MAT Asphalt manufactures road-paving materials for the City of Chicago. Our facility, situated in an eight-acre site zoned for industrial use south of Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood, began operations on July 2, 2018.

We produce binder and surface hot mix asphalt—the two layers necessary for city streets and parking lots.

MAT Asphalt is a three-fold partnership composed of Buildsmore LLC, owned by Tony Sanchez; McKinley Park LLC, owned by Charlie and Dan Gallagher; and MAT Asphalt LLC, owned by Michael Tadin, Jr.

Joe Haughey is the facility manager. He has 30 years of wide-ranging experience in the asphalt paving industry, holding a variety of management positions since 1995. Those posts have included paving foreman, trucking company owner, and paving company owner. Mr. Haughey is responsible for MAT Asphalt’s day-to-day operations.

Josh Foote is the chief operator. He has 20 years of experience operating asphalt plants. He began his career in the asphalt industry as an oiler, with responsibilities that included maintenance and repair. Today many of these activities are automated, and he supervises the day-to-day maintenance of our facility.

The investment in the 400-ton-per-hour plant was approximately $10 million. Our facility’s component parts were purchased from Orlando-based Gencor Industries, manufactured in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and shipped, piece by piece, to the Chicago location.

Our facility’s development included the installation of utilities, including natural gas, sewer and water services, heavy-duty electrical power, construction of concrete foundations, and erection of the process and storage facilities that produce the asphalt.

There are three other asphalt pavement-making facilities in Chicago. The largest is at Chicago and Ogden Avenues in the River North neighborhood. The others are at 2424 S. Laflin Street on the lower west side and near the junction of Pulaski Road and Interstate 55 (Stevenson Expressway) in the Archer Heights neighborhood.

The MAT Asphalt plant service area is generally bounded by Belmont Avenue on the north, Lake Michigan on the east, 111th Street on the south, and Harlem Avenue on the west. Our facility is located only a few blocks away from 39th Street and Western Avenue, which is generally considered to be the geographical center of Chicago. It is also strategically located between two major arterials (Ashland and Western Avenues) and close to two major expressways—Interstate 55 (Stevenson) to the north and I-94 (Dan Ryan) to the east.

Our plant has nine full-time employees. In addition to the facility manager, there are five operators, two laboratory technicians for quality control/quality assurance, and one scale house attendant.

Our plant operates Monday through Saturday from approximately 6:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. Over the course of the year, we operate for about eight months, from approximately the middle of April until the first week of December.

Asphalt is composed of three parts: 65% is virgin limestone from a local quarry; 30% is recycled asphalt pavement (RAP); and 5% is asphalt cement (AC), a petroleum-based liquid that binds together the limestone aggregate and recycled asphalt.

The limestone and recycled asphalt pavement are stored in bins at the rear of the plant. Using a front-end loader, an operator collects the limestone and recycled asphalt and places it in feeder bins. These materials are then conveyed into a horizontal rotating drum where the temperature reaches about 300 degrees and then asphalt cement (AC) is injected into the mix. After additional horizontal rotation, and as the heat rises to 320 degrees, the asphalt is conveyed to 10-story tall, 12-foot diameter ceramic-lined storage silos. Trucks enter onto scales located beneath the silos and the asphalt is loaded by the force of gravity into their cargo beds for transport to paving sites around the city.

In all, our facility makes 400 tons of asphalt per hour, or more than one ton (2,000 pounds) every 10 seconds. Each truck carries approximately 20 tons of asphalt.

During non-operating hours there is always a site security guard on the premises.

There are no plans to expand at this location.

MAT Asphalt expects that approximately 100 trucks will be using the facility during our daily operations. This is estimated to be a small percentage of the total truck traffic along Pershing Road.

No, the facility entrance roadway is sufficiently long that no trucks will back up onto Pershing Road.

No, we contract with brokers. Our main broker is a minority-owned firm from a nearby neighborhood.

Yes, the safety division is headed by a full-time employee of one of the company’s three partners, Gallagher Asphalt. That individual visits the plant every two weeks for “toolbox talks” that cover steps to take in various scenarios. In addition, the trainer provides instruction on potential risks and how to mitigate those risks through preventative measures. In addition, three local firehouses from the Chicago Fire Department have toured the plant to understand our operations and to become familiar with access points and other necessary information.

We maintain extensive control—as with any customer-vendor relationship. On a daily basis, MAT Asphalt is in close contact with all of the truck operators and drivers.

Brokers hired by MAT Asphalt maintain newer model, quality trucks with state-of-the-art tarping mechanisms to cover the asphalt loads. Asphalt is a sticky material and the MAT Asphalt truck loading process includes the spraying of an organic substance into truck beds that ensures that asphalt does not adhere to the truck beds and is fully emptied at paving sites. The environmentally friendly organic spray replaces the use of diesel fuel formerly used in the industry.

Consistent with the State of Illinois regulations, the city has designated Pershing Road (39th Street) a Class II truck route. As such, it is considered a major arterial roadway and it has long carried heavy truck traffic. In establishing its truck route network, the city’s stated goal is to improve safety, guide truckers, and inform users of the size, weight and truck route regulations and laws. The network is also designed to coordinate Chicago truck routes with surrounding communities and to encourage and support economic development.

MAT Asphalt provides savings to taxpayers by creating a more competitive market for city paving contracts. This is particularly true because the same company controls the other three asphalt plants in Chicago—so there was no other option until MAT Asphalt began.

Already this benefit has surfaced: in the two contracts that it was awarded this summer, MAT Asphalt’s bids were lower than the competition by about $1 million per contract, or approximately $2 million total. In addition, MAT Asphalt is a state-of-the-art facility with a more sophisticated manufacturing process. That helps lead to a lower expense, which promotes better market competition.

MAT Asphalt, as with its related entities, supports various organizations and causes. MAT Asphalt representatives have also regularly attended community meetings, including those where residents have expressed concerns about the facility’s impact on the neighborhood. In addition to answering questions and providing information at those meetings, MAT Asphalt has gained much insight on ways that it can become a stronger contributor to community life.

Yes, we hosted numerous tours during our first months of operation and we welcome more. Tours for up to 10 individuals are available by appointment. Please contact Joe Haughey at jhaughey@MATasphalt.com.