Bob told his father Pappy that he was no longer going to shovel rock, sand, and cement into a 1-yard mixer. So, in 1955, the partners purchased the 6-month-old Hi-Grade Materials Co.. Hi-Grade consisted of 40 acres of leased aggregate land, a small aggregate plant, a batch plant, and three small ready-mix concrete trucks – all located in Lucerne Valley. The $14,000 required for the purchase was borrowed from the Apple Valley Bank, and Hi-Grade started on its way.
In 1957 the offices and old concrete batch plant were relocated to leased land on Bear Valley Road next to the Mojave River, located at what is now the Aldi’s Market. This location was more central to the High Desert market, and the company remained there until 1965.
In 1959, a new batch plant was purchased and erected at the river location.
In 1963 Hi-Grade purchased the site at the intersection of Bear Valley Road and the Railroad tracks in Hesperia.
Also in 1965, a large housing project on George Air Force Base allowed Hi-Grade to open a new batch plant and site in Adelanto, which was adjacent to the base. In 1973 that plant was moved to a 2.5-acre site Hi-Grade purchased in Helendale. The move was required by and paid for by the government to get the batch plant away from their flight line.
This brings us to 1970 when Hi-Grade constructed a 150 ton per-hour aggregate plant in Lucerne Valley. It was built at the cost of $308,000, taking all our resources and a Small Business Administration loan with a payment-term of ten years. After two years of near starvation and a tough time making payments, the expansion began to prove itself, and within seven years the Small Business Administration loan was paid off. In 2019 the 80 acres were mined out. It yielded about 25,000,000 tons of high-quality aggregates. Hi-Grade owns another 440 acres in the area and is currently mining 120 acres of State Land. Today, Hi-Grade controls over 100,000,000 tons of reserves in Lucerne Valley.
V.C. Hove retired in 1974 and Bob purchased his brother Richard’s interest in 1976 and so the companies became owned solely by Bob Hove. In 1981, Robar Enterprises, Inc. was formed and became the holding company for all the entities. Robar is named after Robert and Barbara Hove.
In 1980, Smitty Smith suggested that what this desert needed was a metal fabrication shop that would have the machinery to cut, bend, roll and fabricate steel- all of which had to be done “down below.” Smith Ironworks was formed to do this as part of the Endura Steel Corporation. Smith has the equipment to break, shear, roll, punch, and bend – as well as the capability to fabricate all types of metals. Smith is a licensed contractor in California, Arizona, and Nevada and can erect buildings up to four stories. In 2020 Smith purchased an 8’ x 20’programable CNC plasma cutting table. It is the largest such table in the high desert. In 2021 Smith Ironworks added a 24’ Dragon brand programable CNC tube and pipe plasma cutting and marking machine. Then in May of 2022 we installed a state-of-the-art beam line. This was the largest single machine investment Robar has made to date at $1.1M. The Vortman V807M plasma and oxy-fuel system automatically secures a beam, moves it into position, slides into the plasma processing shed where a cutting head on a robotic arm does the processing and then the beam is rolled out and moved into position for forklift removal. A beam can be cut, notched, and piece-marked in minutes – a process that used to take us 1 to 2 days of manpower. I am also certain Smith Ironworks was formed in partfor Bob to have his friend Smitty to go to lunch with – which they did virtually every day (along with a glass of wine, or two).
In 1983 a new 300 yard per-hour batch plant was installed in Hesperia. And then in 1985 a 10-bay shop and offices were erected on the site.
New land was purchased adjacent to our Bear Valley Road property for a total of over 30 acres which is zoned as heavy industrial. Robar Park is now home to Endura Steel, Smith Ironworks, a Hi-Grade batch plant, AsCon RecyCo. and the Hi-Grade fuel station.
AsCon RecyCo. – a division of Hi-Grade Materials – was started by Jon in 1991. AsCon receives broken pieces of asphalt and concrete and is an economical alternative to landfills. The pieces are stockpiled until such time as they are crushed into base material and sold for use in the construction industry. AsCon RecyCo. has sites in Adelanto,Oro Grande, Ft. Irwin, Hesperia, Lucerne Valley, Palmdale, Lancaster, 29 Palms, Yucca Valley, and Indio.
Bob told his father Pappy that he was no longer going to shovel rock, sand, and cement into a 1-yard mixer. So, in 1955, the partners purchased the 6-month-old Hi-Grade Materials Co.. Hi-Grade consisted of 40 acres of leased aggregate land, a small aggregate plant, a batch plant, and three small ready-mix concrete trucks – all located in Lucerne Valley. The $14,000 required for the purchase was borrowed from the Apple Valley Bank, and Hi-Grade started on its way.
In 2000, we took over a leased site with a batch plant and a small quarry to service the Ft. Irwin area. We purchased the 38 acres in 2013. We own another 180-acre site with an additional water well across from our Ft. Irwin site for future growth.
Then in 2008 we purchased a 640-acre section of land-front on Barstow Road, across from the Barstow Landfill.
In 2009 we purchased the old Barstow Ready Mix mine and batch plant site from the Johnson family heirs. We are now mining a portion of the 124 acres off Nebo Road. The property sits on both sides of the 40 Freeway, with a concrete tunnel under the freeway that provides access to the entire site.
