American high school dropout buys Danish component supplier
A company owned by one of America's richest men recently acquired Roug A/S, a Danish manufacturer of towers, nacelles and foundations for the wind turbine industry. The purchaser, Hendricks Holding Co, is owned by Ken Hendricks, a high school dropout who made his fortune as founder of Wisconsin-based ABC Supply, the largest wholesale distributor of roofing and siding materials in the US, with more than 350 locations in 45 states. The Roug operations are expected to mesh well with several river barge terminals Hendricks owns. "We intend to expand our operations in Denmark and build a similar operation in the US," Hendricks says. "Our goal is to become the number one supplier to the wind turbine industry. We will be expanding capacity in tower production and developing add-on opportunity in transportation, logistics management and wind farm development." Roug, founded in 1959 and based in the county town of Herning, has nearly 200 employees. Terms of the deal, made in January, were not disclosed. The joined companies will be called Hendricks Industries. In its 2006 rankings, Forbes magazine listed Hendricks as the 107th richest American, with a net worth of $2.6 billion.