About APAC

APAC-Central, Southern Missouri has had its share of names and owners through the years, but their dedication to quality and performance has always remained the same.

It all began when Herb Masters and Jack Jackson founded Masters Jackson Paving in 1952. They ran a construction and asphalt paving company in the Springfield area and, in 1958, they opened Greystone Quarry northwest of Springfield, where they installed one of the area’s first permanent asphalt plants.

In 1976, a majority of Masters Jackson’s construction business was acquired by Jack Bridges, while the quarry operation was sold to Conco Companies. In 1961, conco opened a quarry adjacent to Greystone Quarry, thereby consolidating the two operations into one. Masters Jackson’s presence continued at the site with a Barber Greene batch plant. In the 1980’s, they were engaged in earthwork, bridgework, asphalt paving, and utilities.

In April 1990, Jack Bridges sold most of the bridge equipment and asphalt construction company to Columbia-based managing partner Bill Eckhoff and auctioned off the remainder of the equipment. They immediately installed a new state-of-the-art Astec asphalt plant facility in Conco Quarry, replacing the old Barber Greene plant. During the 1990s, Masters Jackson expanded its reach with added portable plants into the southern half of Missouri, including the Kansas City area and into Oklahoma. During this period, Masters Jackson serviced markets in the areas of Springfield, Joplin, Branson and, later, Lake of the Ozarks.

In 1998, Masters Jackson, along with other Eckhoff interests including Richardson Bass, Central Bridge, and the Daystar asphalt terminal were acquired by the Ashland Corporation subsidiary APAC, then the largest asphalt producer in the United States with lineage going back to Warren Brothers, who held the first patent for asphalt “Bitulithic” in the 1900s. They built the first modern asphalt facility in Cambridge, MA. APAC maintained extensive operations in 14 midwestern and southern states.

In 2003, APAC Masters Jackson and APAC Central Missouri combined to form APAC – Missouri Inc., headquartered in Columbia.

In 2006, Ashland diversified out of the coal construction lines of business to focus on chemicals and sold the APAC assets to Oldcastle Materials Group, the North American arm of CRH plc, a leading global diversified building materials group headquartered in Ireland. Oldcastle Materials is North America’s leading vertically-integrated supplier of asphalt, aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete, and paving and construction services. The company currently employs 22,600 people across 1,200 operating locations in 43 US states and 8 Canadian provinces.

In 2016, APAC realigned and divested some of its assets in Missouri. The southern Missouri office joined APAC-Central, Inc. APAC Central manages the regional markets in Northwest and Fort Smith, Arkansas, Northeast Oklahoma, and Southern Missouri.

In 2018, Oldcastle Materials adopted the CRH brand, officially becoming CRH Americas Materials.

The Springfield office currently operates two permanent and one portable asphalt plant in Southwestern Missouri, with approximately 140 employees who know how to get it done. At these facilities, you’ll commonly hear phrases like, “ Plan your work and work your plan,” “Work smarter not harder,” “Safety first,” and “When I see something, I will stop and do something.” This is a reflection of APAC’s dedication to performing quality work while maintaining our focus on safety above all.

There is no acceptable goal for safety other than zero fatalities and zero incidents. Ingrained in their culture, safety is the number one value and it is taken seriously by every employee from the CEO to the front line. APAC’s excellent local safety record can be attributed to the dedication of its skilled workforce and focus on leadership at all levels. With an emphasis on risk assessment and an employee-driven safety culture, they truly “walk the talk” when it comes to the safety of the employees, the public, surrounding communities, and visitors to APAC work and production sites.

Reflecting on their long history, change has always been a constant throughout the years and it’s something they’ve learned to manage well in the business of construction. Change in weather, specification, material prices, technology, and many other aspects of construction work are constant challenges that are faced and dealt with having learned to expect change and roll with it.

Today APAC-Central, Inc. Southern Missouri operations service the Springfield and Joplin metro areas with permanent asphalt plants and portable asphalt plants that reach out further. APAC operates an asphalt terminal in Springfield that supplies our asphalt plants and sells cutback throughout the region. Construction operations mainly focus on asphalt paving, but they also perform light grading, base rock, and concrete flatwork. Project types consist of asphalt overlays, highway widening, intersection improvements, parking lots, subdivision developments, and airports.

From humble beginnings, our local Ozarks company has expanded with ties to one of the largest construction materials companies in the world. With best practices and resources from around the world, we have a track record for quality, growth and success. The foundation to our success has been a local, consistent, well-trained, and experienced workforce.

We are active in local and national industry organizations as well as community organizations that benefit Springfield and the surrounding area (Springfield Contractors Association, Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Associated General Contractors, National Asphalt Pavement Association, National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association) as well as give back to worthwhile causes such as Convoy of Hope, Crosslines, Care to Learn, school programs, Local Trails and various disaster relief efforts.