Vulcan Materials Company
Vulcan Materials Company, a New Jersey corporation incorporated in 1956, and its
subsidiaries are principally engaged in the production, distribution and sale
of construction materials ("Construction Materials") and chloralkali
and other industrial chemicals ("Chemicals"). Construction Materials
and Chemicals are both reported as segments. Vulcan is the nation's largest producer
of construction aggregates, a major producer of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete,
and a significant chemicals producer, producing chloralkali and other industrial
chemicals.
Construction Materials
Our Construction Materials business consists of the production, distribution
and sale of construction aggregates and other construction materials and related
services. Construction aggregates include crushed stone, sand and gravel, rock
asphalt, recrushed concrete and crushed slag (a by-product of blast iron and
steel production). Aggregates are employed in virtually all types of construction,
including highway construction and maintenance, and in the production of asphaltic
and portland cement concrete mixes. Aggregates also are widely used as railroad
track ballast. The remaining sales in the Construction Materials segment result
from other products and services including asphalt mix and related products,
ready-mixed concrete, trucking services, water transportation services , paving
construction, and several other businesses.
Competition and Customers
All of our products are marketed under highly competitive conditions, including
competition in price, service and product performance. There are a substantial
number of competitors in both the Construction Materials segment and the Chemicals
segment.
We are the largest construction aggregates producer in the United States. We
estimate that the top ten producers in the nation represent less than a third
of the total national market, resulting in highly fragmented markets in some
areas. Therefore, depending on the market, we compete with a number of large,
national and small, local producers. Since construction aggregates are expensive
to transport, the main competitive factor in the construction aggregates business
is having a transportation advantage over competitors. Our strategy is to gain
a significant market presence in the metropolitan areas that demographers expect
will experience the largest absolute growth in population in the future. We
have facilities located on waterways and rail lines which substantially increase
our geographic market reach through the availability of lower rail and water
transportation cost per unit.
Our Chemicals segment competes throughout the United States with numerous companies,
including some of the nation's largest chemical companies, in the production
and sale of our lines of chemicals. The segment competes principally on the
basis of quality, price and technical support for our products.
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