company in the late ’60s to a $2.8 billion company largely by acquiring regional companies. While growing via acquisition, an unbiased view of prospective markets and targets provided Vulcan with invaluable information upon which to base their capital expenditures. “One of Vulcan’s secrets to success is that we’ve consistently been in the right places at the right times. We’ve been lucky in some instances, but in most cases, we’ve made decisions to open greenfield sites or acquire existing operations based on sound marketing data,” notes Don James, chairman and chief executive officer of Vulcan Materials Co. “Drew Meyer has been invaluable in establishing and leading the marketing support team that helps us make decisions. On a day-to-day basis, Drew and his team also help ensure that our legacy operations have the information and data they need to compete effectively. In a very competitive industry, Drew is a key player in helping maintain our position as the number-one producer in the nation.” One way of maintaining a competitive edge is by taking aggregates out of a commodity mentality. “It is true that you can’t make somebody buy stone if they don’t have need for that type of material,” says Meyer. “Once they’ve decided that they need a construction material and stone fits the bill, there are lots and lots of reasons why you can convince them that they should buy from you — Vulcan Materials Co. — rather than someone else.” Meyer points to Frank Purdue’s claim that “if you can differentiate a dead chicken, you can differentiate anything.” “The definition of a commodity says that there is no difference in the product so the only way to differentiate is on price,” says Meyer. “By it’s very nature, rock has a differentiating quality. “Grading bands that define a particular grade are very broad,” he adds. “If you push it to one side of the gradation band, it will work one way. At the other end of the spectrum, it may not work the same way.” In addition to mineralogy and production methods, Meyer says there are numerous ways to differentiate product. These may range from stockpile handling and loading, to credit policies and payment terms. “There are a lot of things you can do to differentiate your product and take it out of the commodity mentality,” he notes. “Understanding your market is part of that — understanding what the structure of the market is, who your competitors are, what they are doing, and how they are doing it, is an extremely important thing to marketing your product as a differentiated product as opposed to a commodity.” Volunteering time and expertise While Meyer has many important responsibilities at Vulcan Materials Co., he makes equally significant contributions within various national organizations where he generously volunteers his time. “The management of our company felt that it was very important for us, as the principal player in this industry, to be active in associations representing the industry,” says Meyer. “We’ve always looked at these associations as part of our responsibility to help further the goals of the industry itself and, secondarily, as an opportunity for us to learn more and improve our own operations.” One of the ways Meyer has been able to coordinate the goals of the company with those of the industry is through his efforts in regard to education and professional development programs. Education has been a long-term priority for Vulcan, especially through its adopt-a-school programs. As an extension of the company’s focus on education, Meyer was asked to become involved with the MII. Through its lesson plans and teacher information, Meyer says that MII is a very valuable tool for helping to educate the public, through children, about the benefits of the aggregates industry. “We saw the Minerals Information Institute as something we ought to help foster and grow. That came out of our longstanding commitment to schools and communities,” he says. Through his work with NSSGA, as both a vice chairman and as co-chair of its Training Academy, Meyer worked with both NSSGA and MII to facilitate the production of the Rock Odyssey video program that went on the market in 2002. “The Institute had struggled for five years to obtain the rights to reproduce this video and provide a broader distribution to classrooms across the country,” says Nelson Fugate, MII’s president. “Drew helped package and position the program, and its sponsorship was picked up by the NSSGA. The program… is now available and affordable through MII and NSSGA. “It’s a treat to have a director who pays attention, answers the mail, and promotes us with other companies and individuals. He doesn’t just think of things that staff ought to be doing — he rolls up his sleeves, dives in, and helps bring them to fruition.” The collaborative effort between MII and NSSGA is an underlying goal of Meyer’s efforts with various organizations. “I’ve always felt very strongly that associations have such limited resources,” says Meyer. “We need to be sure that we do not duplicate anything that can be done by somebody else who is willing to either provide it or pay for it. We have to be very careful not to always say ‘We have to do it because if we don’t do it, it’s not any good.’ We have to look for people who are doing the same or similar things and then get the synergy of working together.” “From the time I started working with Drew — years ago when he chaired our Market Development Division — I recognized his quiet energy and analytical zing,” says Joy Wilson, president and chief executive officer of NSSGA. “We have profited greatly from his probing questions on how the association can do more, do better, more efficiently, more cost-effectively, yet ensure that the return on investment is as high as possible to maximize benefits to our members. His insights have helped forge stronger partnerships within our association pre- and post-merger, and with external organizations as well. Drew Meyer is a quality leader with whom we are honored to work.” That same cooperative spirit led to Meyer’s involvement with SME’s newly formed Construction Materials and Aggregates Committee, which extends the society’s professional development