Cement Industry Insider Helps Gain Access to Key Rhode Island Officials

Lehigh Cement's Mike Buckley is a master at developing relationships, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O'Neill. Buckley's more than 30 years of industry experience recently helped O'Neill when they met with the city engineer of Providence, RI, which includes both O'Neill's and Buckley's territory. Their initial meeting was to review the vast concrete industry resources with the engineer and to raise the possibility of using concrete as a way to solve some of Providence's significant pavement troubles.

"Having Mike in the meeting as the local industry expert provided instant credibility since he knows just about everyone and was able to reference several local intersections that would be opportunities for concrete," said O’Neill.

Buckley’s many contacts throughout the region yielded another opportunity; he and O'Neill having met with the professor at the University of Rhode Island who heads its Transportation Research Center. This same professor is an advisor for  the RIDOT and was instrumental in getting a concrete overlay pilot project built in Lincoln several years earlier, an overlay which has outperformed expectations, O'Neill said. Also involved with this meeting was a RIDOT project engineer who, once learning of all the resources available through NRMCA, was interested in continued dialogue and potentially utilizing the Design Assistance Program.

"I can’t thank Mike enough for his efforts in setting up these meetings," O’Neill said. "We need more industry partners who have ties to the local/state construction industry and are willing to get involved and help us get our message out there."

For more information, contact Doug O’Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.