Innovator Gary Godbersen Inducted into ARTBA Foundation Hall of Fame
2023 & 2022 Hall Classes Inducted During May 15 Dinner in Nation’s Capital
(WASHINGTON) – Gary Godbersen, a pioneer in the concrete slipform paving industry, is the sole inductee into the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Foundation’s 2023 “Transportation Development Hall of Fame.”
The Hall “honors individuals or families from the public and private sectors who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. transportation development during their careers.”
Godbersen was selected in the Innovators category, which recognizes men and women who discovered or created a “game changing” product or process that significantly advanced transportation design, construction and/or safety.
Godbersen’s career began in 1963 when he took on leadership roles in two family businesses—president of Highway Bridge Inc., and vice president of Godbersen-Smith Construction Company.
In 1965, Gary and his father, Harold, created Godbersen Manufacturing Company (GOMACO) to manufacture bridge deck finishing machines, including the RC-120 side-discharge conveyor, the F-500 double-oscillating screed finisher, and the Spanit Work Bridge.
The Iowa company grew to include manufacturing a full line of concrete paving equipment— grade trimmers, material handling placers, placer/spreaders, and surface texturing and curing machines—and became a worldwide leader in concrete paving technology. Godbersen held several domestic and international patents for new machine innovations, and served as GOMACO’s chairman, president, and CEO for nearly 40 years.
In 2002, as part of ARTBA’s 100th anniversary, Godbersen was named to the list of the nation’s “Top 100 Private Sector Transportation & Design Construction Professionals of the 20th Century.”
The 2023 and 2022 Hall of Fame Classes were honored May 15 at a special dinner in the Nation’s Capital during ARTBA’s Federal Issues Program.
The 2022 class, which was announced last year, includes: Pennsylvania highway contractor Donald B. Stabler, Utility & Transportation Contractors Association (UTCA) of New Jersey CEO Robert A. Briant, Jr., E-Z Pass co-founder James “JJ” Eden, and iron plow inventor John Deere.
Established in 1985, the ARTBA Foundation is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity designed to “promote research, education and public awareness” about the impacts of transportation investment. It supports an array of initiatives, including educational scholarships, awards, management and education programs, roadway work zone safety training and certificates, special economic research and reports, and an exhibition on transportation at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
