Next generation runs concrete company
CLINTON TWP — John Thrower and his sister, Diana Christy, fell into the concrete business, just as farm children become farmers.
John W. Thrower Inc., 409 Saxonburg Blvd., was founded by and named after their father, who started a trucking company in 1944 and the concrete mixing and hauling business in 1959.
Thrower said his father had been trucking since he was 15 years old, hauling coal, gravel, "anything he could."
Christy said their father died in November, and area residents have been wondering if the family would keep the business open.
"We're here to stay," Christy said.
The company mixes concrete from the raw materials such as gravel, sand and limestone sold in Kittanning, Slippery Rock and New Kensington plus cement from Armstrong Cement & Supply Co. in West Winfield.
Thrower said his company then hauls the concrete to projects that have ordered it, whether it be an individual homeowner or a contractor working on a highway project.
However, Thrower's 54 employees do not finish the concrete."They just carry it where it needs to go," he said.Christy and her brother started working for their father when they were in high school and just never left."We've just always been here," she said, adding that the third generation of the family works for the company as well.As for the company's future, Thrower said their business has grown steadily in the past few years as construction grew. "The last nine months, though haven't been too good," he said, placing the blame on the global economic crisis that has stifled the construction industry.With a concrete plant near Saxonburg and one in Cranberry Township, Thrower said when the economy rights itself, the company could add to its trucking fleet, but would not add additional plants.
<B>NAME: </B>John W. Thrower Inc.<B>ADDRESS: </B>409 Saxonburg Blvd., Clinton Township<B>OWNERS: </B>John Thrower and Diana Christy<B>EMPLOYEES: </B>54<B>PRODUCT: </B>Make and deliver concrete
