PRODUCERS – NOVEMBER 2019




Rodney Grogan
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Craig Fleming

Birmingham, Ala.-based Dunn Investment Co., parent of one of America’s oldest contracting businesses and holding company of multiple operating businesses located throughout the Southeast, has promoted two 25-year veterans from their vice president posts. Rodney Grogan, who served as 2017 National Ready Mixed Concrete Association chairman, has been named executive vice president of Dunn Investment Western Operations, including Mississippi and Louisiana ready mixed producers MMC Materials and Bayou Concrete, plus Huey P. Stockstill, Dunn Roadbuilders and Dunn Utility Products. His counterpart in Dunn Investment Eastern Operations, Craig Fleming, will be responsible for Dunn Construction, Dunn Building Co., Civil Constructors and Couch Aggregates.

Nicky Hartery, chairman of the CRH Americas and Oldcastle parent company, will retire at the end of December after eight years in the post and with recognition from Chief Executive Albert Manifold for “significant contributions, including stewardship following the financial crisis and overseeing the reshaping of [our] portfolio and ongoing business improvement initiatives.”

Hartery’s successor, Richard Boucher, will take the helm of CRH Plc in January. He has chaired the Renumeration Committee since September 2018, and brings a background in senior management roles with Ulster Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Ireland Group, serving as chief executive of the latter from 2009-2017.

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David Bloxom

David Bloxom, chairman of Fort Worth, Texas-based architectural, structural and utility precast producer Speed Fab-Crete Corp., has been named DBIA Fellow, the Design-Build Institute of America’s highest level of certification. The Institute credits him as a champion for the design-build method who has helped deliver hundreds of such projects in his four-plus decades with Speed-Fab Crete. A past DBIA president and current Southwest Region director, Bloxom also plays a vital role in helping the certification process grow as a DBIA Certified Instructor for the Professional Certification Program and Design-Build Certification Board member.

“Design-build is the fastest growing and most popular delivery method in our nation’s architecture, engineering and construction industry. Much of that success is driven by the incredible leadership of design-build innovators like those elevated to the DBIA College of Fellows. The addition of new DBIA Fellows in 2019 is just one indicator of the depth of experience and passion for collaboration which drives design-build’s success nationwide,” says Jim Whitaker, FAIA, FDBIA of Dallas-based architect HKS Inc.

A top player in natural stone, Quebec-based Polycor Inc. continues its growth program with the acquisition of Elliott Stone Company Inc., Bedford, Ind.-based quarrier and fabricator of Indiana limestone. The deal expands Polycor’s ability to deliver the most comprehensive offering of natural stone building products for the hardscapes and masonry segments.

The arrival of Elliott Stone technologies, processes and industry know how dovetails an exciting time of growth, notes Polycor West President Matt Howard, “as our business continues to grow, not only from a product offering standpoint, but from an innovation and experience perspective as well.”

“Elliott Stone has a long and proud heritage, so as part of this transition we wanted to find someone who shared our same principles and values,” adds Brian Elliott, president. “Polycor has an unmatched reputation in the industry and I’m confident our synergies will contribute to the overall success of the business.”

Management has begun integration of the two companies’ facilities, employees and accounts management platforms to ensure a smooth transition that will deliver value for all partners and stakeholders. Among benefits Elliott Stone will bring to Polycor is scheduling reliability owing to continuous operation afforded by extraction activities from primarily from an underground limestone deposit.

LafargeHolcim Ltd. has announced the transition of Magali Anderson, a French national and mechanical engineer who joined the producer as head of Health and Safety in 2016, to the role of inaugural chief sustainability officer. “We are uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of our industry and must continue challenging ourselves to create value for all our stakeholders while helping the world build as sustainably and safely as possible,” she notes.

“This will accelerate our vision of running our operations with zero harm to people and contributing to a built environment that will be carbon neutral, fully recyclable, and with a positive environmental impact,” adds LafargeHolcim CEO Jan Jenisch.

Solidia Technologies in Piscataway, N.J., has appointed Doug Robinson as chief financial officer and Paul Majsztrik as director of Applied Research. Coupled with recent board of directors appointments, the new leaders bring expertise in policy, finance and commercialization to the developer of cement and concrete technologies capable of sharply reducing carbon dioxide emissions when measured against conventional materials and methods.

“Our investors want us to grow faster and have greater impact faster,” says Solidia CEO Tom Schuler. “The technology has been proven. The science is done and has been scaled up over 50 times around the world. We have proven that it works on commercial scale, and it is being sold in the market today. Doug and Paul add critical expertise and experience to our team that will help drive global commercial adoption.”

Vulcan Materials Co. has named Denson D. Franklin III as senior vice president and general counsel, effective December. He will arrive with 20-plus years at Vulcan Materials’ primary outside counsel, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, most immediately within the Corporate and Securities Practice Group. A Vanderbilt University Law School graduate, he succeeds the retired Michael Mills.

“We are fortunate to bring [Denson Franklin III] in-house to add his experience and perspective from years counseling companies, large and small, on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, compliance, securities issues and overseas operations,” notes Vulcan Chairman Tom Hill.

Separately, Melissa Anderson, executive vice president and chief human resources officer with Duke Energy Corp., has been appointed to the Vulcan Board. She is one of 10 independent directors on the 11-member board, and will serve on the Compensation and Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs Committees.

Valley Village, Calif.-based Treeium Inc. has announced a partnership between a recently formed division and a key hardscape unit producer in the U.S. and Canada, Techo-Bloc. The partnership positions Treeium Outdoor Living as the producer’s only California dealer, ensuring access to a range of unique concrete pavement and wall products.

“It is something special to be the one and only; a part of our goal as an organization has always been to expand our reach and offer as many top of the line, world class products to our clients while still maintaining the care and customer focused relationships we here at Treeium have built a foundation on,” says Kob Dan, division president. “There has been a lot of work and effort put forth by our team to assist in facilitating this partnership.”