New Frontier Materials, a company formed last year to acquire companies in the construction materials industry, has purchased Fred Weber’s asphalt and rock quarry assets, giving the new firm more than 20 asphalt and quarry sites.
Sherrod B. (Mike) Clarke is CEO of New Frontier, which lists a New York office in business filings and is backed by a private group of family offices and institutional investors. Clarke is a 35-year veteran of the construction material industry, previously working for Vulcan Materials. Don James, retired chairman and CEO of Vulcan Materials, chairs New Frontier’s board.
In a story in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Clarke said that this is New Frontier’s first acquisition and that the former Fred Weber assets will serve as a base from which to acquire similar businesses in other markets. “It’s a platform to look at other companies in the United States,” Clarke said. “It’s the beginning, it’s our first foray, and we look to add to that.”
Clarke said the management and operations teams for Fred Weber’s quarry and asphalt operations will remain in place.
Fred Weber Inc. will maintain some lines of business and about 175 local employees, while some 300 move under New Frontier.
Fred Weber Inc. was led by members of the Weber family until 1986, when employees purchased the company through an employee stock ownership plan.