Shelby Materials has been a family owned company for 50 years. Our heritage stems back into various companies founded and acquired by the Haehl and Wheeler families dating back to the mid 1940s.

Shelby Gravel, circa 1952	Cave Stone Company, circa 1948

John D. Haehl Sr. and Thomas J. Wheeler started in the crushed stone business in 1946 when they founded the Cave Stone Company in Norristown, Indiana. In 1951, Haehl and Wheeler were part of a group that purchased Barker Sand and Gravel, Inc. in Shelbyville, Indiana. After the purchase, the two opened up a ready-mix concrete plant on the property and renamed the company Shelby Gravel, Inc.

Haehl and Wheeler acquired Rushville Ready-Mix in 1954 in Rushville, Indiana. Sixteen years later, they opened Franklin Concrete, located in Franklin, Indiana. In 1977, an additional sand and gravel mine was opened in Johnson County near Edinburgh.

Crane loading a truck, circa 1948	Hammer-mill stone crusher, circa 1948

By 1980, Haehl and Wheeler bought out remaining stockholders in the original company. In addition, Haehl's three sons (John Jr., Philip, and Richard) had bought into the company. During the 1980's, the Haehl family acquired two additional companies: Hi-Hill Ready Mix located in both Columbus, Indiana and Seymour, Indiana and Nashville Concrete Products in Nashville, Indiana. The Haehls purchased Wheeler's remaining stock in Shelby Gravel, Inc. in 1993, gaining complete ownership of the company. Shortly thereafter, Franklin Concrete Materials and Rushville Ready Mix became part of Shelby Gravel.

In 1995, another sand and gravel mine was opened in Shelby County to supply the aggregate needs of the growing company.

Shelby Materials was created in 1997 when the Haehls combined their interests in Shelby Gravel, Inc., Hi-Hill Ready-Mix, and Nashville Concrete Products. The new company supplied a complete range of concrete and aggregate products, and served customers in 7 counties throughout Central and Southern Indiana.

In 1999, Shelby Materials entered the market of metropolitan Indianapolis by opening a plant in the Beech Grove section of Indianapolis. The Beech Grove plant has state of the art technology, including a unique concrete reclamation capability.

In 2002, Johns' one-third ownership was purchased by brothers Phil and Richard, each of them equally controlling the company.

Shelby Materials' most recent expansion is a ready mix plant located in the westside of Indianapolis, Indiana.  Opened in March of 2003, this plant opened to extend our service to a wider range of Indianapolis market area.

Copyright © 2004 Shelby Gravel, Inc. d/b/a Shelby Materials - All rights reserved.