Badger Mining Corporation PRODUCT/SERVICE:
Provider of premium northern-white industrial raw and coated silica sand HEADQUARTERS:
Berlin YEAR FOUNDED:
1949
TOP: Badger Mining has offices in Berlin (pictured) and Taylor.
FOUNDER:
CENTER: Former Badger Mining
Clifford A. Chier
Corporation leaders George Hess and Tom Stark.
CURRENT FAMILY LEADERS:
BOTTOM: Clifford Chier founded what is
Lori Phillippi and Mark Hess, advisory team
now Badger Mining Corporation in 1949.
WEBSITE:
badgerminingcorp.com
between the different departments. We don’t have a rigid hierarchy at all.� Clifford A. Chier founded C.A. Chier Sand Company in 1949 with a single sand mining operation near Fairwater in Fond du Lac County. When Chier retired in 1979, his son, Russell Chier, and son-in-law, George Hess, formed a new partnership and incorporated the business as Badger Mining Corporation. The two families retain ownership of the company, which has about 360 employees. Currently, 12 family members work for Badger Mining. From that initial Fairweather operation, the company has grown to include offices in Berlin and Taylor, sand processing facilities in Fairweather, Taylor and Alma Center and three coating facilities in Taylor and Merrillan. The company also has 28 transload facilities across the United States and Canwisconsinfamilybiz.com
ada. In 2015, Atlas Resin Proppants merged with Badger Mining, bringing resin coated sand into the company’s product portfolio. Phillippi said the company’s leadership style harkens back to when her grandfather, Clifford Chier, ran the company. On Friday nights, employees would go out together for fish fry and talk about the past week and what was coming up the next. But in the early 1980s, Badger Mining experienced tremendous growth, and as outside business professionals came in, that connection deteriorated. “It led to a hierarchical strategy, and silos started going up,� Phillippi said. “That wasn’t our culture or who we are.� In 1985, Badger Mining leaders changed course and adopted its network management style. The approach has worked well for them as the company continues to grow.
“We’re not your typical company. We even changed our bylaws so we can’t have a CEO,� Phillippi said. “That’s something that rarely happens.� Badger Mining’s coaching program is another unique part of its culture. Every employee is assigned a coach. This coach, who is similar to a manager in other businesses, is a go-to person workers can talk to when they have a problem or question. The coach also provides feedback on how the employee is doing. For example, Brandon Hess, a fourth-generation family member is a leader at Badger’s Fairwater Plant and coaches one of his cousins. Although they are family, Hess said that connection hasn’t made a difference. “People here work really well together, .........BADGER CONTINUED ON PAGE 35 2017 WISCONSIN FAMILYBIZ
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