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MCLANAHAN

Sean K. McLanahan represents the sixth generation of the business’s family ownership and management.

With McLanahan celebrating its 190th year in 2025, Aggregates Business America sat down with CEO Sean K. McLanahan to discuss a landmark trading year, key milestones, his aspirations for the future, and more.

fter almost two centuries of operation, McLanahan has long been a major global player in aggregates and minerals processing solutions. President and chief executive officer (CEO) Sean K. McLanahan represents the sixth generation of the business’s family ownership and management.

What does McLanahan turning 190 mean to you and your family? Obviously, it is a phenomenal accomplishment for any company to celebrate 190 years of business. For a family business to accomplish that is even more impressive, as usually by the third generation, it starts to get almost impossible due to family dynamics. There must be a significant amount of intentional planning, desire and luck that must occur to ensure a smooth succession from one generation to the next. It’s an absolute honour to be involved in this business. For each generation, we view our time with the company as a caretaker for our employees and the next generation. The goal is to leave the business in a better place for the next generation so that they can grow and succeed.

What do you see as the key milestones in the company’s history? There are two major events that changed the direction of McLanahan. The first was in the 1890s when my great-great-grandfather invented the single roll crusher and log washer to process phosphate for mining operations the family had in Florida. As they travelled between Pennsylvania and Florida, they stopped to visit their mining friends along the way and soon realised they needed process equipment as well. So they changed the company’s direction, from just a foundry operation, and decided to start designing and building process equipment. The second major event was my father Michael McLanahan’s decision to diversify the company’s product offerings in the 1990s. Under his leadership, the company started to aggressively expand product lines, complete acquisitions and add to the geographic areas we served. Today, McLanahan is a diverse company with a wide range of product lines and industries served with a wide global reach, thanks to his vision.

Images: McLanahan

McLanahan celebrates 190 years Was it always the plan to take McLanahan global? How challenging has it been to go worldwide? Over the past 15 years, we have grown substantially – domestically and globally. To some extent, we have to go where the minerals are, so that means we have to widen our reach. Just growing can be challenging, but growing globally is extremely difficult due to the differences in time zones, cultural norms, laws and regulations, just to mention a few. There is so much that has to be learned along the way while also trying to grow the core business. Overall, our employees are proud to design and build equipment that processes materials used to help improve the lives and standard of living of people around the world. How has the business changed with digitalisation and automation? How will that shape McLanahan’s approach? There have been significant changes in the last 20 years in aggregate processing. One focus has been increasing automation and remote monitoring. We have successfully implemented sensors, maintenance software and high-end automation into our equipment. We don’t see that changing as workforce pressure demands that manufacturers keep making equipment smarter and easier to maintain.