Chris Upp built his career with Conco Cos. in Springfield, and in 2015, he will lead an organization tasked with protecting the interests of quarry companies statewide. Upp, the vice president and general manager of Conco’s quarry division, said commercial and residential construction has supported 3-5 percent growth at Conco the past year, but limited highway funding is creating negative pressure. Wearing his Missouri Limestone Producers Association hat, Upp plans to work with lawmakers following the failure of the 3/4-cent transportation tax to find foundational solutions to the state’s long-term highway, bridge and road needs.
Association Limelight “We have 43 producer-members right now and 114 associate members, which basically support the producers – vendors that would buy consumables, blasting companies, parts and service companies, mobile equipment, that kind of thing. We are mostly a lobbying group, so we are in Jefferson City a lot, working with (the Missouri Department of Transportation), and working with the legislature to make sure limestone products are specified in projects, so we don’t have imports coming into the state when we’ve got a vast natural resource.”
Transportation Tax “As far as Amendment 7 goes, there really wasn’t a Plan B as to what the construction industry would do if that failed. What we’re going to have to do this year – not only Missouri Limestone Producers but also a number of construction-related heavy highway contractor associations – (is) to get together to figure out what our options are because the need is only going to get greater. MoDOT’s funding is only going to continue to diminish. In fiscal 2016, its budget drops down to like $385 million, which really isn’t enough to cover general maintenance for the system we’ve got.”
Funding ‘Nightmare’ “Coming up with a funding solution is the main priority of our group in the coming year. And there is a lot of aversion to taxes. A fuel tax is the next thing being discussed. That came out as something people might be more interested in because they know whatever they’re paying in fuel taxes goes directly back to roads and bridges. The problem with fuel taxes in the long-term is that there are federal mandates on auto manufacturers to increasingly improve the efficiency of cars and trucks to the point where you are basically reducing your tax stream. As cars use less gas, there’s less fuel tax, which means less would go to roads and bridges. It’s kind of a funding nightmare really, because there is no good solution. But that doesn’t change the fact that needs are great, and we’ve got to find a way.”
Presidential Path “I’ve been part of the association since I started working full time out of college. I started going to annual meetings and various committee meetings 18 years ago. … Before college, my dad worked for a local utility company that had a coal mine in northern Missouri. I would go with him on trips to the coal mine, and I got interested in its large equipment. I did well in math, science and physics in high school, and he kind of pointed me toward (Missouri University of Science and Technology). … One of the things he told me was that as a society we are never going to run out of the need to have mining. That told me there was good job security in this, so I went to Rolla and got an engineering degree in 1996. I actually started interning with Conco in ’94. I drove the haul trucks. I did the plant maintenance, the grunt work, so to speak. So, I did the summer work, and then started full time in ’96 as a project engineer, and I’ve been working my way up.”
Rock Reserves “We have the quarry division and the ready-mix division, and my primary responsibilities are with the quarry division. We have two quarries – one down in Galloway, where we’ve got 12 employees. It is primarily a commercial and residential construction quarry. At our large quarry in Willard, we have 35 to 40 employees. … Based on current economic trends, we have a lot of life left. Both operations are at 50 percent total capacity [mined] compared to where we were in ’07 and ’08. Typically, 30 to 40 percent of our business comes from highway and bridge construction, and obviously, with MoDOT’s budget shrinking, we’ve seen our production and sales volumes be reduced drastically since ’07, ’08. But, in terms of reserves, we still have well over 100 years of reserves. … From a geological standpoint, the whole area is sitting on a 280-foot thick piece of limestone. So, we have a lot of rock for a lot of years.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
