Asphalt Paving & Materials Co.
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HURON – A Huron company that traces its origins to the days of the national struggle that was the Great Depression is looking to the future with the construction of a new large shop and office complex.
Located at the east entrance to town along Highway 14, the Asphalt Paving & Materials Co. building provides expanded shop space to accommodate all of the company’s equipment, said company president Mike Bartholow.
“It’s a good-sized space,” he said. “It’s already proven to be extremely useful.”
The shop measures 125-by-150 feet and the office space adds another 60-by-80 feet to the building, he said. Asphalt Paving & Materials Co. has a dozen full-time employees and 30 to 35 seasonal workers.
The business has a storied history; in fact, for a couple decades there were actually two companies operating out of the same structure because of the high volume of work.
“It all got started in the 1930s when my grandfather decided to take advantage of the money that was available to put people back to work during the ‘Dirty 30’s,’” said Bill Bartholow, chief executive officer who shares the same name as the founder.
“W.E. they called him. William Earl (Bartholow) was his name.”
When W.E.’s son, Cecil, got involved with his father, the decision was made to move the business from Spencer to Huron. It was about the time the country was entering World War II in the early 1940s.
At that time, asphalt was beginning to be a viable product.
Roger Larsen/Plainsman
This is the new office space and shop that Asphalt Paving & Materials will call home. The new facility is located just west of the business’s previous site, on the south side of Highway 14 east of the James River.