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Paul Simons
Interim President
Paul is the Interim President for US Aggregates and Chief Strategy Officer for Heritage Construction + Materials. Prior to this role, Paul served as Vice President, Strategy + M&A for The Heritage Group. Much of Paul’s career has been focused on creating value as a business leader with profit and loss accountability within the manufacturing industry. For nearly a decade, Paul served at Dow Chemical in various leadership and strategy roles, with much of his time dedicated to P&L in commodities and specialty chemicals. During his tenure, innovations in these businesses led to Paul receiving the Innovating to Win and Pinnacle Marketing Excellence awards. Prior to his time at Dow, Paul devoted nearly eight years to the consumer products industry at Kimberly-Clark (K-C), honing his functional implementation skills within R&D, engineering, operations, and supply chain functional roles. While at K-C, Paul was awarded two global product patents. Paul holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Paul’s commitment to giving back has resulted in a broad set of advisory experiences, including service on two industry association boards and serving as District Chairman for the Boy Scouts of America.
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Kristin Sweeney
Director of Operations
Kristin Sweeney has 18+ years of experience in the aggregates industry. Kristin graduated with a degree in Mining Engineering from Virginia Tech and has a Master’s in Engineering Management from Wilkes University. Prior to joining US Aggregates, Kristin was the East Area Manager at Pennsy Supply, Inc. Kristin’s career has covered engineering, sales, performance, and operations management. This diverse background has given Kristin knowledge in all areas of aggregates operations, with a focus on performance management and leadership development. She strives to help her teams achieve success both personally and professionally. Kristin also serves on the Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s Mining and Minerals Engineering Department, and was recently voted in as chair-elect. She and her husband, Patrick, live in Noblesville and have 2 children, Sophia and Noah. Kristin enjoys cooking, gardening, crafts and spending time with family and attending their activities!
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Ken Bachorski
Operations Performance Manager
Ken Bachorski is the Operations Performance Manager for US Aggregates. Ken joined the company in 2013. Prior to his current role, Ken served as the Plant Manager for the Francesville and Monon locations. Through various roles in the company, Ken has served US Aggregates with a passion for continuous improvement. Through the Heritage Group, Ken has earned Yellow and Green Belt in LEAN Six Sigma. Ken was born in Hammond, Indiana and has been in the construction and mining industries since earning a science degree from Vincennes University in 1993. Ken came to US Aggregates from Lehigh Hansen where he started his mining career in 2011. Prior to that, Ken spent 18 years in the construction industry where he managed several large development projects including a unique “Dark Skies” development in the Sacramento Mountains of Southern New Mexico. Ken and his wife Eleni currently reside in DeMotte, Indiana and have two children and two dogs. He enjoys camping, fishing, woodworking and spending time with his family.
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Joe Papp
Area Operations Manager
Joe Papp joined US Aggregates in 2021 as the Area Manager for Southern Operations. Joe graduated with a degree in mining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and began his career in underground metals during summers while in school and after graduation. In 1990 he made a change to aggregates working around the country in underground and surface stone and sand and gravel operations in plant management, operations management, and engineering roles. Prior to joining US Agg, Joe worked for Rogers Group, Inc. overseeing their six underground operations spanning from Indiana to Tennessee. He likes working with and developing employees in reaching their potential. Joe and his wife live in Bloomington with 5 dogs and 6 quarter horses. They have 3 grown children and 1 grandson. Joe enjoys motorsports, working with horses and spending time with his family.
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Eric Woodings
Director of Quality
Eric Woodings is the Director of Quality Control for US Aggregates. In 2014, Eric joined the US Aggregates team and now works closely with Quality Control, Operations, Sales, and the Health and Environmental Safety groups to bring a consistent approach to quality programs. He believes a team approach to quality helps insure superior products for our customers. Prior to his current role, Eric was a Quality Control Manager for Vulcan Materials in their Midwest Division. Before this, he worked with the Indiana Department of Transportation as a field geologist, later becoming the Crawfordsville District Geologist. Eric is a licensed Professional Geologist in the State of Indiana. He serves on the Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association’s Technical Committee and holds DOT Aggregate and Hot Mix Asphalt certifications in multiple states. Eric graduated from Indiana State University with B.S. degrees in Geology and Secondary Education. He and his wife, Cheryl, reside near Otterbein, Indiana and enjoy spending time with their grandkids. Both Cheryl and Eric enjoy equestrian activities and camping.
