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September 19, 2019
ST. LOUIS, MO – It’s a real St. Louis success story for two great business people! After decades of successful leadership at Foreman Fabricators, Brian Foreman is proud to announce his well-earned retirement, and the change of ownership to Vice President, Rob Rolves, effective September 19, 2019. “Rob has been right there with me for almost 30 years, and he’s earned the right to carry on the business as I retire,” says Foreman. “He’s full of ideas that I know will take the company to new heights. I’m excited for him.”
The company started out as the Karl M. Block Company in 1959, and was purchased by Foreman in 1986, when the company was struggling with the loss of its biggest customer. Foreman quickly turned the company around and made it profitable. He introduced job costing processes, improved operational efficiencies, and aggressively grew the customer base. When he started it was a small metal shop with a handful of customers – today Foreman Fabricators serves almost a thousand active customers and is recognized as one of St. Louis’ premier full-service, custom architectural metal fabrication shops. Known for their expertise in custom handrails, ornamental brake metal and more, their work is visible all over town. If you’ve been in any public building or venue in St. Louis, chances are you’ve grabbed a Foreman handrail or seen a custom architectural feature created by Foreman.
Rolves entered the picture in 1990, shortly before the company changed its name to Foreman Fabricators. Under Foreman’s coaching, mentoring and business guidance, Rolves advanced to become the Vice President of the company, a position he’s held since 1995. Together, they’ve quadrupled the size of the company, dramatically expanded its customer base, and built a reputation for top quality work and outstanding service.
Rolves has been responsible for general management and day-to-day operations for over a decade, so customers won’t immediately notice a huge change, but he does have goals and ambitions. He sees more custom short-run manufacturing opportunities in the future and plans to continue to grow their metal fabrication capabilities and services for the commercial construction industry.
“We’ll always be committed to providing top quality custom metal products, delivered on time and on budget,” says Rolves. “It’ll be strange not having Brian in the next room to discuss those big decisions, but I know I’ll still hear his advice in my head as I move forward. I intend to make him proud of Foreman Fabricators for many years to come.”
