Recently, PACA member Martin Stone Quarries was featured in a Pit & Quarry article about the importance of workforce development. Read below for Rod Martin's conversation about the impact of training the next generation. 

For more than a decade, Rod Martin, president of Martin Stone Quarries, has witnessed firsthand the impact of private donations on education as a member of the Foundation for Boyertown Education, the fundraising arm of his local school district.

“My two cousins and I grew up in the Boyertown area,” he said, “so we see what is available. We started with a lot of the contributions to the education foundation, and we still donate regularly.” In fact, the company has donated more than $275,000 to the foundation over the last 11 years.

In recent years, however, the company’s donations have expanded to include funding for career technical training programs near the company’s headquarters in Bechtelsville, Pa.

Supporting Technical Training
“We’ve branched out to the Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center (CTC) and the Berks Career and Technical Center (BCTC),” Martin explained.

Both centers have diesel mechanic and welding programs, and the BCTC program also has a heavy equipment operator training class. “It’s the coolest thing,” Martin said. “They have trucks, backhoes, loaders and more. They hold the class at a New Enterprise quarry that’s not running. They can practice grading, trenching, and all that.”

In each of the last two years, the company has donated $40,000 to BCTC. Its most recent donation helped fund a virtual simulator for the heavy equipment operator program. Martin noted that it allows students who aren’t out in the field to still develop their operating skills.

“The support from Martin Stone Quarries exemplifies the power of collaboration between industry and education,” said Robert Heckman, joint operating chairman representing school board officials from the 16 schools that attend BCTC.

At the end of 2024, the company worked with the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce to make a donation to the Western Montgomery CTC. That $10,000 donation is targeted for the center’s welding program.

“We went out and toured the school. It was amazing,” Martin said. The grade 9-12 building has approximately 30 welding booths. The donation is earmarked to purchase a welding generator for the welding lab.

This will allow the center to train students for welding for not only the field itself, but also the job site. “These welders are the heartbeat of the construction field,” the center said in a press release at the time of the donation. “It will better prepare them to enter the workforce and add value to the students graduating from Western Montgomery CTC.”

Workforce development
The ability to graduate high school students who are better prepared for careers in the aggregates industry is certainly a benefit to the Martin Stone Co.’s recent donations. “We’ve actually hired two people from BCTC,” Martin said. One hire was directly after graduation, while the other joined the company a year or two later.

“There used to be a stigma around going to tech school,” he added. “Now, tech schools have turned into the cool thing and these have waiting lists so the kids who are doing it are motivated.”

Other industry players also recognize the need for future workers. Local family-owned business such as New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co., Allan Myers and Haines and Kibblehouse, as well as some heavy construction contractors, support BCTC.

“I think we are all seeing the same thing across the country: there is going to be a workforce shortage,” Martin said. “So, we can get some of these kids coming out of school and give them the tools to be trained properly. Once they get to us, there is a lot less work that we have to do. You’re not starting from scratch.”

Once an employee joins Martin Stone, he noted that they typically enjoy a long tenure there. In fact, during a Christmas 2024 celebration, the company presented three employees with 35-year service awards.

“I think the average age of our workers out in the quarry and shop is around 55,” Martin said, “but the last three people we’ve hired have all been under 25.” With employee referrals one of the company’s most powerful and effective recruiting tools, those younger employees may bring in a fresh wave of future employees.

*Source: Pit and Quarry