A half century ago, J. Don Brock gathered with a handful of his friends to plot out what has become one of the world's biggest asphalt equipment manufacturers.
Around the kitchen table of one of his high school classmates, Gail Mize, Brock brainstormed the idea of Astec Industries along with Norm Smith, Al Guth and Mike Uchytil. Brock, who began welding at age 8 at his father's Industrial Boiler Co. in Bakewell and invented a carpet-dying machine as part of his college thesis, plotted with his friends a five-year business plan.
The venture was launched Aug. 9, 1972, as Astec Industries - a shortened version of asphalt technology, which the group was convinced it could develop and serve the growing road paving industry.
From its start with just five employees and $400,000 of borrowed funds, Astec has grown into a global, billion-dollar manufacturer of equipment for road building and construction related projects.
To mark the company's 50th anniversary, Astec CEO Barry Ruffalo rang the the opening bell Tuesday for trading on the Nasdaq exchange, where Astec Industries' stock has traded since 1986.
"Dr. Brock was an inventor and entrepreneur, and under his leadership, Astec revolutionized the industry with iconic products like the Double Barrel drum asphalt plant and the Shuttle Buggy material transfer vehicle," Ruffalo said Tuesday in an anniversary tribute to the company's founder, who died in 2015 after securing 100 patents. "We carry his spirit of innovation and commitment to customers forward as we evolve our operations to work more efficiently and drive more value through our rock to road portfolio of products."
Ruffalo has headed Astec since 2019, following Brock's son, Ben, who resigned from the company three years ago after heading Astec for nearly five years.
Today, Astec is a one-stop-shop manufacturer of more than 100 products for asphalt road building, aggregate processing and concrete production. The company employs more than 4,000 people with sales and manufacturing operations around the world.
Ruffalo has worked to promote the "rock-to-road" strategy at Astec, designed to simplify and grow the Chattanooga-based business. While Astec is looking to improve sales and margins with the strategy and the new transportation spending measures from Congress, Astec's stock has dropped nearly 40% so far this year after earnings fell below analysts' expectations and higher inflation and interest rates have pushed up prices and created supply chain problems.
After Ruffalo rang the opening bell on the Nasdaq, shares of Astec dipped by 19 cents a share to $41.71, down 0.45%. Astec's decline Tuesday was less than the Nasdaq composite index, which fell Tuesday by 1.19%.
As part of Astec's 50th anniversary celebration, the company announced it is honoring the legacy of its founder by committing $1 million to the Dr. J Don Brock Astec Industries Inc. Memorial Scholarship Endowment established at the University of Tennessee Foundation Inc. Awarded to children and grandchildren of current employees, the scholarship endowment is designed to encourage the study of science, technology, engineering and math.
"Dr. Brock had more than 100 patents to his name. He had a passion for learning, but he also had a reputation for being a great teacher," Ruffalo said. "I can't think of a better way to honor his legacy than encouraging the next generation of innovators at Astec."
- Compiled by Dave Flessner