Quarry + Railroad = Vulcan Teamwork

Medina Quarry in Hondo, Texas is Vulcan’s newest and largest quarry within the company. The 2,000-acre site is connected to the Union Pacific Railroad’s main line track via nine-mile short line rail,  which serves as a vital link to a supply chain that will ship five million tons of aggregate on an annual basis.

The vision for Medina Quarry started over twenty years ago and took many hard-working Vulcan employees to bring the plant to fruition. “Took a generation to get here,” said Brian Bailey, VP of Operations Support. “It’s something that’s going to last for generations.”

Located in Vulcan’s Southwest Division, Bailey notes that it wasn’t just the Southwest Division team that worked on Medina, it was an effort from Vulcan as a whole. “We had resources from outside the division that helped us look at opportunities, and different ways to do things and how to be even more efficient, take the knowledge that we have as Vulcan as a whole,” said Bailey. “We’re extremely pleased, excited and ready to crush some rock with this thing.”

Not only does the rail line make Medina unique, the plant has the latest technology features. “We use the best available technology whether it’s water recycling, crusher controls, conveyor controls, but even more than that we use the resources of this entire enterprise to create a safe workplace,” said Bailey. “It’s a highly organized, well thought out, clean, safe operation. That’s what we strived to accomplish when we started out on this journey.”

Left: Medina Quarry in Hondo, Texas uses the best available technology to run their operations. Right: The Medina Quarry is Vulcan’s newest and largest quarry within the company at 2,000-acres.

Now that Vulcan’s Medina Quarry is open and ready for business, one word comes to everyone’s mind: proud. “The team that put this together was tireless and relentless,” said Bailey. “That couldn’t be accomplished without the group that we have, their commitment and I tell you, when you drive in the gate and look at Vulcan on the sign, you’re really proud of what we have here.”