Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0345

HR0345 LRB104 13695 MST 26375 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Illinois Road Contractors on the occasion of its 100th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, The Jacksonville-based Illinois Road Contractors is a family-owned business that began in 1925; and

WHEREAS, It is rare to find family companies that survive the test of time; less than 3% of family-owned businesses manage to retain that business into a fourth generation of management; and

WHEREAS, Rudy Davidsmeyer started a company in 1925 that is still in his family today; in the company's earliest years, he saw his trucks vandalized by intimidated competitors; and

WHEREAS, In 1925, the Davidsmeyer Oil Company was formed, and it was the first operation of IRC, with Rudy Davidsmeyer barely having fifteen cents in his pocket at the time; the company sold fuel oil and road oils in both Springfield and Jacksonville; and

WHEREAS, Rudy Davidsmeyer asked his brother, Paul Davidsmeyer or P.J., to help him in business operations; this was during a railroad strike, and Paul had been a fireman for the railroad; working and surviving together during the depression years, the crew, Rudy, and Paul became one big family, which was the creation of the long-standing business that is the IRC today; and

WHEREAS, In the late 1930s, Rudy Davidsmeyer developed a process to spread oil followed by rock chips, thus blotting the oil; some call the process oil and chip and some call it Sealcoat; and

WHEREAS, The Davidsmeyer Oil Company has had several name changes over the years; it became Illinois Road Builders in the 1930s, Illinois Road Contractors, Inc. was incorporated in 1949, and now, it is sometimes known as The IRC Group with several wholly-owned subsidiaries and affiliates; and

WHEREAS, One job that established that the Davidsmeyer Company was served by hard, fearless workers was the turnpike construction across Kansas; this operation established the company both financially and reputably while also expanding Illinois Road Builders's area of work to Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa; and

WHEREAS, Half of the core crew was drafted for the Second World War effort; there was a shortage of labor, and the specified type of oil needed was used by the government for cargo ships; IRC still continued to expand, bidding jobs outside of Morgan County, as well as into states from Colorado to Ohio; and

WHEREAS, During the late 1940s, trailer transports replaced tank cars, which simplified operations; Rudy Davidsmeyer was a part of the original group of road-oil contractors that formed a state association; they wanted to call themselves the Illinois Road Builders Association; Rudy gave them permission to use the name and reincorporated his company as Illinois Road Contractors, Inc; the Illinois Road Builders Association was the forerunner of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association; in 1952, Rudy purchased a duck hunting haven for his family, yet he soon turned it into a retreat for IRC employees and customers; and

WHEREAS, With a reputation for honesty fairness, quality equipment, and workmanship, IRC has established itself as the leading sealcoat contractor in Illinois today; control of the company changed hands suddenly when Rudy Davidsmeyer was killed in 1960; only three weeks later, P.J. Davidsmeyer had a heart attack and died while driving, leaving Rudy's son, J.R., and P.J.'s son, Bill, with management of the company; and

WHEREAS, J.R. Davidsmeyer asked his brother, Paul Davidsmeyer, if he would consider joining the Illinois Road Contractors Co.; Paul left his business, the Illinois Road Equipment Company in Springfield, to join his brother, J.R., and his cousin, Bill; and

WHEREAS, Meredosia Terminal was an outgrowth of the OPEC oil embargo; in 1971, IRC built the state-of-the-art Meredosia Terminal to store asphalt and road materials to serve contractors in a wide area; IDOT did not use blended product at the time but were impressed with MT designs and capabilities; Meredosia Terminal started shipping asphalt in 1972 and is unique in the large numbers of asphalt and emulsion grades it can produce; and

WHEREAS, Today, Meredosia Terminal ships asphalt, emulsion, and liquid and dry fertilizer; the terminal also manufactures food grade aqua ammonia used by companies throughout Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa; its success brought about another terminal that they built in 1980, which is located near Utica for supply demand; and

WHEREAS, In 1979, State Material Service (SMS) was created and currently operates over 40 asphalt delivery trailers; Equipment Associates Inc. (EA), another trucking division, was insured specifically to provide hauling for anhydrous and fuel; in 1985, Asphalt Stone Company (ASC) was begun for profiling new ways to repair roads, such as the process of Rotomilling; in 1991, IRC Driveways, the Sealcoat business that helped found the enterprise, had expanded into a second division dedicated to providing driveways, parking lots, and private lanes; in 2004, Tarps Manufacturing, Inc. was started, which makes specialized tarps for trucking, grain pile covers, containment, and fireproof needs; the company provided tarps for the Brooklyn Bridge project that withstood the massive Hurricane Sandy; and

WHEREAS, When "the Key 3" retired, the next generation, known as "the Junior 5", took the helm; Devon initially began as the president of Illinois Road Contractors, Inc. in 1993 with Rick, Jim, Jeff, and John as vice presidents; the board was comprised of these new officers and the Key 3; and

WHEREAS, Each corporation was established with a specific board and president; Devon serves as a board member for each of those divisions along with key managers serving as vice presidents; Rick was named president of Meredosia Terminal and Utica; Jim is president of Asphalt Stone Company; Jeff was established as president of IRC, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, Today, IRC continues the tradition of family in the business as the Generation 4 members become leaders in the company; C.D., the son of Devon, and Ryan and Michael, the sons of Rick, are stepping up to the challenge of running the family business; and

WHEREAS, Rick Davidsmeyer passed away in 2015; Ryan Davidsmeyer, Rick's oldest son, assumed the role of president and manager of the Meredosia Terminal; John Davidsmeyer passed away in 2017; he was serving as safety coordinator at that time and had run the trucking division for many years before that; Michael Davidsmeyer serves in driveway sales; Bill Davidsmeyer passed away in 2023; JR Davidsmeyer passed away in 2024; and

WHEREAS, This fourth generation proudly leads IRC into the next decade preparing for the 100th anniversary; Illinois Road Contractors has been and continues to be a family business that is focused on quality, service, and bold moves; and

WHEREAS, The key philosophies of the company have remained intact from the very beginning: take pride in your work, provide a great place for employees to work, be the best in the business for quality and service, and control enough equipment to satisfy customer needs for service; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Illinois Road Contractors and the Davidsmeyer family on 100 years of hard-worked service and innovation in manufacturing and building many of the roadways in Illinois and beyond and for remaining a family business for four generations and counting; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Road Contractors and the Davidsmeyer family as an expression of our respect and esteem for a vibrant 100 years and as a leading example of hard work, innovation, and, most importantly, family values.