Stone is just the start…
of ensuring a sustainable future
Sustaining Environment, Community, and Connection at Our Caroline Plant
Through our Luck Ecosystems business, we use our materials to improve the environment and outdoor experiences in the communities we serve. We produce high-quality sand and soil blends, ballfield mixes, and stormwater management and erosion control products that give back to the planet and the community in unique ways.
“The company’s investment in the Luck Ecosystems business demonstrates a tremendous intentionality and commitment to doing our part for the environment,” said Larry Estep, General Manager for Luck Ecosystems. “It also allows us to support the community in ways that might not be possible if we were only selling aggregate products.” This community participation takes shape in two important ways: providing products that improve water quality and supporting local sports facilities.
“We are asking our local waterways to handle more as land is developed.
They need restoration and reinforcement with specialized sand and stone products. As this demand has increased, Luck Companies has stepped up to fill the need and sees the environmental good we can do through this work.”
Producing Infield Mixes and Sand-Based Products For Local Sports Facilities
We also provide a variety of native soil materials and sand-based products to support golf course and athletic field maintenance and construction activities.
“Participating in athletic programs gives individuals the opportunity to create camaraderie, community, and leadership,” said Kyle White, Key Account Manager for Luck Ecosystems. “I wake up every day excited that the products we provide are creating a foundation for this to happen safely. To me, it’s just another way we are laying the groundwork to ignite human potential.”
Across both of these needs, Luck Ecosystems customers have come to expect quality, consistency, and service when they work with this innovative part of our business.
“We are trying a lot of new things and are open to new ideas,” said David. “This was harder to do when the business was supported across several plants. It’s been fun to experiment and develop new options and solutions for our customers.”
Evolution of Our Caroline Plant
As the Luck Ecosystems business has grown over the years, so too has our dependence upon the use of natural sand and gravel in the products we make. Our ability to utilize materials produced by the Luck Stone Caroline Plant over this period has been instrumental to our success as a business unit. With the realization that Caroline’s current rate of production would use up the remaining reserves within 18 to 24 months, the decision was made to transition the operation from Luck Stone to Luck Ecosystems, with a plan to slow down the rate of mining by 80 percent. This strategy shift will extend the lifespan of the site to at least 7 years, and focusing on specialty outlets for the materials we produce will enable us to maximize the value of those remaining reserves. “The intentional decision to slow down the rate of mining and extend the life of the reserve demonstrates our desire to help improve the environment by creating products that support sustainable practices, our commitment to the customers we support, and our commitment to the business,” Larry said.
“We run a much more agile operation,” said Ronnie Harless, Foreman at our Caroline Plant. “With a smaller crew, our associates need to wear several hats—our haul truck driver is also a plant operator and an excavator operator. Everyone is being trained to play new roles and sit in new seats.”
The focus on Luck Ecosystems also creates space for the team to learn more deeply about these specific products and explore ways to innovate.
“Now, we have all the materials we need in one location,” said David Lesson, Luck Ecosystems Foreman at the Caroline Plant. “It allows us to experiment with different blends and also look creatively at how we use different materials.”
One of the teams’ recent ideas was repurposing some of the production waste into new blends. Typically, our pond fines, fine material obtained from washing crushed stone, are considered waste products, and the team discovered that we can utilize the materials to create new effective recipes. This is a win for the environment and the business.
