J.F. Allen Company celebrating 75th anniversary this year
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Congressman Alex X. Mooney's representative Rhett Dusenbury presents a letter of congratulations and a Congressional Certificate of Recognition to J. F. Allen Co. President Greg Hadjis, center holding certificate, and Vice President Bryan Leatherman, at right holding letter, in celebration of 75 years in business. The J.F. Allen Co. has been family owned for the entire time and has become the largest aggregate supply company in West Virginia.
ELKINS -- The J.F. Allen Company will be celebrating a milestone this year as the company marks its 75th anniversary.
The company, which manufactures limestone aggregate and asphalt at three facilities in north central West Virginia, was created in 1946 by Colonel James F. Allen and his wife Sara.
"We are very proud of this achievement," J.F. Allen Company President Gregory S. Hadjis told The Inter-Mountain this week. "We are a third-generation family company and our success over the years is a testimony to the vision of our ownership and the competitiveness, quality of work, integrity and safety of our valued employees."
Much has changed since the company began just after the end of World War II.
"The company started with a dream and two surplus military dozers," Hadjis said. "We now have several hundred employees and own and operate dozens of excavators, dozers, wheel loaders and heavy haul trucks. In addition to our site development, road construction and utility crews, we manufacture limestone aggregate and asphalt at three facilities."
J.F. Allen has hung its hat on a trio of standards over the years, he said.
"The company is built upon three core values -- safety, quality and integrity," Hadjis said. "These values are translated into the quality of work we perform for our customers as well as the many charitable, educational and community organizations we support throughout West Virginia. We are proud to be able to provide quality employment and be a part of the growth of our community and our state for over 75 years."
In 1974, John C. Allen succeeded his father as president of J.F. Allen Company, leading the company's continued growth. The same year, the company acquired the asphalt plant and paving equipment of Elkins Asphalt Co., and began crushing sandstone with a portable plant near Weston. John's brother, David Allen, begins development of a limestone quarry and crushing plant at Aggregates.
In 1981, J.F. Allen Company opened its Buckhannon asphalt plant to meet demand for asphalt paving products in central West Virginia.
In 1983, J.F. Allen Company (with joint venture partner Wiley N. Jackson Company of Roanoke, Virginia) built Stonewall Jackson Dam for the US Army Corp of Engineers. All of the aggregates for the 107,000 CY of concrete needed to build the dam were produced by J. F. Allen Co.'s quarry at Aggregates.
In 1997, to serve the expanding Clarksburg and Bridgeport markets, J.F. Allen Company opened its Saltwell asphalt plant off Exit 125, Interstate 79.
In 2003, Mashey Gap quarry, located east of Elkins, began operation. This new operation helped meet the growing demand for limestone aggregates.
In 2013, in partnership with a major de-icing salt supplier, J.F. Allen Company built a covered storage facility at its Aggregates plant to provide de-icing salt for more than 16 counties and 30 Department of Highway locations. The locally-owned Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad delivered the de-icing salt. This arrangement annually saves state and local governments millions of dollars on freight, minimizes truck traffic in the region, and helps to improve driving safety through the winter months.