Mr. Michael Hammer was born in St. Louis. His father, Robert, was a civil engineer who moved with his family to many construction projects.

Michael would reside in Virginia, South Dakota and finally in Bethlehem. He graduated from Freedom High School in 1975. While attending Northampton Community College, he was hired by Keystone Cement Company as a lab technician.

"I always wanted to be a cement chemist and was fortunate to be hired by Hercules now Buzzi Unicem in 1985 and earn a chemistry degree from Muhlenberg College," he said.

Valuable experience was gained by working with George and Raymond Ayres in the plant laboratory. George had been both in World War II and Korea with the Army Corps of Engineers.

He said, "I started in technical services working on cement mix designs used in the construction industry, this has taken me to many job sites in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut." Some of the projects Michael has worked on include the Penn-Forest Dam for Bethlehem, Route 81, Bob Casey Highway, the $100 million Parryville bridge across the Lehigh River and numerous projects in the Tri-State area.

Presently, he serves in two capacities both as manager of technical services and Lehigh Valley sales manager. He said, "We see that our cement meets high standards and monitor how our customers use it." Cement is to "concrete as flour is to bread" but it must be used properly. I usually travel 30,000 miles annually to consult with customers and resolve any problems.

Mr. Hammer serves on a PennDOT transportation committee in Harrisburg and is a member of numerous cement associations. An amiable man, he enjoys working with customers who he calls "salt of the earth people."

His experiences are utilized at Lehigh Carbon Community College where for the last 10 years, he has taught a course in cement and concrete for their building trades degree.

I found Mr. Hammer to be dedicated to our local cement industr, a professional friendly man with a wealth of technical knowledge.

He works closely with his supervisor, Perry Snyder, and a multitude of loyal customers.

Michael has been married to the former Carol Willison for 37 years. They are proud of son, Jacob, daughter, Jennifer, and granddaughter, Amelia. The 30-year Buzzi Unicem employee enjoys both dirt biking and hunting. The family resides in Bethlehem.

We hope 2015 will be both a safe and prosperous year for Mr. Hammer and all my friends at the Stockertown plant.