PORTLAND – Dragon Cement and Concrete Products’ longtime president, Joseph M. Koch III, died Friday after a long battle with a brain tumor.

For the past 12 years, Koch led the company through major changes, particularly the recent $50 million expansion of the company’s Thomaston cement manufacturing plant on Route 1.

Koch, 55, joined Dragon in 1985 as its chief financial officer and was named president eight years later.

He was active in many community organizations, including serving as chairman of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce in 2001.

Koch played a key role in converting New England’s only cement manufacturing plant to a dry process rather than a wet one. The change was designed to make the plant more energy efficient and cost effective. The modernization also was touted for allowing a 40 percent increase in production.

Soon after Koch became president, he began developing changes in the way the product was shipped to market. In a move away from trucking, Koch developed an intermodal method for transporting cement by an unmanned barge from Thomaston to southern markets in Boston and beyond.

Koch also led Dragon’s move into the computer age.

The company now uses a central dispatch system for delivery of its concrete from its many ready-mix batch plants throughout the state, reducing delays and making delivery more efficient statewide.

Koch, who leaves his wife Susan and two children, Alex and Gretchen, lived in Cumberland.

In January, Koch retired as president of Dragon, saying in a letter to employees that “the last 12 years has been a period of continual successes. This has largely been a result of a team approach, where every employee’s contribution is a part of the teamwork. None of your company’s officers ever forget that each of you make the difference between failure and success.”

Terry Veysey, executive vice president of Dragon, could not be reached Monday for comment.