When the U.S. and state governments started to run out of money during the recession, new road construction slowed down dramatically.
For Astec Industries, which derived 85 percent of its revenue from public and private infrastructure projects, the indefinite postponement of a new highway bill could have meant disaster.
Astec makes the machines that power infrastructure projects all over the world, and when road construction slows down, so does the demand for Astec’s machines.
But instead of digging in its heels, Astec hit the gas on its energy and mining products, which have grown dramatically.
“We have challenged our companies to pursue more than one end market,” said Steve Anderson, vice president of administration and director of investor relations.