Meet Your Partners in Growth Series: Jeremy Bowman

Jeremy Bowman, Director of Engineering and Projects

Holloway’s Director of Engineering and Projects, Jeremy Bowman, always has his eye on the horizon, looking for what’s next and will help Holloway continue its mission to be a full circle company. And this excitement toward the future and new initiatives is exactly what any company wants from someone who is charged with leading projects.

“I am not content with the status quo,” Bowman says. “I think it’s exciting that we at Holloway are always looking for the next venture and the next thing.”

Bowman knew Dan Allen, Holloway’s COO, and he knew Holloway was a fast-growing company. He wanted to try something different and being a part of the ag industry was very exciting for him since he grew up in Bakersfield and knows how important the industry is to the area.

“I’ve always had an appreciation for ag and I knew Holloway was looking into bigger and better things. I was very intrigued by the growth and new projects that Holloway was undertaking,” Bowman says on his reasons for coming to Holloway.

For the past two years, Bowman has had his hand in virtually everything operationally at The Holloway Group. For Holloway Ag, Bowman is tasked with mapping, inventorying, and calculating the volumes of gypsum stored at the mine and other satellite locations, as well as overseeing layout and design of new gypsum mining pits. As part of this he is also tasked with locating the underground gypsum deposits that will be mined for decades to come. For Holloway Environmental, he handles all the permitting and paperwork for the mine reclamation, tracks the volumes of the landfill, and monitors things like groundwater and gas emissions.

The best part of the job is utilizing the latest technologies to support all of my job functions.  This includes flying drones to identify areas of concern for crop health and for calculating inventory of our agricultural products.  Survey grade GPS is used alongside the drones to pinpoint gypsum deposits at the mine along with laying out planned crop plantings.

“It is so interesting how all of our operations tie together,” Bowman says. “You wouldn’t think the landfill operation would have much to do with farming, but it really does. The pits are made from mining gypsum for the farmers and then part of the pits are reclaimed for composting using green waste from the farmers.”

The newest project that Bowman and his team are working on that will make that intertwine even stronger is a compost facility which will take green waste and various forms other organic matter. This will then be composted and made available to growers as rich fertilizer.

“I am very excited about the new projects and ventures that will be coming online in the next 18 to 24 months,” Bowman says. “It will be a huge advancement to our goal of making all of Holloway’s products full circle.”

To make all of that happen, Bowman and his team work with the surrounding cities and counties to figure out ways to handle the various waste streams. There are lots of ways to be creative to make sure they are in compliance and also getting the work done.

“We want to be part of the solution by building a compost facility and thermal conversion facility that can handle the material and turn it into something useful for the farmers of the Central Valley,” Bowman says.

Bowman spent five years as the Deputy Director of Public Works for the City of Wasco, so he is very familiar with and comfortable working within local and state regulations. Prior to that, Bowman worked for civil engineering firms for 10 years where he leaned heavily on his project management skills. He also has a degree in geography from UC Santa Barbara. Now in his role at Holloway, he is able to marry all facets of his background.

“I get to combine all the skill sets I’ve learned in other roles and I get to use my degree in geography a lot with the mines, so I guess you could say I’ve come back to my roots working on creating this full-circle waste stream,” Bowman laughs.

He also appreciates that his appetite for upsetting the status quo and looking for new and innovative projects and ways to do things is embraced at Holloway.

“We all share ideas and I enjoy talking to the other employees,” Bowman says. “Everyone has a unique background and good ideas to share. We have an open-door and open-forum policy where people can present ideas without judgement, and I really like that.”

When he is not being a solutions finder and “what if” thinker, you can find Bowman cheering loudly at a Dodger’s game with his family, or spending time in nature camping, hiking or fishing.

At Holloway, we love having team members who think outside the box and aren’t afraid to try new things that move us closer to our mission of becoming a fully sustainable, full-circle company.