Long Haul
It’s a long haul from 1974 when a few concrete trucks and a batch plant were the core of Walter and Norma Meech’s business venture. Governmental regulations and public wariness shifted American views on energy in the early 1980s. This opened a window of new opportunity.
The Clean Coal Technology Program was an early driver of greener power generation. For older coal-fired power plants this included installing scrubber systems in the smokestacks to filter sulfur from the exhaust.
In 1985, Plains Electric built a power plant in nearby Prewitt, N.M., and the project manager needed a source for limestone that would pass the qualifications required for the power plant emissions.
Walter Meech Sr. turned to the local unemployed uranium geologists to help scout a source. One day while he was driving near the Tinaja pit, he noticed limestone being used for a Bureau of Land Management road job. Meech Sr. scooped a sample and took it to the power plant chemical engineer for testing. The limestone was almost pure calcium carbonate. It was gold for C&E Concrete, who purchased the 1,600-acre property and set up full-time quarry and crushing operations.
Family Connections
C&E is a locally and family-owned business, and our connection to our community allows us to provide service beyond the capabilities of our larger competitors.
The family connections are now stretching to a third generation with his son, Chris, taking an active role in the company. C&E Concrete is an outlier in an aggregate industry that is dominated by mergers and conglomerations.
If you would like to know more about C&E Concrete’s history, vision, stated mission, ideals, ethics, or standards of conduct, please feel free to contact us at 505-287-2944 or email us, and we’ll be glad to help.
To learn more, reach out today