A Lifetime of Passion

Cindy McCarthy - Transportation and Compliance Manager

Cindy McCarthy, transportation and compliance manager in the Miller Group’s Southern Ontario Aggregate Group, shared how she entered the aggregate industry and what drives her passion for the work today.

 

Q: What drew you to the aggregate industry? What makes you want to stay?

I was born into the industry. My dad and two of his brothers owned and operated a small construction company, McCarthy Bros., and a quarry that is now the James Dick quarry in Gamebridge. They also did their own drilling and blasting and contracted that service to other quarries in the area when the equipment and operator weren’t needed on our site. They were ahead of what is now an industry standard in terms of vertical integration.

My dad was the company mechanic, among other things, so while he was needed on job sites or in the quarry during the day, he was in the shop late into the night fixing equipment. It made sense for our family to live on the quarry site. That’s where I became interested in the industry and learned my work ethic. I started operating the truck scale when it was required, which wasn’t often back then, when I was about nine years old. I was never not involved in the aggregate industry.

Growing up, I didn’t think I would stay in the industry. I studied journalism at Ryerson and worked for a few years at community newspapers in Toronto until I wanted to settle down and raise a family. Then I felt called to move back home and return to the aggregate industry. It’s good work, good people and a good living.

Q: What do you think is special about a career in the aggregate industry?

It’s great to work in an industry with so many options for job specifics. There is a wide variety of work needed to make an aggregate operation or company run. There are also opportunities for where the work can be done, particularly with larger companies — rural, urban, in various cities or provinces or even in other countries. Working for a company like The Miller Group/Colas Canada, the opportunities are endless.

A lifetime in and around this industry has taught me that many of the people drawn to it tend to be good, hardworking folks who just want to get the work done and make each other’s days better where they can.

Q: What is your current role and what do you find most rewarding about it?

I am the transportation and compliance manager for Miller’s Southern Ontario Aggregate Group. I have a wide range of responsibilities, from trucking and quality control/quality assurance to regulatory inspections and environmental issues. I also work with several different teams within Miller. I enjoy that each day I may be working on a different issue with different people. It’s interesting and keeps my days moving at a fast pace.

I’m happy to be working for a company like Miller. Miller has brought together a fantastic team of talented people, and it hasn’t happened by accident. The company is always looking for good people and works hard to develop them and keep them happy. Moreover, Miller aims to do the right things for the right reasons, which makes me proud to work for them.

Q: What’s the most challenging part of your role?

I imagine the same thing most managers find challenging — getting the right people into the right roles and ensuring they are engaged, while maintaining cohesion within the team. There’s an important balance between keeping people challenged yet not overworked. Get all these things right and you have a powerful and productive team.

Q: How has your role evolved over the course of your career in aggregates?

I started in the scale house (not the McCarthy Bros. scale house when I was nine) working for Standard Aggregates, a company that’s no longer around — it was absorbed by one of the big global corporations. It was a way to make a living at something I knew while raising my children. It’s hard to imagine that that was four decades ago. I continually took on new projects and challenges over the course of my career. Sometimes that meant starting a new role or a new role at a new company, including a short stint at OSSGA a long time ago, working with Eva. But it seems all that experience has led me to a job that feels made to order for me. I truly enjoy the work and the people I work with.

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering a career in the aggregate industry?

As I said before, this is a great industry — good work, good people and a good living. My advice to someone considering a career in the aggregate industry would be: Do it.

Q: What would you change about your career path if you could start over?

The only thing I would change is I would find my way to Miller and this job sooner.