Standard Examiner - Two Utah firms reunite efforts

by The Standard Examiner

OGDEN -- Fifty years after parting ways, two companies that have been fixtures of the local construction market have once again joined together.

Ogden-based Staker & Parson Cos. recently purchased the assets of Brigham City-based Fife Rock Products Co. for an undisclosed amount, in a deal that officially closed March 25.

The founders of both companies, Douglas J. Fife and Jack B. Parson, formed Parson and Fife Construction Co. in the mid-1940s, a partnership that lasted until 1955.

"My grandfather would be pleased to know these fine businesses have been reunited after all these years," John Parson, chief executive of Staker & Parson Cos. said in a news release.

Fife Rock Products is involved in an array of construction services, primarily asphalt paving and ready-mixed concrete. The acquisition boosts Staker & Parson's ability to serve asphalt, concrete and gravel customers, which comprises the company's core business, said Rocky Woodruff, Staker & Parson chief financial officer.

Fife's gravel pit in Brigham City was the most attractive feature to Staker & Parson, Woodruff said. Fife also had offices in Ogden, which Woodruff said may no longer be necessary following the acquisition.

"They have a very nice gravel source in Brigham City that will be useful to us in the future," he said. "We want to be the preferred source for customers, and this deal furthers our ability to do that."

Woodruff said Fife approached Staker & Parson several months ago with a desire to sell. Fife officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

At the time of the acquisition, Fife employed about 20, but at the peak of the busy summer season, its work force was about 70.

Through its subsidiaries, Staker & Parson Cos. employs about 2,000 in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest. Its combined family of companies consists of Fife Rock Products; Jack B. Parson Cos. in Cache Valley; Idaho Sand & Gravel Co. and Idaho Concrete Co. in southern Idaho; Western Rock
Products in Cedar City; and Klamath Pacific Co. in Klamath Falls, Ore.

Woodruff said company revenue is expected to reach about $420 million this year.

Staker & Parson is owned by Washington, D.C.-based Oldcastle Materials Inc., a division of Ireland-based construction conglomerate CRH PLC. The company was formed in 2001 with the merger of Jack B. Parson Cos. and Salt Lake City-based Staker Paving and Construction. Both were owned by Oldcastle
Materials at the time of the merger.
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