Armada Materials launches following Volunteer Materials deal

By Kevin Yanik| October 4, 2023

A construction materials industry veteran partnered with a private equity firm and several others to launch a vertically integrated aggregate business near Nashville, Tennessee.

Rob Duke, who has more than 20 years of industry experience with leadership positions at CRH and Rinker Materials, founded Armada Materials with the support of Kelso & Company, a middle-market buyout private equity firm. Armada says a group of investors that includes other industry veterans is also behind the company.

“I am thrilled to partner with Kelso and our other investors in launching Armada Materials,” says Rob Duke, who now serves as CEO of Armada Materials. “We have assembled a premier group of leaders and advisors with deep industry experience and a shared vision as the acquirer of choice for private owners considering a sale of their business.”

The platform acquisition of Tennessee-based Volunteer Materials and its affiliate companies is central to Armada’s launch. Located in Lewisburg, Tennessee, Volunteer is a vertically integrated producer of aggregates, asphalt, and ready-mixed concrete. The company is also a provider of road paving and striping services in the greater Nashville area.

Volunteer’s affiliates include Volunteer Paving, Volunteer Sand & Gravel, Volunteer Concrete, Action Enterprise Co. and TMC Construction Services. The company has limestone reserves in range of the I-65 corridor south of Nashville.

According to Armada, Travis Raitt is leading its acquisition efforts as executive vice president of business development. Like Duke, Raitt previously held leadership positions at CRH.

“We are excited about our partnership with Rob, Travis and the broader Armada and Volunteer teams,” says Sandy Osborne, a managing director at Kelso. “We believe Armada provides a differentiated partnership solution for owners of infrastructure materials and services businesses.”

Adds Matt Edgerton, another managing director at Kelso: “We are eager to support Armada’s growth, both organically and through acquiring top-tier companies like Volunteer.”