The Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame will add four new members this year as representatives of the 2025 class.
Those selected for enshrinement are Gerry Bauer (EccoFab), Ron DeDiemar, Tom Hill (Vulcan Materials) and Edgar B. Symons (Symons Brothers Co.). A selection committee comprised of producers, manufacturers, equipment dealers and other allied trade leaders voted alongside living members of the Hall of Fame to determine this year’s class.
“We look forward to collectively celebrating our four new honorees as our next Hall of Fame class,” says Rob Fulop, group publisher of Pit & Quarry. “They’re all highly regarded within their respective niche in the industry, and their career efforts represent what the Hall of Fame is all about.”
Bauer, DeDiemar, Hill and Symons will be enshrined in the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame on March 24 during an induction ceremony at the Marriott St. Louis Grand in St. Louis. The magazine encourages the industry to attend the black-tie gala to celebrate the careers and accomplishments of its inductees.
The ceremony, which takes place one day before the start of AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo, will be held in conjunction with the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s (NSSGA) Annual Convention. Tickets for the ceremony are available at pitandquarryhalloffame.com/tickets.
Gerry Bauer
Bauer, who is regarded as a premier expert in wear parts, is president of EccoFab, which he’s steered for nearly a half-century.
By launching the use of Hardox steel in wear applications in the 1980s and continuing that innovation through the advocacy of different thicknesses and Brinell strengths, Bauer led the industry to adopt more efficient, cost-effective wear parts.
Considered a leader who elevates those around him, SSAB’s Kjell Bäckman says Bauer pairs his technical expertise with a deeply collaborative spirit.
“Gerry’s impact isn’t just about business,” says Bäckman, vice president and head of sales for special steels at SSAB. “It’s about relationships. He’s humble, approachable and always willing to share his knowledge and insights to help others improve.”
View full Hall of Fame profile.
Ron DeDiemar
DeDiemar is the holder or coholder of 13 U.S. patents covering products such as jaw crushers, cone crushers, gravel scrubbers and apron feeders. His career included stops at several equipment manufacturing companies, including Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co., the Smith Engineering Works/Telsmith Division of Barber Greene Co., Protech and W.S. Tyler.
Additionally, DeDiemar served as a consultant during stretches of his career, including at Cal-Mar Technology, which he established in 1995. DeDiemar also served California Screen & Conveyor, a processing equipment distributor, as a sales consultant and principal
throughout most of the 2000s.
View full Hall of Fame profile.
Tom Hill
Hill, chairman of the board and CEO at Vulcan Materials, currently presides over the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates.
First joining Vulcan in 1979, Hill took on a variety of operations and general management assignments throughout his career there. He spent 1990 to 1996 in sales and operations management roles at Redlands Stone Products before rejoining Vulcan as vice president and general manager of the Southwest Division.
The company named Hill president and CEO in 2014. Vulcan’s Don James, who was enshrined in the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame nine years ago, described Hill in 2014 as “a proven leader with vast operational and superlative management skills.”
View full Hall of Fame profile.
Edgar B. Symons
Symons played a significant role in evolving the modern-day crushing market with several innovations a century ago – including the cone crusher.
Symons designed the pillar shaft gyratory crusher in the early 20th century. The horizontal disc crusher was also an early invention of Symons, who started his own company along with his brothers called Symons Brothers Co.
Perhaps most importantly, Symons designed the Symons cone crusher in 1923. The design rights for the crusher were sold to Nordberg just a few years later, with the Symons cone crusher making a lasting imprint on aggregate processing.
View full Hall of Fame profile.
Related: Look back on the 2024 Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
