Stuart Aldridge, former Branch Manager of MPW’s AK Steel Middletown (Ohio) Works location, retired at the end of May.
Aldridge worked for AK Steel for approximately 30 years before retiring. Aldridge’s subsequent 12-year stint with MPW gave him more than 40 years of working at the Middletown site.
“It’s truly remarkable that Stu came to the same address for 47 years,” said ICG Western District Manager Jeff Van Dyke. “I slept better knowing Stu was at the helm because I knew that AK Steel’s and MPW’s best interests were always well served.”
Pete Trenum, MPW’s Health & Safety Manager, worked with Aldridge as an employee of both AK Steel and MPW.
“The first time I met Stu we were playing baseball together when we were 10 years old,” said Trenum, who has worked for MPW since 2008. “We didn’t hang out together, but we always knew each other.
“Stu understood how to best use the chain of command. He considered himself a site manager who was ultimately responsible for everything MPW did here.” That responsibility included winning ICG’s District of the Year Award for 2012 and MPW’s Green Hat for Safety award in 2009 and 2010.
Trenum, who is also a former AK steel manager, said Aldridge played an important role in growing MPW’s number of employees as well as its offered services.
“Stu brought a lot of stability to the management team,” Trenum said. “His experience and relationships helped MPW in so many ways. He had great rapport with other supervisors from both AK and MPW and was excellent at managing people. And Stu was very safety aware. It was an emphasis of his, and it continues to be an emphasis here.”