The Barbour family (from left) Amy Burnett, Jim Barbour and Dan Barbour pose during NPCA’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2015.
By Joe Frollo
Forterra today announced that it has acquired Barbour Concrete Company and Barbour Building Systems, a manufacturer of precast concrete products used in drainage, stormwater, utility and other infrastructure applications.
Based in Independence, Mo., Barbour primarily serves the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. For the past 75 years, Barbour has provided products and service while also being a leader in the National Precast Concrete Association.
According to a press release, Forterra expects to continue operating as Barbour Concrete and Barbour Building Systems for the foreseeable future. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
“We expect Barbour will accelerate Forterra’s growth in the precast concrete markets and strengthen our position in the growing Kansas City region,” Forterra CO Karl Watson said. “This will position us well to continue growing our business in the surrounding area as well, specifically the Greater Omaha market.”
“After 75 years and four generations of innovations, achievements and leadership in the precast industry, it was the vision of Jim Barbour, through his estate plan, to solidify our future through this acquisition by Forterra,” Dan Barbour and Amy Burnett said in a release. “With this life-changing event, we are grateful and excited to be able to offer new opportunities to our employees, who are our most valuable assets, and expanded resources for manufacturing and service to our customers.”
Jim Barbour, who died in 2018, was a charter member of NPCA when the association was founded in 1965. He served as the organizations’ fourth chairman of the board in 1969 and earned the Yoakum Award in 1974, given annually to an individual who has made significant long-term contributions to NPCA’s mission and advancing the precast concrete industry. He retired in 1996.
Jim’s wife, Daneen, was instrumental in establishing NPCA educational programming and the NPCA Foundation. She also earned the Yoakum Award in 1994. Following her death in 1996, the family created the Daneen Barbour scholarship, which is given annually to a postgraduate student studying a precast-related field.
Dan Barbour joined his father as a Yoakum Award winner in 2010 and also is a past chairman of the board. Amy also served on the NPCA Board of Directors.
Barbour Concrete was most recently featured in the 2021 Quarter 1 issue of NPCA’s Precast Inc. magazine.
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