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LEHMAN-ROBERTS CO. IS FINALIST FOR NATIONAL
ECOLOGICAL AWARD FOR HOT-MIX ASPHALT PLANTS

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) announced today that Lehman-Roberts Co. of Memphis, Tenn., is a finalist for the prestigious 2007 Ecological Award for a new hot-mix asphalt (HMA) facility, sponsored by Roads & Bridges Magazine. The company received recognition at the Association’s 53rd Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.

NAPA’s Ecological Award competition, which started in 1971, recognizes excellence in HMA facility operations. “NAPA selects the award recipients using rigorous criteria to evaluate the environmental friendliness of their operations,” says Mac Badgett, 2008 chairman of the NAPA Board of Directors. “The judges determined that Lehman-Roberts Co. operates in an exemplary manner.”

Lehman-Roberts Co. won the award for Plant #7 in Batesville, Miss. When its aggregate supply ran out at the site of its 32-year old wet wash plant, Lehman-Roberts wanted to build a new HMA facility a few miles away, on the same location as its new aggregate source. The company altered its plans because of neighborhood concerns, however, and ended up constructing a new facility on the site of its existing plant while that plant was still up and running at full capacity.

Using the existing location ultimately offered several advantages, says Patrick Nelson, Lehman-Roberts’ southern region manager. “Because of the aggregate processing that had taken place there previously, we had two large settling basins available to us for stormwater detention.” The grade of the site, coupled with the paving of stockpile areas and the plant site, helps keep the aggregate dry.

To limit the plant’s environmental impact, Lehman-Roberts used variable frequency drives on all of the large plant motors, which reduced power consumption and the amount of noise heard by the surrounding community. In addition, the new baghouse emits less than 1 percent of the particulates that the old plant was licensed for, resulting in a much cleaner environment.

Lehman-Roberts’ community involvement includes hosting a Career Fair Day in conjunction with the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Over 800 young people attended this year’s event.