H&K Group (Berks operations)

H&K Group, Inc. is a heavy civil contracting and construction materials producer working throughout eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The company's Berks County presence includes a location at 2415 Kutztown Rd in Reading, part of a network of quarries, asphalt plants, precast facilities and contracting divisions spread across the region. Corporate headquarters are in Skippack, Montgomery County, at 2052 Lucon Road, while much of the company's stone and asphalt production is concentrated in and around Berks.

The business was established in 1968 and operates as a family of affiliated companies. Those affiliates take on work individually or combine on larger projects, which allows a single job to draw on quarried aggregate, hot mix asphalt, precast structures, excavation crews and engineering staff from within the same organization. The materials side runs from more than seventy operations, including twenty hot mix asphalt plants, twenty three crushed stone quarries and two stone depots.

Berks County Facilities

Local operations in and near Berks County include Birdsboro Quarry, Douglassville Quarry, Bechtelsville Asphalt, South Reading Asphalt and the Atlantic American Precast plant in Douglassville. Two specialized rail loadout facilities are maintained at Berks County quarry sites, allowing large guaranteed quantities of stone to move by rail to offloading points in Winslow Township, New Jersey and Dagsboro, Delaware. That rail capability is unusual for a regional aggregate producer and makes the Berks quarries a supply point for projects well outside the immediate area.

Construction Materials

The materials catalog covers most of what a site contractor, paving crew, municipality or landscaper would need in bulk:

• Crushed stone produced at quarries and stone depots across the three state footprint, with gradations tailored to customer specifications.
• Hot mix asphalt from twenty plants capable of producing virtually any mix design. Materials technicians hold NECEPT certification and the plants carry state DOT certifications. The plants also accept millings and broken asphalt for recycling into new mixes.
• Sand and gravel, including glacial sands and gravels extracted and processed at Belvidere Sand & Gravel in Warren County, New Jersey, used in construction, concrete and asphalt production, filtration and landscape materials.
• Precast concrete from Atlantic American Precast, which operates an 18,000 square foot plant in Douglassville with its own on-site batch plant. Products include Gravix and Forix gravity wall systems licensed from Earth Wall Products, lagging panels, sound wall posts and panels, and F-shaped single face barrier. The plant is a member of the PPA and NPCA and can be reached at (610) 222-3062.
• General fill, including processed earthen fill and select fill engineered to project requirements with assistance from in-house Technical Services.
• Recycled Concrete Aggregate, crushed and reprocessed into a compactable subbase comparable to quarried 2A stone and suitable under asphalt, concrete, paving stones and driveways.
• Manufactured concrete block, produced since 1989 by Easton Block & Supply in Easton. The line includes lightweight and standard gray block with no cinder or filler, splitface block in standard and premium colors with custom color matching, and Glen Gery brick through an authorized dealership.
• Biosoils, compost, mulch and topsoil. American Biosoils & Compost diverts yard waste, food waste, manure and biomass from landfills to produce soils and composts eligible for LEED credits, while Frontier Mulch Products wholesales black, brown and red dyed mulch, triple ground hardwood mulch, rock salt and de-icing products.
• Landscape materials such as natural wall stone, boulders, bulk crushed aggregate and manufactured soils, available at select quarry and materials yards with bulk pricing and delivery arranged through the Materials Sales Department.

Heavy Civil Contracting

Ten affiliated contracting companies handle the construction side of the business. Site and land development work covers bulk earth and rock excavation, portable rock crushing, stormwater management, erosion control, roadway construction, curbing, asphalt milling and paving, concrete paving, underground utilities, drilling, surveying, land clearing and heavy hauling. Equipment is guided by GPS and automatic tracking software, and a dedicated logistics center coordinates fleet movements and deliveries.

Transportation and structures work includes highway and bridge construction, box culverts, sound and panel walls, earth retention and shotcrete, MSE structures, airport and railroad construction, milling, paving and concrete sawing. The company is pre-qualified by PennDOT, NJDOT, the FAA and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpike Commissions. Having asphalt plants and quarries under the same ownership supports night and off-peak paving schedules on roadway contracts.

Water and wastewater services run from a separate group that handles turn-key plant work and system troubleshooting, pump stations, clarifiers, digesters and sludge dewatering, along with laser and vertical pump alignment, thermal imagery, vibration analysis and 3D scanning and modeling. A 50,000 square foot AWS certified fabrication shop with an on-staff certified welding inspector supports that work. Added services include sewer and manhole inspection, remote camera work and in-house electrical repair. The water and wastewater group can be reached at 215-258-7530, with same-day emergency response available at 844.802.4050.

In-house civil designers and engineers take on design-build and value engineered projects across heavy civil, mining and environmental work, including transportation and structures, site development, raceway facilities and water and wastewater systems.

Environmental, Demolition and Recycling

An engineering and environmental division staffed by engineers, geologists, scientists and technicians handles permitting and air, surface water and groundwater compliance for company facilities, and also takes on outside consulting. Services include spill response, SPCC plan development, site characterization and remediation, Geoprobe services, and mine permitting and compliance.

The demolition group has worked in the Philadelphia metropolitan market since the company's founding, taking on residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and specialized structures using conventional and explosive techniques, with the in-house capacity to process material, recycle it and prepare sites for redevelopment.

Reclamation fill is accepted at PADEP regulated sites including Blooming Glen Quarry, Huckleberry Associates, Miller Quarry, Pyramid Quarry and Sanatoga Quarry. Accepted material includes uncontaminated soil, rock, stone, unpainted brick, block, concrete and used asphalt. Sources above 3,000 cubic yards require lab analysis under PA DEP guidance 563-2000-301, and compliance staff assist with testing, documentation and transportation arrangements.

Materials recycling facilities accept construction and demolition debris, reclaimed asphalt pavement and millings, land clearing and grubbing debris, and broken brick, block and concrete. The Delaware Valley Recycling facility in Philadelphia sorts ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood and shingles.

Emergency Response and Other Services

Emergency crews are available around the clock for fire and structural collapse, flooding, dam breaks, storm damage, sinkholes, mudslides, utility line breaks, forest fires, winter storms and train derailments. Crews, equipment and materials dispatch from the nearest company facility. The emergency line is 1-800-982-8000 and the non-emergency number is 610-584-8500.

Supporting divisions include AWS certified welding and fabrication with CNC pipe and tube plasma cutting, plasma rotary pipe cutting, work in steel, stainless steel and aluminum alloys, SolidWorks 3D custom design, media blasting and industrial coatings, plus on-site field services. The company also handles fuel and heating oil sales and service, auto body repair and vinyl graphics, and promotional products.