There was a time when Wilford Clyde did not see himself being involved in the family business. By the late 1970s, when he neared graduation from Brigham Young University, W.W. Clyde, the heavy civil construction company founded by his grandfather, had spawned a collection of construction-related businesses ranging from ready-mix concrete, lumber and hardware supply to bonding and insurance—all with Clyde family members involved in some way. That firm has now become Clyde Cos., with an estimated $2.5 billion in revenue and nearly 5,000 employees, largely under Wilford Clyde’s leadership.

“I wasn’t going to be a construction guy. I got my degree in accounting,” says Clyde, company chairman and its former president and CEO, from a spacious office at the firm’s Orem, Utah, headquarters. “I’d always liked working summer construction jobs, but I had an older brother Paul who I saw being out on jobs all week and he only saw his family on weekends, and I knew I didn’t really want that,” he explains. “I had older cousins that were involved with the business ahead of me and it just didn’t seem like there was the right opportunity.”

Geneva Rock was instrumental in construction of City Creek Center, a project that changed the face of downtown Salt Lake City.
Photo courtesy of Clyde Cos.

But his father, Blaine, president of W.W. Clyde at the time, saw an opportunity for his son at Geneva Rock, the ready-mix and aggregate company Clyde’s grandfather formed in 1954. Wilford Clyde became Geneva's first full-time accountant in 1977 and began a 46-year career trajectory that included 20 years as the leader of the collective Clyde Cos.

The organization expanded under his leadership, acquiring nearly 40 companies from around the Intermountain and Great Plains regions and “bolting them on to our existing businesses,” says Clyde, who retired as president and CEO at age 70 in February 2023.

Clyde (pictured with wife, Natalie) was twice elected mayor of his hometown Springville, Utah. Clyde family roots there extend back to 1850, and both his uncle and grandfather were town mayors.
Photo courtesy of Clyde Cos.

Authentic Leader

Rich Thorn, himself recently retired from a 41-year career as president and CEO of the Utah chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, not only worked with Clyde professionally, but also grew up with him in the town of Springville, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City.

“I used to watch him as a kid playing sports, and I knew his family,” Thorn says. “Something that has always impressed me is he’s a tremendous leader, not just a balance sheet guy. He got his hands dirty and has worked in the field, and people will line up to follow him. He has the ability to get others to see his vision.”

Clyde’s leadership skills were tested early at Geneva. At age 30, after five years working in accounting and in operations, he took over after a heart attack claimed the company’s general manager. Clyde would continue in the role until 2001, when he became Clyde Cos. president and then CEO one year later.

In addition to leading the family business, Clyde has lent his talents to a range of civic and professional organizations. He has been chairman of the board of trustees for Utah Valley University, the Utah Manufacturers Association and the Chambers of Commerce in Salt Lake and Utah Valley, and he is a director for the long-range planning organization Envision Utah.

In 2011, Clyde was appointed to the Utah State Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state, and he has been a member of the advisory committee for the Brigham Young University construction management program. “In times of challenge, Wilford’s leadership shines brightest,” says Nina Barnes, board vice chair.

Geneva Rock supplied concrete needed to form the latest roller coaster attraction at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah.
Photo courtesy of Clyde Cos.

“His ability to navigate complex issues with foresight has been instrumental in providing much-needed solutions,” she contends. “He’s not just a leader, he’s authentically, genuinely Wilford—direct, honest and a true friend.”

In the construction realm, Clyde followed his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps in serving a term as president of the Utah AGC and on numerous committees for the chapter. A member of the Beavers—the national organization made up of the country’s largest and most recognized heavy civil construction companies—he also served as vice president and president and received the Golden Beaver Award in 2021, its top recognition. Clyde also is involved in directing scholarship funds to students and construction-related programs at universities nationwide.

He was elected twice as mayor of his hometown, something Clyde says was a favorite experience. “I had a blast doing that,” he says, with his public service also including a term on the city council.

