I first met Mr. Sidley and Bob Buescher around 2010 to discuss a large highway project supplied by Lafarge limestone over Sidley’s Ashtabula dock.
Sidley was a customer of mine when I worked at Lafarge. I sold slag screenings to Sidley's block plant and occasionally limestone for large projects. I knew Sidley operated docks and sold ready mix concrete, but otherwise I didn’t know a whole lot about the company.
In 2012, Vice President of Precast Dan Kennedy interviewed me for a sales position out of the silica mine in Thompson. I didn’t even know Sidley had a mine, and I didn’t know anything about industrial minerals. I was a construction aggregate guy from a global construction supply company.
Compared to a giant like Lafarge, Sidley was a very different company. That took some time to get used to, I sold around a million tons of material a year at Lafarge, and now I’m supposed to sell in the tens of thousands? Different companies, different business models, different goals. It took a minute.
And Sidley makes a really good golf course bunker sand? The customers are as far away as Florida, what? I had no idea, but I thought, That’s pretty cool, who knew? It’s called Pro/Angle? There is a name for sand?
I was brought on to represent Sidley silica sands to various markets such as industrial, water filtration, recreation, and golf.
The golf side started growing to the point that I couldn’t effectively market the other aggregates that Sidley produces, so my focus shifted to the sports aggregates side of the business.
Sidley enabled me to build the business as I saw fit: to learn the business, learn what needed to be done, and go do it.
There was no manual. With Jennifer Grundy’s experience, motivation and support, we got to write it.
And we were successful. 266% growth since 2012.
The travel has been awesome. Whether exhibiting at trade show or visiting an installation, this job has taken me to 27 states and Toronto, Canada. The best pizza I’ve found is in Providence, RI, and I’ve eaten fried green tomatoes at a local Augusta, GA pub after dropping a sample at that little course there.
What motivates me?
What I do matters.
I contribute to the success of the company and its private family ownership.
Our success means jobs.
Our product is world-class and makes a real-world impact for our customers.
I work with great people, great peers, great customers and even great competitors.
I get to showcase this small Ohio company on the national stage.
I truly didn’t know what I was getting into by joining Sidley, but I’m lucky that the opportunity presented itself and grateful that the company empowered me to run with it.
