Material Service Corporation For Infrastructure Projects

Material Service was formed in 1919 by brothers Henry, Irving and Sol Crown. The initial president of the company was Sol though Henry Crown took over his charge after his death in 1921. The company was originally engaged in brokerage and was involved in buying and reselling sand and gravel.

The expansion of Material Service was fast as well as rapid. It expanded by purchasing pits, mines, quarries as well as factories. These purchases were made mainly for the production of lime, pipe, stone, coal and cement. By 1938, the company reached up to the extent to operate Thornton Quarry, one of the largest limestone quarries of the world that is situated in Thornton, just at the south of Chicago.

Soon, the company started gaining profit from war related contracts. This profit, no doubt, enabled it to owe more and more coal mines as well as limestone quarries. Soon, Material Service gathered the honor of being known as the most prominent builders of commercial property of the city.

Material Service was the proud builder of many famous structures in Chicago. Among those structures the names like Merchandise Mart, the Loop Railway and the Civic Opera House can be included. However, in 1959, a stock for stock merger made this company apart of General Dynamics Corporation. The General Dynamic Corporation was a leading military contractor. But the deal proved to be a mistake for the crown family, that is, for the company. Soon the bad financial condition of General Dynamics led the Crown family to the extent to sell the Empire State Building in New York City. It was, no doubt, a prized possession on their part and its sale was a great loss to them.

The loss of the Crown family was not restricted to the sale of Empire State Building only. Soon they had to sell their interest in General Dynamics, followed by Material Service. It was around 1965. Within five years, however, the Crown Family was able to reaccumulate much of General Dynamics along with Material Service.

By early 1980s, however, Material Service regained its status in the business of infrastructure materials. Within this period, the company became the leading distributor and producer of building materials in Midwest. Not only that, the employee strength of the company exceeded three thousand.

Material Service is now engaged in mining and sale of stone, sand and gravel for use in highway as well as for commercial and residential building construction. Currently, the company operates eleven stone quarries, three sand and gravel pits, two mineral filter plants and a fleet of towboats and barges. The company has the essential equipments with the help of which it supplies its clients with low cost delivery. The company delivers its products via Chicago and Illinois River System and its annual shipment exceeds 20mil tons. Encyclopedia