What is MCC Inc., the company behind the quarry expansion in Hortonia?

HORTONIA — A quarry just south of New London, in rural Outagamie County, drew attention earlier this month when a proposal to expand its footprint faced opposition from neighbors during a packed town of Hortonia meeting.

While the quarry’s owner, MCC Inc., waits for the town board’s decision on its proposal, The Appleton Post-Crescent reached out to learn more about the company, its operating procedures and its history in the community.

“Being a good neighbor and corporate citizen is not just the right thing to do for our business,” said Todd Vande Hei, president of Black Creek Lime Stone Company, MCC’s real estate arm, in a Thursday email to The Post-Crescent. “But it is our belief that is how we build lasting partnerships in our communities.”

In 1926, Robert and Mary Murphy initiated R.M. Murphy Construction Company, according to the company’s website.

The farmers-turned-entrepreneurs started hauling limestone slabs near Duck Creek in Oneida and delivering them to neighbors and farms nearby. They used a sledgehammer and "elbow grease" to size the materials, Vande Hei said.

Murphy’s children and grandchildren continue to expand Murphy Concrete and Construction, now known as MCC Inc., providing aggregate materials, ready-mixed concrete, and asphalt paving for homebuilders, municipalities, counties and contractors across northeastern Wisconsin.

Starting as a mom-and-pop shop, MCC has grown into a company with a workforce of nearly 400 employees, operating under a vertically integrated business model that revolves around the extraction, production, and delivery of construction materials, according to the website.

The quarry south of New London has operated since the 1960s, extracting mainly dolomite and sandstone, both of which are widely used in construction. MCC owns 10 quarries, including the New London one, dotted across Outagamie, Waupaca and Winnebago counties.

Besides extracting aggregate materials, the quarry also reprocesses used concrete materials. In 2024, it reprocessed over 55,000 tons of materials removed from other sites, and these recycled materials can be used in road construction, according to Vande Hei.

It also extracts barn sand for local farmers, he added.

Vande Hei said MCC strategically produces construction materials “as close” to bridges, buildings, roads and other infrastructure projects as the company can, to reduce logistic costs and to benefit local communities and taxpayers.

The quarry has been a source of a considerable amount of construction materials used for apartments and infrastructure development in Hortonville and New London, he said.

Some portions of the materials were also used for the State 15 expansion project between Greenville and New London, and the Givens Road roundabout and overpass.

While Vande Hei recognizes that blasting is one of the neighbor’s major concerns, he said that the existing quarry follows the state regulations.

It conducted 25 blasts in each of 2023 and 2022, and 27 blasts in 2021, he said.

However, residents across Givens Road say blasts disrupt their daily lives, and that this year, they’ve been frequent, ranging from once every two or three weeks to six blasts in one week, according to Ryan Clark, who lives on the Shady Acres Drive.

Vande Hei said in 2024 the quarry took additional mitigation steps to reduce noise and vibrations, with smaller blasts with electronic caps. The company also created a grievance policy, with all complaints or concerns forwarded to a designated manager, Keith Doyle, who handles them as "quickly and completely" as possible.

Any residents can request a notification ahead of blasts for any reason, such as animal concerns, children, or medical conditions, he added.

MCC built a 20-foot berm to serve as a sound and wind barrier for nearby residents earlier this year. However, the berm is located 50 feet from the road, which falls short of the town ordinance, requiring a distance of 150 feet.

In his response, Vande Hei said MCC would follow the requirements, but only after its proposal got approved by the Town Board.

When asked about claims that the company hires no residents, Vande Hei disagreed.

He said MCC employs several individuals from the area, including 17 who live in Hortonville, 16 from New London, three from Fremont, three from Greenville, and one who lives in Hortonia, totaling 40 employees, or about 10% of its total workforce.

Zhen Wang is a business reporter for The Post-Crescent. Reach her at [email protected] or 920-993-7117.