As a leading provider of diversified minerals solutions, Covia is committed to safely delivering the right products, to the right place, and on time. The Thompson, Ohio facility serves as a prime example of this dedication.
Thompson became a part of Covia’s expansive network of facilities when it acquired the silica sand mining operation from R.W. Sidley in March 2024. The addition of the plant and its reserves marked an opportunity for Covia to expand capacity, deliver a broader range of products and services, and strengthen long-term supply availability.
Read on to see how the team led by Plant Manager Paul Kimmy is growing Covia’s capabilities in specialized markets.
Supporting Courses Across the Country from Northeast Ohio
Golf sand is one of the Thompson plant’s largest product categories. This includes PRO/ANGLE®, a 100% angular bunker sand designed to support golf courses where stability, infiltration, durability, and consistent playing conditions matter.
Thompson’s golf sands are mined from deposits originally formed by glaciers. As these glaciers moved through the Great Lakes region, they left conglomerates containing silica quartz sand and gravel. Today, those deposits provide the raw material behind golf products used on courses across the country.
At Thompson, that connection between local geology and specialized end uses is part of what gives the plant its identity. The same operation that mines and processes materials for golf also produces products ranging from gravel to much finer material for a variety of other applications.
Building a Stronger Platform for Water Filtration
Commercial water filtration projects may require a different approach for Covia than markets built around recurring orders of a single product. For instance, a water filtration project may need multiple layers of sand and gravel, each with particular specifications regarding characteristics such as particle size and uniformity. Since these materials work together within the filtration system, careful coordination is essential. The customer faces challenges from any misalignment. Timing is also critical, as material needs to be coordinated with the project schedule so that work on the filtration system can proceed as planned. Read more about how Covia ensures the necessary filtration media are available before work begins.
Covia was already active in water filtration before the Thompson acquisition, but the facility added another dimension to those capabilities. Thompson can deliver products with several material gradations instead of forcing customers to coordinate delivery of each layer separately. The facility’s packaging operation also adds another level of flexibility.
Mineral Solutions Backed by People
The unique qualities of Thompson’s deposit provide a foundation for the facility’s products, but it takes dedicated team members to turn those minerals into innovative products. The plant has 38 people on staff, with Paul Kimmy leading the team as plant manager.
Paul first joined Covia’s Chardon, Ohio, plant as summer help while attending college. He eventually accepted a full-time position in 2010 while finishing his biology degree, working the night shift in the bag plant. Over the following years, Paul worked in several production roles, including bagging, gravel drying, sand drying, loading, wash-plant operations, and maintenance.
Along the way, he also traveled to other Covia sites to assist with startups and operating needs. Because he had worked across production, maintenance, heavy equipment, welding, and electrical responsibilities, his ability to step into different roles and understand their challenges made him an ideal fit to become operations manager at Chardon, followed by his current role as plant manager at Thompson.
That experience influences how he approaches leadership at Thompson today. He favors straightforward communication and wants employees to understand not only what is being asked of them, but why.
I’m very open, and I don’t hide things from people. I don’t want people to tiptoe around anything, so I jump right in and address whatever needs to be addressed. It’s been my personality my entire life,” Paul said with a laugh.
That direct, transparent approach has been especially important as Thompson has become more fully integrated into Covia.
Investing in Thompson’s Foundation
For Paul, one of the most important aspects of the Thompson plant’s transition has been setting expectations for operating as a Covia facility. The Thompson plant’s initial goal was to ensure that it met the same standards as other Covia facilities.
A major early priority was dust collection. Covia made significant investments across Thompson’s screening, bagging, and drying operations, along with capital work to repair mobile equipment and address other facility needs. From there, Paul is excited to make the leap to process improvements and build on that foundation.
Those investments are important on their own, but Paul sees the larger change as cultural.
“One of the most important priorities is bringing Covia’s strong safety culture to the site,” he said. “We wanted to ensure that Covia’s commitment to safety is evident in everything we do.”
For Paul, building that culture also requires transparency, which naturally aligned with his straightforward approach. He and Thompson’s leadership team share information with employees about projects, site performance, business conditions, and where the operation is headed. The goal is to give employees context for the procedures and expectations that affect their daily work.
“What I’m most proud of at Thompson is that we’ve implemented a safety culture and really drove it home,” Paul explained. “I think it’s easier if you’re pretty open about those things to get people to buy into what you’re doing and why you’re doing things.”
That focus on explaining the “why” reflects a leadership perspective shaped by years spent in production, maintenance, and management roles. Paul knows what operational requirements look like from the other side, and he understands the value of connecting a procedure or investment to its larger purpose.
Making an Impact Beyond the Plant
Thompson’s connection to its surroundings extends outside the operation as well.
The team has taken part in community work connected with The Covia Foundation, which supports employee volunteerism and charitable involvement in communities where Covia operates. The Foundation provides programs including paid volunteer time and resources that help sites support local organizations and community needs.
At Thompson, those efforts can be local, including sending representatives to Covia’s annual Stars, Stripes, and Links outing specifically designed to enable injured combat veterans to enjoy golf as a form of rehabilitation. Some efforts even stem from encounters with others in the community, as Paul ran into the person charged with mowing public properties in Thompson and learned that she needed some help. That conversation quickly turned into plans for Thompson employees to clean up trash around Thompson Square and a local cemetery, while committing to help at upcoming community events.
This is just one example, but it reflects the practical mindset that Paul brings to the plant: identify what is needed, bring people together, and start working.
Writing Thompson’s Next Chapter
The facility has already broadened Covia’s golf portfolio, strengthened its commercial water filtration capabilities, and added another Northeast Ohio operation that can work in tandem with other plants. Behind those market opportunities is a team capable of managing the details that specialized products demand, whether that means producing golf sand, assembling a multi-grade filtration order, or coordinating a highly specific shipment.
With the foundational work of Thompson’s integration well underway, Paul and his team are increasingly turning their attention toward what comes next. That next chapter begins with the same minerals that lay beneath the plant today, combined with a growing set of capabilities and a team focused on making the most of them.
