Knowles Material Company has seen changes in 69 years

JACKSON - See those orange barrels surrounding highway interchanges under construction throughout Mississippi? It's likely that more than a few of them were supplied to the highway contactor by Knowles Material Company, one of the fewer than 10 companies in Mississippi that supply highway construction

Clark Conn, secretary/treasurer for the 69-year-old company, lists off some of the most recent Mississippi road jobs that his company supplied materials for: Phase III of the Stack in Jackson, the I-20/U.S. 80 Interchange in Clinton as well as the end of the Natchez Trace in Natchez.

Most of the company's work is done in the Magnolia State, but Conn said that Knowles Material will occasionally supply material for jobs in Louisiana or Alabama.

Besides the ubiquitous orange barrels, Knowles provides contractors with reinforced steel products for bridges and culverts, erosion control products and slope protection products, such as Geotextile Fabric that goes under the riprap used to stabilize creek banks.

Changes seen

The business has changed a great deal since its founding in 1936.

The company started out providing steel reinforcing used in constructing highways and interstates around Mississippi. Changes in highway construction methods helped push the company to continue to diversify the products it offers, Conn said.

"They're saying reinforced concrete is too expensive these days," he said.

Concerned about MDOT funding

Funding state highway construction has always been a concern in Mississippi, and the current MDOT reserves available for funding new highways in Mississippi continue to decline - and Conn is worried about it.

"It's affected us a great deal and will affect us a good bit down the road," he said.

Those motorists currently navigating orange barrel mazes may disagree, but Conn noted that the projects currently underway were originally let a few years back - and MDOT isn't letting projects at the rates that it has in the past.

"The frequency with which they are being let has dropped a great deal in the past year or year and a half," he said.

Central Mississippi Highway Commissioner Dick Hall has said that the 2005 Legislature originally planned to shift $54 million from MDOT reserves this year, ending up with a shift of only $36 million, according to press reports of a speech he made in July in Carthage. Overall, more than $146 million has been diverted from MDOT since 2002, according to news reports.

Small-company feel important to customers

With seven employees that are in contact with its customers, Conn said he believes that Knowles Material Company benefits from good relationships with its contractors. "We're used to them, and they're used to us."

The small-company feel of the office is important to customer relations. "Usually, when they call us on the phone, you have a person answer it," he said.