Pit & Quarry, February 2018
William J Sandbrook Before leading U S Concrete this industry veteran earned four masters degrees and taught at the U S Military Academy EDITED BY DARREN CONSTANTINO illiam J Bill Sandbrook is vice chairman president and CEO of U S Concrete a publicly traded company with several aggregate operations Since arriving at U S Concrete in July 2011 Sandbrook has taken the companys price per share from under 2 to around 83 as of press time This accomplishment is even more remarkable considering the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 Upon his arrival Sandbrook realized U S Concrete suffered from a culture of centralized decision making thus stripping local management of both responsibility and accountability for results In order to overcome that it was imperative he listen to employees so he could provide them the tools they needed to thrive as well as provide support for decentralized decision making Sandbrook developed a personal connection with as many of his employees as possible spending 80 percent on his time on the road his first year at U S Concrete traveling the country to meet with employees at many of the companys operations He re instituted the principle of accountability which has been a fundamental part of U S Concretes improvement efforts Suddenly the companys employees were responsible for their own decisions again and were rewarded for their efforts In addition Sandbrooks remarkable turnaround effort at the company involved selling off low margin businesses precast concrete and concrete block and refocusing the company on producing ready mixed concrete in four core markets with high barriers to entry and population growth New York City San Francisco Dallas and Washington D C Today U S Concrete holds the top market position in the New York metropolitan area a top two position in Dallas and a top three spot in Washington Sandbrook used the proceeds from those dispositions to acquire a readymix business in San Francisco which set the course for a turnaround as it symbolized the company was ready to be a major player in the industry again buying at a time when no one else was The company has made more than 20 acquisitions under his leadership and his leadership qualities go beyond U S Concrete He was named the Rockland County New York 2002 Business Leader of the Year the Dominican College 50 PIT QUARRY February 2018 pitandquarry com PHOTOS COURTESY OF U S CONCRETE Bill Sandbrook is an outdoorsman who enjoys hunting and fishing While teaching at West Point Sandbrook also served as a social aid to President Ronald Reagan
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