“What’s your regular day at the office like?”
I do not get asked questions like this very often. I’m in the business of supplying aggregates, whether you need aggregates for coastal defence or developing buildings and roads. I don’t blame anyone for not asking because my business is not exciting and glamorous, but it’s certainly essential. Not many know that without the right aggregates, you wouldn’t have durable roads or strong buildings.
Running an aggregate business is like running any other business, but the product and the process differ. My business was founded forty years ago by my father. He worked day and night building the business from scratch, right from acquiring a quarry site to getting the right excavators. He dedicated a good part of his life to setting up and growing the business to where it is today. A few years ago, I took charge of continuing his legacy, setting sights on rapid growth and expansion.
Mining construction aggregates may seem like a fairly easy business to run on the outside, but in reality, there is a whole lot that goes into running a quarry and a successful aggregate business operation. It involves acquiring necessary permits, identifying locations for extraction, investing in the right equipment, and keeping up-to-date with the trends in the sector. My operations also need to be backed with the right workers, personnel, and IT support in Northampton, Leeds, and Earls Barton. It’s necessary to manage all these aspects to run my business smoothly, and that’s no easy feat!
This article will give you a sneak peek into what happens behind the scenes in my aggregate business as I walk you through my day, minute by minute.
06:00
It’s Monday. On weekdays, I am usually up by 6:00 AM. I work out for half an hour, which is followed by a quick shower, getting dressed for the office, and a hearty breakfast.
I have a terrible habit of checking my emails at the breakfast table, one that I haven’t been able to quit. Finally, at eight, I walk towards my car to drive to our office in Norfolk, thirty minutes away from home.
08:30
There’s something about getting to work early that I look forward to. I truly enjoy the peace and quiet in the mornings that disappear as the day progresses. As the head of my firm, this is the time when I create my action and priority list and spend time figuring out what I want to accomplish today.
As I sit down to figure out my actionable tasks, at ten, I receive an update call for our branded stadium seat covers. These seat covers would feature our company’s branding on the seats at the Trent Bridge Stadium in West Bridgford for display marketing purposes. With an upcoming cricket match, this was the perfect opportunity to market my company’s business. This move is in line with my plan for the growth and expansion of our business.
The update led to a full-blown meeting with my marketing team lead as we discussed some tweaks to the cover’s design. We explored options to improve our logo’s visibility in the stadium when photographed from afar, incorporated our suggestions, and designed with some digital mockups.
11:00
As I’m going through product details from a supplier of welfare units in Yorkshire, my assistant walks in with a proposal from an alternate welfare units supplier in Leicester, where their 16-man welfare unit catches my attention and interest. Although my business currently has no need for portable welfare units on site, I’ve set my sights on offering all types of products and necessities required on a construction site as we expand.
I’ve observed that the welfare units of today have transformed by leaps and bounds as compared to those many years ago. They’re a necessity on construction sites, considering the challenges and unsanitary environments construction workers have to deal with day in and day out.
Another part of my diversification plan is to offer construction equipment hire and supply Qonnect tools. Although this is still in the planning stage and needs more fine-tuning, in due course, and with backing from my investors, I hope to expand my business to a wide range of products in addition to construction aggregates.
13:00
Once the meeting wraps up, it’s one in the afternoon and time for lunch. I grab a quick lunch from the office kitchen, sticking to my staple of a sandwich and a cup of coffee. From the meeting, I understood that there’s a lot to complete at the new quarry site and some setup issues to be addressed and fixed quickly. As I wrap up my lunch and coffee, I pack my steel-toed boots to wear on the site and head to my car. My manager joins me on a trip to our maiden excavation site for a quick inspection of the latest stockpile of aggregates.
15:00
As I stroll through the site with my manager, I can hear the rumble of trucks in the distance. My dad called it the heartbeat of our operations.
The sun is high above in the sky, and I see the crew are almost wrapping up lunch. Sitting in the shade, it’s good to witness their camaraderie even when working in some of the most dangerous working environments. It’s this attitude that keeps the atmosphere lively and engaging, even for a quarry site. Looking at them charges me up instantly, better than the coffee I had for lunch.
I spoke to some of the crew members and took stock of the progress on site. It’s one of our oldest sites, requiring a bigger team. I inspect the new stockpile of gravel and find it to be of superior quality. The quality of the gravel matters a lot in construction, whether you’re constructing roads or building structural foundations.
Gravel is the key base ingredient for developing roads as it provides stability and is responsible for the load-bearing capacity. Besides constructing roads, my business supplies high-quality gravel for use in infrastructure projects such as bridges, dams, and tunnels and landscaping projects.
16:30
Next, my manager and I headed to Earls Barton quarry together. It was much later in the day, so the sun was not too harsh on us. A brand-new quarry site promises so much potential that I was excited to explore the quality of the sand and gravel on the site. Because this was a new site, there was only one excavator to work with.
With my safety ear-muffs on, we navigated through the site, looking for an appropriate location to set up the welfare unit. I spoke to the site manager about the quality and quantity of the aggregates extracted. Both the quality and quantity of the aggregates are important, but the quality says a lot about how beneficial it can be to our clients. Sand and gravel are always in huge demand, which means supplying copious amounts of excellent-grade aggregates is of the utmost importance.
17:45
I head to my car while my operations manager decides to stay back at the site. On the way back to the office, I make a mental note to incorporate some changes to the business expansion proposal. If I’ve set my sights on something productive for the business, I like to work on it until it’s done.
I sit and review my day’s tasks and am glad that I’ve accomplished a majority of them. I quickly wrap up for the day and head out to my car; it’s nearly seven in the evening. As I drive back home, I reflect on the day’s events. It was a regular day—nothing exciting or pathbreaking to the layperson. However, another smooth day is another victorious day for me, inching closer to my business goals. Days like these keep me motivated to take on any upcoming challenges head-on.
I am home now, which only means it’s time to switch off from work and focus on my personal life. Work takes a backseat once I’m home.
Summing Up
I am happy as I reflect on my choice of work, even though it’s not as exciting and thrilling as anyone would think. However, business in aggregates is certainly profitable. All you need is a lot of courage and perseverance to stay in the game.
As I prepare myself for bed, I know that tomorrow will be another day with newer possibilities in this explorative world of aggregates.
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