Blastcrete Equipment Company, a manufacturer of mixing and pumping equipment for the refractory and shotcrete industries, is one of eight finalists for the Small Manufacturer of the Year award in Alabama. The Alabama Technology Network and the Business Council of Alabama will name the winner of the award, which honors the state’s leading manufacturers’ accomplishments, on April 12 during the 2016 Alabama Manufacturer of the Year Awards luncheon at the Activity Center in Montgomery, Alabama.
“Our employees take a tremendous amount of pride in what we do here. I’m proud of them, and this is quite an honor for us,” says Jim Farrell, Blastcrete CEO. “We’re a family-owned business and unique in that we design and manufacture our products in-house. Our 20 employees accomplish the same things as a larger company, only on a smaller scale. That gives us the ability to not only produce great equipment but to back it up with personal customer service.”
Blastcrete is a finalist in the small manufacturers category, which includes businesses with 99 or fewer employees. The award recognizes innovation in manufacturing, commitment to excellence, dedication to employees and community investment.
“Now in its 17th year, the Business Council of Alabama is honored to salute Alabama’s best manufacturers for their valuable participation in not only the state’s economy, but also the economies of their employees and the suppliers who do business with them,” says William J. Canary, president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama. “The Manufacturer of the Year Awards continues to be a premier event for the BCA, the Alabama Technology Network, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, and the National Association of Manufacturers. The BCA is proud to be the exclusive affiliate in Alabama to the NAM and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.”
Jim Douglas founded Blastcrete in 1950 in Los Angeles as a manufacturer of single- and double-chamber gunite machines. Farrell purchased Blastcrete in 1983 and relocated the business to Anniston. The company continues to grow as it designs and manufactures products for refractory, construction and concrete customers throughout the world.
Farrell also operates Neal Manufacturing, a division of Blastcrete. Neal is a manufacturer of asphalt seal coating equipment.
