Stepping Up to the Rip Rap Market
RIP RAP 32
to the Rip Rap Market
hen Texas-based Gulf Coast LimeOnce Gulf Coast stone Inc. (GCLI) first began selling Limestone began rip rap, it didn’t own or operate a producing its quarry. It bought rip rap, along with own high-quality an assortment of other aggregate products, from rip rap, no job was producers and then sold it to individuals and governing agencies for their projects. off limits. “When those producers stopped making rip rap to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specifications, we were in the middle of a couple of jobs and immediately had to find another source” says Bobby Walker, vice president and operations manager at GCLI. “That’s when we discovered that none of the Texas quarries were interested in making rip rap. We approached a quarry in Central Texas with the idea that, if they would supply us with the raw material, we would produce our own finished product in their quarry. They were a little anxious about having us in their quarry, but finally agreed to it, and we started producing rip rap.” Rather than try to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or other governing bodies to accept ‘off the shelf’ specifications, GCLI met the government requirements by producing a high-quality rip rap material to the agencies’ specifications. Each job has its own set of specifications, and the product is custom produced based on the job. And no rip rap job is off limits. Walker says GCLI knows, geographically, where it will be competitive and pursues nearly every job in that area. The company produces and supplies rip rap to all parts of Texas — North Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, and the coastal regions — and would even consider supplying rip rap outside of Texas. “We’ve got really good marketing and sales peo-
by Kerry Clines, Senior Editor