THE POWER

BY SARAH REDOHL

Brandon Watson, plant operations manager at Asphalt Supply Company (ASCO), Sellersburg, Indiana, has been watching his father build and manage asphalt plants since he was five years old.

“My dad was a manager over all of the asphalt plants for Hinkle Contracting,” Watson said. “So he built a lot of plants.” Watson would often travel around to different plants with his father, absorbing not only insight into asphalt plant operations but also a passion for the asphalt industry.

“This has always been more than a job to me,” Watson said, adding that for as long as he can remember, asphalt plants have been what his family talks about like other families might talk about sports or politics. “I take a lot of pride in what I do and have a lot of passion for it. At the end of the day, I know I’ve made something.”

When Watson turned 18, he followed in his father’s footsteps and began working for Hinkle on its 20 asphalt plants for nearly a decade. He then became plant operations manager for the Allen Company Inc., Lexington, Kentucky, where he helped the company rebuild its five asphalt plants. “We went from having plants down every day to, after five years, just a couple breakdowns across all our plants all year,” he said.

In 2018, Watson began selling parts for Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Kentucky. “I’ve always been good with the technical side of asphalt plants and with trouble- shooting problems,” he said. ASCO was one of Watson’s customers, and when its plant operations manager retired, Watson was an ideal replacement to meet the company’s future goals.