“Our family’s roots in Springville go back to 1850. My grandfather W.W. and my uncle Ed were mayors, and my father was on the city council. I’ve lived there virtually all my life, and I love the community.”

“Wilford has been a tremendous asset not only to his company but to his hometown and really the whole state,” says Gary Herbert, former Utah governor and a longtime friend of Wilford’s “He’s someone I’ve always looked up to and someone who has always had his priorities right.”

During his stint as a public servant, Clyde oversaw significant growth in the Springville community through the construction of a new library, recreation center, parks and a facility for the city’s electrical utility.

Clyde also directed the growth of the family companies during his time in leadership. In 1989, as president of Geneva and a Clyde Cos. vice president, he managed the company purchase of Ajax Concrete, a smaller ready-mix firm, and was soon approached with a larger acquisition opportunity.

“Later that same year, the Savage brothers, who owned Ideal Concrete, came to us and said, ‘Are you interested in buying Ideal?’ They were competitors, and [the firm] was one of the three largest suppliers of ready-mix in the state,” says Clyde. “We’d never done a deal that big before.” But the company board decided to back the move.

“It was successful, and that is really when we decided to look for other opportunities to make purchases,” Clyde says. “We decided to look at all our businesses, and when we saw opportunities to grow them through purchases, we’d consider it. We would continue to pursue work in Utah and in all the states that border us.”

Geneva Rock supplied concrete and material during a surge of building projects as Salt Lake City prepared for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, including construction of the city’s first light rail line.
Photo courtesy of Clyde Cos.

A Period of Rapid Growth

In 2009, Clyde Cos. also acquired the lumber, hardware and millwork operations of Sunroc Corp., later splitting it into a new company called Sunpro to expand the building material side of the business. In 2014, the land development arm of the company, Clyde Properties, became GWC Capital. By 2020, Clyde Cos. launched a new company, Bridgesource, to provide high-quality fly ash materials for concrete producers. It operates distribution hubs in Utah, Colorado and Idaho.

Clyde Cos. entered the Colorado heavy civil construction market with the 2018 purchase of Denver-based Scott Contracting. In 2021, Interstate Highway Construction, also based there, was acquired and then combined with Scott Contracting to form IHC Scott.

Sunroc expanded into Idaho with the 2020 acquisition of Idaho Falls-based DePatco, and Clyde Cos. expanded into Arizona in 2021 by buying Blount Contracting. Insurance operations expanded into central and southern Utah with the purchase of Certified Insurance in 2018.

Clyde says keeping the family involved and operating the various entities as “family” businesses has often worked in the firm's favor when making acquisitions.

Wilford Clyde (center), chairman of Clyde Cos., poses with cousin Jeff Clyde (left), who recently retired after leadership stints at units Geneva Rock and W.W. Clyde, and son-in-law Jeremy Hafen, now president and CEO of Clyde Cos.
Photo courtesy of Clyde Cos.

“A lot of the companies we’ve bought are also family-owned businesses, and they are concerned about their people and want to make sure they are taken care of when the company changes hands,” says Clyde. “They know we are a family company, and we always say we want the people who work for you to keep working for us.”

The corporate culture of Clyde Cos. “might have given us an advantage over some larger companies. I knew we were not always the highest bid,” Clyde points out. “Most of the ones we bought, we sat down and figured out how to do the right thing and make this work out.”

Clyde’s son-in-law Jeremy Hafen, who started his career in 2004 at Sunpro, was named Clyde Cos. president in 2021 and CEO last year. “I’ve learned a lot from Wilford. I watched him in some difficult situations, and he doesn’t get flustered easily,” Hafen says. “He taught me not to burn relationships, keep control of the operations and don’t take on too much debt.”

In turning over the CEO role, Clyde is more family-focused, spending time with his wife, Natalie, and 19 grandchildren, but he is also researching and compiling a book on the company history in time for its 100th anniversary in 2026. “I still have people asking me to serve on this committee or that and I’ve had to get used to saying, ‘No, I’m retired now.’”