Author: Kevin Yanik

Nathan P. Stedman, meanwhile, brought forward the disintegrator – now known as the cage mill – in 1885. It was a development that ultimately paved Stedman’s way into the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame.

Stedman also made his mark by incorporating his family company, along with two sons, as Stedman’s Foundry & Machine Works in 1893.

Born in Cincinnati in 1838, Stedman was the son of Nathan R. and Sarah Stedman. He reportedly grew to maturity at age 11 in Aurora, Indiana, spending two years in college before going to work in his father’s foundry, where he spent 50 years of his life.

Upon his father’s death, Nathan Stedman took over the business and conducted it with his sons, W.R. and George M. Stedman. The company expanded its product line in 1885, when it began producing fertilizing and rendering machinery.

According to records, the very first disintegrator model was sold to the Oakland Pressed Brick Co. of Zanesville, Ohio. The 40-in. disintegrator was shipped to the customer in 1886, and the disintegrator would go on to become the company’s top product in the years that followed.

In 1893, Nathan Stedman and two sons incorporated the company as Stedman’s Foundry & Machine Works. A year later, the U.S. government granted Nathan Stedman a patent for his “cage mill crusher.”

The company that Nathan Stedman’s father founded in 1834 still operates today as Stedman Machine Company.

EJ Burke not only was an inspiration to those he worked with at DuPont Co., Explosives Technologies International and Dyno Nobel, but to customers across the aggregate industry.

A 52-year veteran of explosives who retired in 2020, Burke is characterized as the ultimate gentlemen and a man of high integrity and passion.

His last role at Dyno Nobel was corporate brand and values ambassador, but Burke held a number of senior and key roles at Dyno Nobel over the years, including senior vice president of national sales, vice president of industry development for quarries, and general manager for stone.

Burke’s work experience included general management, sales, marketing and business positions in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, South America and Australia. According to Dyno Nobel, Burke also had extensive experience in human resources and finance. He earned a bachelor of arts from the University of South Carolina.

“EJ, with his unique level of passion, commitment and energy, has been instrumental in refocusing the company’s efforts back on our customers and will always be known for such signature phrases as ‘in the beginning, there was the customer’ and ‘treat everybody, be they a prince or a pauper, with the same respect and care,’” said Braden Lusk, president of Dyno Nobel Americas, upon Burke’s retirement. “The customer relationships that EJ has established and strengthened over a long period of time will endure as part of his legacy along with cornerstone achievements such as the establishment of the Quarry and Mining Academies and the Major Customer Health & Safety Forum.”

P&Q interviewed Burke in 2018 to hear about his career, the aggregate industry’s evolution and how blasting has changed over the years. Read the Q&A here.