It was a cool Friday morning in upstate New York as the AEM Manufacturing Express pulled up to a town called Tonawanda, a northern suburb of Buffalo. In Tonawanda, we visited Midland Machinery, a company that has played a big role in getting our bus all across the country.
Midland Machinery has proudly manufactured road wideners in Tonawanda for over 50 years. Road widening is a niche part of the road building market. It is the last step in the process when paving a road. Municipal regulations prevent a road from having too high of a drop off on the sides of the asphalt, so a road widener helps construction teams lay aggregate on the side of the road to build the shoulder efficiently.
The company’s roots and story are as local as any company’s can be. What started as a family-owned business more than 50 years ago has grown into a true local legacy, with the same quality and care going into every road widener since the company’s inception. Today, the company is owned by two lifelong friends who grew up in New York, carrying that tradition forward. Aurelius Chaves Jr., current President & CEO spoke at the event about how the struggles they overcame when they first bought Midland.
“There’s a warning everyone has heard somewhere that pride comes before the fall,” said Chaves. “Pride can make us think too much of ourselves, it can make us forget how much we depend on the people around us. But in the space between boastful pride and humility, it is easy to forget there lies the pride of dignity. Dignity, hardwork, and knowing you have done something worthwhile. That’s something I see here everyday.”
Midland Machinery has built a name for itself in a competitive industry, even with a comparatively small team behind them. With 21 hardworking men and women helping build their signature road wideners, every employee knows the role they play is a vital one quality of the equipment and the company as a whole. That dedication and craftsmanship is why each year’s batch of road wideners sells, and it shows in how much care each Midland employee puts into what they do. “It’s a cool business. Construction equipment is an amazing industry,” said Chaves. “Everybody plays with Tonka trunks at some point. This is the grown-up version of that.”
Chaves Jr. says that he and his staff are able to see how their company is making a difference every time they drive on the road. “Our product drives off the dock and helps to build the roads of our country,” Chaves said. “We are able to give you something that you can be proud of.”
As pioneers in road widener technology and as a leading manufacturer of road wideners in the U.S., the high-quality equipment manufactured in Tonawanda, New York shows that it doesn’t take a huge operation to be successful in American manufacturing. Midland has thrived through being scrappy, hardworking, and making a product customers can depend on. Without companies like them building road wideners, a bus tour like the Manufacturing Express would not be possible.
