The Blacklidge family was in the road building business long before Ronnie Blacklidge, Sr. founded Blacklidge Emulsions, Inc. (Blacklidge) in 1990. His grandfather (Bo Blacklidge) owned Harrison County Sand & Gravel Company, which supplied concrete materials for the original construction of Highway 90 in Mississippi. Ronnie, Sr.’s father (Ray Blacklidge) owned BETA Enterprises, Inc.—a heavy civil construction company. Even Ronnie, Sr. himself owned a construction company (Southland Enterprises) before starting Blacklidge.
Blacklidge Emulsions’ first product was an asphalt emulsion that was used to control dust on unpaved surfaces and that could also be used as a prime coat. Blacklidge patented this asphalt emulsion and named it EPR-1 Prime. This product became the DOT standard in Mississippi and other neighboring states in the South. The success of this innovative product allowed for investment into the production of other products including SS-1(Tack Coat) and CRS-2/2P (Chip seal emulsion).
Over the years, Blacklidge expanded its manufacturing capabilities with facilities all over the Southeast, including a multi-million dollar asphalt testing laboratory called BETA. The company continues to innovate, having been awarded multiple patents for its products.
Blacklidge products have been used to pave thousands of roads throughout the Southeast United States, including NASCAR’s Homestead Speedway and the Daytona Speedway.
Brittany Blacklidge (Ronnie, Sr.’s youngest son) has led the company since his father’s retirement in 2009 and now serves as Executive Chairman.
He continues to build on his family’s legacy by ensuring Blacklidge Emulsions creates innovative, reliable, and high performing asphalt products that build better roads make building great roads easy.
