JASON CROWTHER, TEXAS
INDUSTRIES INC. ASSISTANT PLANT MANAGER
MIDLOTHIAN, TEXAS PLANT

Jason Crowther loves learning new things. His desire to understand how things work led him to pursue an engineering education. He attended college at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., and graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Refining. Later, he continued his formal education by completing his MBA from L.S.U. in Baton Rouge, La. More that just book smart, Jason has grown to understand and appreciate the value of experience. “Since starting work, I have spent more years involved in formal education than not. In my opinion though, there is just as much, if not more, that can be learned in the plant on a daily basis if you are willing to ask questions. I have been amazed at the amount of knowledge and information you can learn from the experienced employees in any operation. When experience talks, it pays to listen.”

Jason's work experiences span a range of industries. During his undergraduate years, he was an intern in an open pit gold mine in Elko, Nev.After graduating college in 1997, he worked for a pulp and paper manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., as a process engineer and there gained his first experience as a supervisor. He joined TXI as a process engineer prior to and throughout the commissioning of the new pre-calciner line that started up in 2000/2001 in Midlothian, Texas. After the Midlothian plant was fully commissioned, Jason briefly left the cement industry to work as a production engineer for Dow Chemical in Baton Rouge, La. However, he had a difficult time, as many do, staying away from the cement process.

In November 2005, Jason returned to TXI as the assistant plant manager for the Midlothian facility. His positive experiences since returning to the cement industry have confirmed his decision and he is glad to be back home in cement.

MICHAEL NIXON, HOLCIM (US) INC.
AREA MANAGER-QUARRY & RAW MILLS
STE. GENEVIEVE, MISSOURI PLANT

Michael Nixon graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering. He went on to receive a Masters of Business Administration Degree from the University of Missouri. Michael began his career 12 years ago at the Holcim facility in Ada, Okla., as process engineer.

Michael quickly grasped the knowledge of the cement industry and was promoted to the production manager position within the same facility in 2000. In this role, he was responsible for managing a 24/7 operations staff while overseeing a 1 million-tpy, off-site limestone and clay quarry, two ball mills for raw grinding, two long wet kilns, and two ball mills for cement grinding. Michael was also the champion for safety in the production and quarry during this time with no lost-time accidents.

In early 2001, Michael was challenged with a new and unique role as Project Engineer for the Holcim Ste. Genevieve project. The staff on site was tasked with planning, environmental permitting, and construction of a $1 billion dollar, 4 million-mtpy greenfield cement plant on the bank of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis. As one of the select staff chosen to lead this project, Michael made several notable contributions. He led the completion of a technical-economical feasibility study examining all aspects of the project as part of the project justification. He also led completion of the initial operating budget for economic evaluation. Additionally, Michael led completion of the construction (air) permit process which was the most technically challenging aspect of the regulatory approval process.

In mid-2006, Michael was named Area Manager of the Quarry & Raw Mills department in the new plant. As part of the new plant management team, his initial focus was on developing a plan for hiring and training employees for the facility. As part of the plant's initial management team, many long hours were spent detailing the plans and procedures that would ultimately be used to staff all plant positions.

Now in operation, Michael's responsibilities are diverse and challenging. A 6 million-tpy limestone quarry with a 20-machine mobile fleet, a 2,000-tph crushing plant, two 515-tph vertical roller mills for raw grinding, purchased raw materials management, plus managing a department of 50 employees.

“Our objective every day is simple and the same as any other cement plant raw materials department — keep the kiln supplied with quality raw meal in a safe, productive, and environmentally efficient way. But when your job is supplying the world's largest kiln that uses nearly 20,000 tpd of feed, we've taken it to the next level.”

STEVE POST, GCC OF AMERICA
PLANT MANAGER
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA PLANT

Steve Post graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stout with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Materials & Process Engineering, with minors in Mathematics and Chemistry. He began his career in the cement industry nearly 20 years ago at a cement plant south of Dallas, Texas, which at the time was named Box Crow Company. Acquired by Holnam (now Holcim) in 1993, Steve worked in several different capacities.

Although he started out as the plant materials engineer and worked in the lab, he capitalized on what he thought to be a great opportunity by applying for and accepting the position of production shift supervisor, where he began to learn what it really takes to manufacture clinker and cement.

Just a short time later, Steve became a process engineer, while also taking on the responsibilities of energy advisor after he was involved in plantwide energy and equipment optimization audits. Because of the experience that Steve gained through his various roles, he had the opportunity of being a prime candidate for the production manager position and was awarded the title in 1994, only four years after starting his career in the cement industry. Implementation of a company-wide focus program took Steve's career in a new direction when he became the project engineer, with responsibilities including implementing new ERP systems, formal process evaluations and training programs for personnel in several other locations within Holcim. This role took him not only around the country to places such as Mississippi and Colorado, but also around the world to Canada, France, and Germany.

After this one-year tour of duty, Steve was promoted to plant manager at a newly acquired slag grinding facility for Holcim, located in Chicago. After almost three years out of the cement manufacturing industry, Steve returned to the Midlothian plant, as production manager to a “still-under-construction” cement line and assumed an additional role as a key member of the team to commission it. Through this addition to the cement line, the plant increased plant capacity by over 1 million tons.

In 2004, Steve was again provided a completely new opportunity within the cement industry to go to work for GCC of America in their Rapid City, S.D., plant. In December of 2008, he was awarded the role of plant manager at this facility and continued to apply his abilities and energy for GCC.

TRACY CROWTHER, TEXAS INDUSTRIES INC.
ASST. PLANT MGR., NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS PLANT

Always intrigued by the history and origin of different products, Tracy has consistently enjoyed touring any type of manufacturing facility. That curiosity prompted him to attend the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo. In 1995, he graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Refining and a minor in Economics. He later earned an MBA from TCU while employed by TXI in Midlothian, Texas. Prior to working in the cement industry, Tracy worked in manufacturing facilities for Archer Daniels Midland, ADM, in Texas and Tennessee.

Tracy launched his career in the cement industry in 2000 when he joined TXI as a process engineer during the construction of a new cement production line in Midlothian. This opportunity brought many challenges, including the age-old engineering dilemma of “How can we increase efficiency?” Other challenges were new to TXI and the cement industry, such as the start-up and operation of a flue gas desulfurization unit and regenerative thermo oxidizers. In 2004, the opportunity presented itself for a transfer to the Hunter, Texas, facility as the production manager, and the next year, he was promoted to assistant plant manager. In addition to his responsibilities as a team member in a thriving cement operation, Tracy also frequently represents TXI within the community. Currently, he volunteers his time as a member of the Board of Directors for the Comal County United Way, as well as serves in the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce.

Although cement is a well-known product for construction, there are varying degrees of knowledge about its history and origin. Tracy comments, “I had no idea just how technologically advanced the cement industry is, or how complicated the process is to make cement. Today we face challenges that we would not have imagined even five years ago. I find it exciting to work at a facility where we apply innovative techniques to improve the manufacturing process and where employee safety and concern for the environment remain top priorities.”