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Hope Bray
Director of Human Resources
Hope Bray is the Director of Human Resources for US Aggregates. Since joining in 2015, Hope has created processes and policies, established a talent acquisition practice, driven employee engagement, and developed training across all areas of the business. She brings a passion for people and being a business partner. Prior to her current role, Hope was the Human Resources Generalist/Recruiter for Heartland Food Products, leading all aspects of HR for their Distribution/Logistics business. Before this, Hope was the Talent Acquisition Coordinator and then Talent Acquisition Partner with Ingersoll Rand. Hope graduated in 2010 from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with a B.S. in Human Resources Management. She then went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Business Administration - Human Resources from Indiana Wesleyan in 2012. Hope is an active member in the Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association and the Society for Human Resource Management. Hope and her husband, Greg, enjoy camping and all things outdoors with their two boys.
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Duane Gibbs
Director of Finance
Duane Gibbs joined the US Aggregates team in 2019 as Finance Manager, bringing over 13 years of experience in corporate finance. He currently leads the functions of the Finance/Accounting, Accounts Payable, and Purchasing departments. Duane is passionate about utilizing data along with financial information to provide progressive decision-making tools for the organization. Prior to his current position, he held various positions in treasury, accounting, and financial planning & analysis within the financial services and manufacturing industries. Duane graduated in 2007 from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management with a B.S. in Business Management & Finance. Then, in 2014, he received his MBA in Leadership from Butler University. Duane and his wife, Kelly, reside in Plainfield, Indiana, and have three children. In his free time, he enjoys coaching their kids’ sports teams, hiking, biking, and golfing.
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Mike Pajor
Aggregates Control Director
In 1998, Mike Pajor began his career as a designer of small applications for Penske Logistics. Then in 2005, Mike joined LaFarge North America as a Marketing Analyst. Mike was hired by US Aggregates in 2012 as the Aggregates Control Director, initially charged to design a best-in-class application to achieve collaboration amongst the business units in addition to meeting client needs, all while delivering shareholder value. This led to the creation of RIPPLE in 2018, which allows the company to recognize scale, efficiency, and standardization of business processes. It consists of four modules to manage sales, production, dispatch, and accounting, fostering collaboration across the business units while condensing data in executive level dashboards to provide actionable information to help drive results in live time and effectively manage inventory. Mike obtained his LEAN Six Sigma Green Belt through The Heritage Group’s inaugural program offering in 2020. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Cleveland State University.
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Laurie Webb
Environmental Manager
Laurie Webb joined the US Aggregates team in 2018 as the Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager. Before this, she was an Environmental Manager for Lehigh Hanson. She began her career over 20 years ago as the National Sales Manager for an environmental laboratory, introducing her to the aggregates industry. Laurie holds multiple Indiana Water/Wastewater Operators certifications and is a certified Visible Emission Field Evaluator of air quality. She is an active member of the Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association, recently completing a three-year term as Chair of the Environmental Committee. Laurie serves on the Environmental Stewardship Council and the Women Leaders in Mining Association for the IMAA and is active in the Indiana Section of the American Water Works Association. Laurie graduated from Purdue University in 1992, receiving a B.S. in Natural Resources Environmental Science, specializing in water quality. Laurie and her husband, Dave, are obsessed with international travel and their two rescue pups. She is an Indianapolis Colts fan and enjoys hiking, biking, and kayaking.
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Eric Reno is the Safety Manager for US Aggregates and joined the company in 2021. Eric started his career building jet engines as a contractor for the Air Force before joining the mining industry. Eric’s first position in mining started with Hanson Harding Street before transitioning to MSHA training and finally being an MSHA inspector for 10 years. While he enjoyed his role with MSHA, Eric joined US Aggregates because he felt he could do more with his experiences. US Aggregates fierce commitment to safety drew Eric’s attention and he wanted to further our efforts to be the leading example of safety in the mining industry. Outside of work, Eric’s four kids keep him very busy, and he enjoys coaching the sports they are involved in. Beyond coaching, Eric himself plays baseball in the Hoosier Town Ball Adult Baseball League during the fall.