About Us
Our Founder Charles E. "Ted" Reed entered the construction business with his brother George in the 1920's. While operating in the Central Valley of California the hard working brothers stayed active building levees and grading and paving roadways. In the 1930's Ted ventured out on his own turning his focus toward the Road Oil business in the San Jose area. Operating first as Calaveras Construction and then C.E. Reed Company, Ted purchased the same property our Corporate Headquarters sits on today.
Following World War II, our current Chairman of the Board Gerald R. Graham, Sr. joined his father-in-law Ted at C.E. Reed Company. Mr. Graham, a graduate of Santa Clara University helped guide the company into the Asphalt Manufacturing business in 1947.
In the 1950's C.E. Reed Company grew in production and services to the point where in 1955 the Company incorporated as Reed & Graham, Inc. By the end of the decade Reed & Graham, Inc. had erected the fabled “Twin Towers” Hot Plant at their San Jose location. The “Twin Towers” were capable of producing the 100,000 tons of Asphalt per year needed to meet the demands of the growing Santa Clara County.
By the mid 1970's Reed & Graham, Inc. had modernized its San Jose Hot Plant, added a second Hot Plant location in Santa Clara, and grown its Road Oil spreading fleet. The company management team also expanded with the addition of Gerald R. "Gerry" Graham, Jr. and Stephen "Reed" Graham. To combat the rising cost of asphalt and road oil products, Reed & Graham, Inc. installed its first Emulsion Manufacturing Plant. The facility proved so successful that in 1977, under the direction of Norman R. Aguirre, Vice President and General Manager, Reed & Graham, Inc. decided to purchase a facility to distribute emulsion in northern California and, particularly, in the Sacramento area. The distributor fleet and transport fleet were also expanded to boost sales of the products in Sacramento and the entire northern California region.
The early 1980's marked the invention and distribution of OverKote, our trademark asphalt pavement sealer. OverKote continues to be the standard from which others are judged in the Seal Coat Industry.
Increasing raw material costs in the 80's and 90's along with demands from environmental agencies to recycle certain materials prompted Reed & Graham, Inc. to diversify its operations and strategies to remain competitive in the industry. The construction of a crushing plant for the recycling of broken and discarded asphalt was the first step toward alternative technology. The inclusion of Recycled Aggregates in Asphalt Mixes also satisfied environmental concerns by reducing the waste stream of certain discarded sources.
The Geosynthetics Division was formed in the mid 1990's to further Reed & Graham Inc.'s involvement in areas of environmental technologies. Under the leadership of Vice President Dave Smiley, the Geosynthetics Division has been a national leader in Geotextile Sales, Erosion Control Materials and Storm Water Technology.
In June 1996 Gerry Graham, Jr. was named President and Chief Executive Officer and Stephen Reed Graham was named Executive Vice President for the Corporation. With our Third generation of family leadership firmly in place Gerald R. Graham, Sr., who had served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1972 to 1996, ascended to his current position as Chairman of the Board.
President & CEO Gerry Graham Jr.'s renewed vision for long term Company success led to a major San Jose Hot Plant refurbishment in 2010. The 2010 plant upgrades included installation of the latest manufacturing technology and a new aggregate stockpiling system. Additional investments in environmentally efficient technologies have bolstered Reed & Graham Inc.'s commitment to our community.
As we forge forward into a new century the Graham Family strives daily to provide a safe enduring work place for our employees while offering quality products and service to our customers.