Producer profile
Roughly 80 percent of Utah’s total population lives along the front of the Wasatch Mountain Range.
Morgan Asphalt Invests in Eco-Friendly Asphalt Plant Tooele County, located less than 20 miles west of Salt Lake City, is among the fastest growing counties in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s the county where Spencer Parkinson, manager of business development at Morgan Asphalt, Salt Lake City, grew up. “My dad could commute to Salt Lake City in 25 to 30 minutes,” Parkinson recalled, “which was often faster than some people who lived just outside the city limits.” In addition to an easy commute on I-80, Tooele County also offers room for growth that is in short supply in more developed areas of the Wasatch Front.
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The Wasatch Front, a term used to describe the metropolitan region running along the front of the Wasatch Mountain Range, is home to roughly 80 percent of Utah’s total population.
Utah’s population is projected to swell from 3 million in 2015 to nearly 6 million in 2065, according to the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The rapid growth of the region itself closely mirrors that of Morgan Asphalt. Morgan Asphalt was founded in 1996 by
Thom Morgan, who still serves as the company’s CEO. Thom’s son, Matt Morgan, is the company’s president. Today, the company employs more than 200 people during peak season and has five mainline paving crews, one milling crew, ten grading crews, ten excavation crews and three utility crews. Morgan Asphalt primarily serves the large residential and commercial market. “The question that arose was, ‘At what point does it make sense to supply our own asphalt, versus buying it from other producers?’” Parkinson said. When they began speaking with plant manufacturers, the general consensus was installing