We recently took a road trip to South Carolina to begin gathering content for the launch of Universal Aggregate Solutions, one of our newest clients. From the pre-production phase we began to get excited about the location and opportunities that shooting at a mining facility presented. The entire trip was an experience as we drove scenic back roads, sampled deep south diners, and explored the inner workings of an aggregate mining facility, half of which serves as a wildlife refuge.
Although Universal Aggregate Solutions is a new company, we are very familiar with the leadership team considering UAS is a subsidiary of Consolidated Minerals and a sister company of CL Industries. This meant that we would be greeted and hosted by the always hospitable Fred Horton (CEO of CMI) and Sheila Henderson (General Manager of UAS). Upon arrival, Fred and Sheila gave us an in the trenches, two hundred acre tour of the mining facility in 4 x 4 trucks. The facility was a refreshing scenic change from the typical landscape that you see in North Florida. There were massive Georgia/South Carolina clay bluffs and natural spring feed aqua marine colored lakes. The backdrops for many of our shots were picturesque indeed.
The UAS mining operation provides industrial sands, quartz, and pebble aggregates that supply a range of construction based industries. It was on this visit that we had the realization that the entire developed world as we know it, is built on aggregates. If you stop for a moment to think about it, sand and aggregates are the foundation for everything that is constructed.
Although we were fascinated by the overall views and the operation being the foundation for the roads we use, it was the holistic approach to balancing the natural order of the land that we were most impressed with. When an area of the facility has reached it’s mining capacity, it is reclaimed and cultivated into a wildlife refuge. Fred Horton takes great pride in the outdoors and keeping a natural order. He has helped develop a refuge for a variety of wildlife that includes: deer, wild turkey, water fowl, alligators, and several species of fresh water fish. Fred is so committed to these land conservation efforts that he even opts to lodge in an on-site camper verses staying at a hotel. This helps him keep tabs on the reclamation efforts. We are proud and honored to work with clients that invest so much in their people, resources, and land.
