William Harrison’s sons, Arthur, Charles and Edward and Regenhardt’s sons, Ted, Edward and William, Sr., took over ownership of the company in the 1930s. In the early 1950s, ownership passed to Donald L. Harrison and William Regenhardt, Jr., Thomas Regenhardt and Joe Regenhardt.
The company became one of the largest concrete paving companies in the Midwest between 1952-1966 due to its work on many miles of interstate highways in Missouri and Illinois. In August 1959, the company paved over a linear mile in one day on I-57 in Scott County, Mo., becoming only the ninth highway-paving contractor in the nation to accomplish this feat.
In 1962, Delta Asphalt, Inc., was formed to provide the Missouri market with asphalt and contracting services. Southeast Missouri Stone Company was established in 1964 to provide aggregates for this and other operations. During the mid 1960s as the interstate program came to an end in this area the company began converting from predominantly concrete construction to the asphalt industry it is today.
From 1966-1980, a division of the Delta Companies, the D.L. Harrison Company built five sections of the Pan American Highway in the republics of Guatemala and El Salvador. Terrorism activities in El Salvador prompted the sale of the company to a local business in 1980.
New Orleans needed the company’s services in the 1980s. The streets in the city’s famed French Quarter needed resurfacing before the World’s Fair and the Delta Companies did most of the work.
Delta Concrete was formed in 1987 and the Delta Companies entered the ready mix business. In 1998, they added another ready mix plant in Fruitland.
In 1993, the companies were sold to COLAS, Inc., based in Morristown, N.J. Since then, the Delta Companies have grown significantly starting with the purchase in 1997 of Baughn Construction in Arkansas, which added asphalt plants in Tuckerman and Black Rock.
Clinton Companies were purchased in 1999, which added six ready mix plants in Southeast Missouri, a limestone quarry in Williamsville, Mo., and Brown Sand & Gravel in Dexter. Clinton Materials, Inc., has since grown to 10 ready mix plants.
In 2002, Delta Asphalt of Arkansas purchased two additional asphalt plants in Searcy and Heber Springs and the construction operations of Vulcan Materials.
Delta has played a key role in a joint venture supplying concrete for the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge project. The joint venture was involved in the largest continuous concrete pour in the history of the Missouri Department of Transportation supplying nearly 5,000 cubic yards. The bridge has required about 60,000 yards of concrete for the structure and about 5,000 yards of silica fume surface mix over pre-stressed deck panels.
Today you cannot enter Cape Girardeau on any interstate or highway that the Delta Companies did not play a significant role in its construction.
Delta employs 325 to a seasonal high 600 employees in southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast and central Arkansas. Revenues exceed $100,000,000 annually. Its customer base includes the state highway departments of Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas as well as area cities, counties and hundreds of contractors and businesses.
As further testament to the local significance of Delta Companies Inc., is its continued commitment to local civic projects such as YELL, Riverfest, youth baseball, softball and soccer, United Way, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Special Olympics and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.
The business college at Southeast Missouri State University, the Donald L. Harrison College of Business, is named for Donald L. Harrison, who served as president and majority owner of Delta Companies for nearly 40 years and served on the university’s Board of Regents, five years as president.
