John H. (Jack) Ogorchock returned home to Brookville, PA from military service with the Navy in 1945. He purchased a dump truck and started J.H. Ogorchock Trucking in 1946, hauling coal, lumber, and whatever else needed hauling. In 1949, after graduating from Duquesne, Jack expanded into Brookville Building Supply and Ready Mix Concrete, with a small concrete plant and three trucks. With post World War II the United States seeing a home building boom, Jack also got into the home building business.

1952 saw growth into DuBois with a concrete plant, four trucks and another building supply store on Hoover Avenue. The company name was changed to DuBrook, incorporating both Brookville and DuBois. Seeing opportunity in the Butler area, a plant was set up on North Main St in Butler in 1958. DuBrook later purchased John Tack & Sons on Bantam Ave, and is still located there today. Around 1970, DuBrook purchased the ready mix operation from Kohlhepp’s, and moved their plant to the Parkway Drive location in DuBois.

Jack and his sons were to a convention in Houston, TX in the mid 70’s and impressed with the building boom. In 1976, they began operations in Spring, TX. This operation eventually grew to three locations and 56 trucks. Unfortunately, a hard decision was made to shut it down in 1985 due to a major downturn in the Texas market. Another booming area was discovered to relocate the assets, and in 1987, DuBrook Concrete was operating in Chantilly, VA. This operation grew into a two alley plant, with over 30 trucks. A new division of DuBrook – Concrete Precast Systems, was formed in 1993. They acquired a patent on absorptive sound walls and set up operations in Chesapeake, VA and later in Chantilly, VA.

Jack semi-retired in 1993, with three of his children taking over the operations. The following year, DuBrook purchased Thomson & Montgomery Ready Mix in St Marys, PA. In 2004, the siblings split the operations among them. Paul Ogorchock took over the Chesapeake operation of Concrete Precast Systems, Inc., later changing the focus and name to Coastal Precast Systems, Inc. as they progressed into prestressed beams. Tom Ogorchock stayed in Chantilly, VA with DuBrook Concrete, Inc.’s ready mix operation, which he recently sold to US Concrete. Rosemary Ogorchock Barber remained in PA operating four plants in DuBois, St Marys, Butler and Evans City. Sadly, Jack passed away March 17, 2012 at the age of 87.

2011 Reunion

The Ogorchock family reunion from 2011 with their DuBrook 65th Anniversary shirts, left to right: Peggy Mowrey, Tom Ogorchock, Aloyse Ogorchock, Jack Ogorchock, Mike Ogorchock, Rosemary Barber, Paul Ogorchock.

M & B GROUP 

In 2018 M and B Group acquired DuBrook Inc. and retained the DuBrook name for their concrete plants.

M and B was founded in 2003 by Mike Hindman and Braun Gourley. What started as primarily a residential concrete company, only employing a handful of people, M and B Services has grown into a diverse full-service concrete construction company. It now employs 50 people and is a year-round enterprise providing commercial construction services to federal, state, and municipal governments as well as private organizations.

According to Mike Hindman, President of the M and B Group, “We plan to operate under the DuBrook name with the same personnel”. M and B Redi-Mix currently operates plants in Clarion and Brookville. The acquisition of DuBrook will geographically connect DuBrook’s plants in DuBois, St Mary’s, Butler and Evans City, with M and B plants in Clarion and Brookville. “This acquisition will give us a very large coverage area and will allow us to serve the needs of our customers throughout that area. Our goal is to provide high quality products and dependable service to all of our customers,” said Braun Gourley, M and B’s Vice President.

Braun Gourley’s great-grandfather, Charles M. Lawrence began the Clarion branch of the business in 1919. The Lawrence family owned and operated the business until it was sold to the Glenn family in 1984. Paul Glenn purchased the Brookville location in the 1970’s. The M and B Group purchased Glenn Redi-Mix in April of 2014.

Similar to Mr. Ogorchock, Mike and Braun started M and B Services in 2003 with one dump truck and grew their business into many facets of construction. “When we started looking into the history of both M and B and DuBrook it was amazing to see the similarities. This deal was meant to be,” Gourley said.