program with a curriculum targeted at the aggregates industry. “Many mineral commodities have declined or simply are not produced any more in the United States,” says Meyer. “The big exception to that is construction aggregates. Construction aggregates, on a tonnage basis, is by far the largest mineral that is produced in the United States.” As a result, colleges were seeing their graduates choose the aggregates industry over more traditional mining employment venues. SME leaders tapped Meyer, who had been a member of SME since his college days at Penn State, to spearhead the society’s new committee. “Drew has accepted the challenge to help SME improve its visibility with the construction materials and aggregates community with enthusiasm, dedication, and energy,” says Michael Karmis, SME president-2002. “We have appreciated his vision and leadership.” In addition to his education and professional development goals, Meyer aids in strategic planning for ICAG. Meyer became involved with the group when Con/Agg was owned by the National Aggregates Association prior to that group’s merger with the National Stone Association, which resulted in the formation of NSSGA. After the merger of Con/Agg and ConExpo, the amount of non-dues income the show contributed to the association grew in a corresponding manner to the show’s size. “It became a very important entity for NSSGA,” says Meyer. “We saw a lot of threats that were occurring to the viability of ConExpo-Con/Agg from shows such as the World of Concrete. That’s when we began to address the issue of what we needed to do to maintain the viability and income from the show.” Looking to the future Meyer’s strategic planning and forecasting skills are part of his value to both his employer and industry groups. While prognosticating is far from an exact science, Meyer bases his assessments on the best information available. For example, he sees continued consolidation as inevitable. “The fact of the matter is that with the increase in permitting requirements, environmental regulations, operating constraints, etc., smaller companies are just going to say ‘I’ve had enough of this’ and they will sell out,” he says. “On the other hand, you have some of the smaller companies that are doing exceptionally well because they do understand that they have to operate in that environment and have gotten the expertise and help and are growing. At some point, though, they still become attractive prospects for acquisition.” Depletion of reserves will also drive consolidation, Meyer says. “In this industry, so many companies operate sand and gravel deposits. By their very nature, those deposits have a limited reserve life. A lot of those companies will go out of business as they deplete those reserves and are unable to get additional reserves. Companies that have extensive reserves are the ones that are likely to be acquired, and they are likely to be acquired by the larger companies.” The issue of reserves, however, is based on location. “In total, there’s no problem. In certain locations, there is a real problem. That’s why it’s difficult to get a national consensus because there isn’t one,” he says. “There are a lot of places where reserves are available and all you need to do is go through the hoops and you will get them permitted. There are other places where permitting is hard to do no matter what you do. There are other places where there are no reserves, and it’s not an issue of permitting or going through the environmental hurdles or anything else, it’s just not there.” For example, many of the coastal states tend to be problematic. California and Washington are difficult states — among many others — in which to obtain a permit. Southern portions of Georgia have virtually no coarse aggregate and ship it in from the northern portion of the state. Many of the reserves along the East Coast have either been depleted or developed over. To supply these areas, producers are investing in alternative transportation methods such as rail and barge. Distribution centers are also becoming a more frequently utilized option. “We’re very active in looking to expand our use of rail to deliver aggregate,” says Meyer. “Other aggregate companies are doing the same thing. The growth in the amount of aggregate that we have sold that we ship by rail has been growing at a fairly dramatic rate. It’s still a small percentage of our business, but it’s been growing at a much higher rate than the rest of our business.” Meyer anticipates that overall shipments of aggregate will increase in 2003. Despite uncertainty on federal highway spending, Meyer says that many states have highway trust funds that could help offset the $4 billion FY2003 federal spending decrease if it occurs. While overall state spending may be down, monies in those trust funds remain safe. Meyer cites Arizona as an example of how these state trust funds impact local aggregate consumption. “They have so much bonding capacity to go out and float bonds to help them get over this hump,” he says. “They also have a trust fund, so they don’t see a decline in highway construction that you would expect from looking at the state budget itself.” Another possibility is that state governments will mitigate the perception of decreased transportation spending through fewer new projects and more maintenance. “If your budget declines, you can spend less money on engineering big projects and spend more money on overlays, which might actually consume more stone per dollar,” says Meyer. Looking down the road another 10 years, predictions can be more difficult to make, but Meyer offers the following observations: There will be fewer, but larger operations; Large companies will grow, but regional companies will remain strong as well; Aggregate shipment via rail will continue to increase; The industry will continue to improve its efforts to protect the safety of its workers; The use of automation will increase. When it comes to personal predictions, Meyer may be able to offer a higher degree of probability. In another 10 years, he sees himself on the lake with the grandkids — with family being the same reason for leaving the aggregates industry as for entering it.