Delta Companies history

A partnership in 1923 among Edward F. Regenhardt and the Harrison brothers, Bob, Charles, and Arthur, led to the establishment of a series of construction and materials companies that would eventually become the Delta Companies Inc.

In 1948, they started a quarry, Southern Illinois Stone Company in Buncombe, Illinois.

In August 1959, the D. L. Harrison Company became only the ninth highway-paving contractor in the nation to pave over one linear mile in one day while performing work on I-57 in Scott County, Missouri.

In 1962, Don Harrison started a separate company based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri called Delta Asphalt Inc., with the establishment of the Cape Girardeau Asphalt Plant.

In 1966, the D.L. Harrison Company began construction operations in Central America, where the company would build roadway projects in the republics of Guatemala and El Salvador, including two sections of the Pan American Highway.

In 1972, Delta expanded into Arkansas with asphalt plants and construction.

Two brothers, F.E. (Gene) and Donald Rhodes, purchased the L.O. Reutzel Company in 1979.

As the work in Central America began to have political problems that affected the company’s operations there, the D.L. Harrison Company sold its interests to a local construction company in 1980.

In 1982, Delta Asphalt performed work in the famed French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In 1987, Delta Concrete, Inc. was formed in Cape Girardeau for the production and sale of ready mix concrete and expanded to cover all of southeast Missouri.

The Delta group of companies became part of Colas Inc. in 1992.

The Delta Companies Inc. was formed as the holding company for Delta operations in 1993.

These Louisiana businesses were sold in 1995.

The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Delta Asphalt of Arkansas purchased two additional asphalt plants in Searcy and Heber Springs, Arkansas, along with a construction operation in 2002 from Vulcan Materials.

In 2004, the John Treece Construction quarry in Clinton, Arkansas was added to Delta Asphalt of Arkansas, producing high-quality sandstone products for use in the regional market, including highway and infrastructure construction projects and well pads for the natural gas industry.

In 2009, Delta returned to the liquid asphalt business, leasing terminals in New Madrid, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee.

Also in 2011, the Delta Companies Inc. acquired Ballou Pavement Solutions, Inc., from sister company Barrett Paving Materials Company and began to perform pavement preservation projects from North Dakota to Texas.

Heartland Asphalt exited the Texas market at the end of 2016.