Former Astec CEO buys equipment maker JBK
Ben Brock, the former president and CEO of Astec Industries, Inc., who left the company his father founded 18 months ago, is reentering the asphalt paving business by buying a 30-year-old equipment maker and distributor based in Georgetown, Tennessee.
Brock has acquired JBK Enterprises, Inc., an equipment maker that supplies parts for ompanies like Astec. JBK was founded in 1990 by Jack Baldwin Kibler Jr., who died last year at the age of 74, as an equipment manufacturer and after-market parts supplier for hot mix asphalt plant owners.
The company has been renamed this month to BROCK following the ownership change, and Brock has brought in a seasoned team of executives who he said should help the business grow, especially as the economy recovers following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and if Congress approves a major new highway spending package.
Brock bought the company from Lori Stafford, the daughter of the company founder. Brock said he was eager to pursue another business in the asphalt industry
“I decided I was still young and had a lot of energy and the asphalt industry is what I know and grew up in,” said Brock, the 49-year-old owner of the company. Brock has worked in the hot mix asphalt equipment industry since 1993. His father, Dr. J. Don Brock, was the founder, president and CEO of Astec Industries Inc. from 1972 to 2013.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Lori Stafford said her father started JBK “with a vision to provide quality equipment and parts to an industry he loved, and he was successful in his effort.
“With the sale of JBK to Ben, I know the company will continue to grow in the right way,” she said.
Prior to his role as CEO of Astec, Brock was the head of two different Astec divisions that supplied equipment to the hot mix asphalt industry.
“I’m very excited to be back in the asphalt industry with this acquisition,” he said. “I’m also very excited about our team — a collection of successful industry veterans who have all worked together at one point or another over the years and carry a combined 178 years’ experience.”
Joining Brock at the company are Travis Sneed, who is vice president of sales and operations; Robin Leffew, who is chief financial officer; Anthony Caldwell, who is director of manufacturing and construction; Greg Stafford, who is manager of inside operations, and Jeff Beavers, who is manager of drafting.
FourBridges Capital Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Brock, structuring and negotiating the deal on his behalf. Baker Donelson provided legal counsel to Brock.