In the past 68 years, Robar has generated almost 2 billion dollars in revenues;we have employed thousands of residents, supported families with hundreds of millions in payroll dollars, and acquired over 4,300 acres of real estate. We currently have approximately 300 employees and have proudly had many employees retire from our family business.
Although history has unfolded well for Robar – we believe the best is yet to come… and perhaps a 6th generation?
Bob told his father Pappy that he was no longer going to shovel rock, sand, and cement into a 1-yard mixer. So, in 1955, the partners purchased the 6-month-old Hi-Grade Materials Co.. Hi-Grade consisted of 40 acres of leased aggregate land, a small aggregate plant, a batch plant, and three small ready-mix concrete trucks – all located in Lucerne Valley. The $14,000 required for the purchase was borrowed from the Apple Valley Bank, and Hi-Grade started on its way.
There was a cement shortage in 1955, so the cement companies – Riverside Cement (now CalPortland Cement), Kaiser Cement (now Mitsubishi Cement), and Victor Cement (now CEMEX) tossed a coin. Victor Cement lost and got Hi-Grade- which actually turned out to be a win for Victor Cement over the last 67 years.
In 1957 the offices and old concrete batch plant were relocated to leased land on Bear Valley Road next to the Mojave River, located at what is now the Aldi’s Market. This location was more central to the High Desert market, and the company remained there until 1965.
In 1959, a new batch plant was purchased and erected at the river location.
In 1963 Hi-Grade purchased the site at the intersection of Bear Valley Road and the Railroad tracks in Hesperia.
Also in 1965, a large housing project on George Air Force Base allowed Hi-Grade to open a new batch plant and site in Adelanto, which was adjacent to the base. In 1973 that plant was moved to a 2.5-acre site Hi-Grade purchased in Helendale. The move was required by and paid for by the government to get the batch plant away from their flight line.
This brings us to 1970 when Hi-Grade constructed a 150 ton per-hour aggregate plant in Lucerne Valley. It was built at the cost of $308,000, taking all our resources and a Small Business Administration loan with a payment-term of ten years. After two years of near starvation and a tough time making payments, the expansion began to prove itself, and within seven years the Small Business Administration loan was paid off. In 2019 the 80 acres were mined out. It yielded about 25,000,000 tons of high-quality aggregates. Hi-Grade owns another 440 acres in the area and is currently mining 120 acres of State Land. Today, Hi-Grade controls over 100,000,000 tons of reserves in Lucerne Valley.
In 1980, Smitty Smith suggested that what this desert needed was a metal fabrication shop that would have the machinery to cut, bend, roll and fabricate steel- all of which had to be done “down below.” Smith Ironworks was formed to do this as part of the Endura Steel Corporation. Smith has the equipment to break, shear, roll, punch, and bend – as well as the capability to fabricate all types of metals. Smith is a licensed contractor in California, Arizona, and Nevada and can erect buildings up to four stories. In 2020 Smith purchased an 8’ x 20’programable CNC plasma cutting table. It is the largest such table in the high desert. In 2021 Smith Ironworks added a 24’ Dragon brand programable CNC tube and pipe plasma cutting and marking machine. Then in May of 2022 we installed a state-of-the-art beam line. This was the largest single machine investment Robar has made to date at $1.1M. The Vortman V807M plasma and oxy-fuel system automatically secures a beam, moves it into position, slides into the plasma processing shed where a cutting head on a robotic arm does the processing and then the beam is rolled out and moved into position for forklift removal. A beam can be cut, notched, and piece-marked in minutes – a process that used to take us 1 to 2 days of manpower. I am also certain Smith Ironworks was formed in partfor Bob to have his friend Smitty to go to lunch with – which they did virtually every day (along with a glass of wine, or two).
V.C. Hove retired in 1974 and Bob purchased his brother Richard’s interest in 1976 and so the companies became owned solely by Bob Hove. In 1981, Robar Enterprises, Inc. was formed and became the holding company for all the entities. Robar is named after Robert and Barbara Hove.
In 1983 a new 300 yard per-hour batch plant was installed in Hesperia. And then in 1985 a 10-bay shop and offices were erected on the site.
AsCon RecyCo. – a division of Hi-Grade Materials – was started by Jon in 1991. AsCon receives broken pieces of asphalt and concrete and is an economical alternative to landfills. The pieces are stockpiled until such time as they are crushed into base material and sold for use in the construction industry. AsCon RecyCo. has sites in Adelanto,Oro Grande, Ft. Irwin, Hesperia, Lucerne Valley, Palmdale, Lancaster, 29 Palms, Yucca Valley, and Indio.
In 2000, we took over a leased site with a batch plant and a small quarry to service the Ft. Irwin area. We purchased the 38 acres in 2013. We own another 180-acre site with an additional water well across from our Ft. Irwin site for future growth.
Then in 2008 we purchased a 640-acre section of land-front on Barstow Road, across from the Barstow Landfill.
In 2009 we purchased the old Barstow Ready Mix mine and batch plant site from the Johnson family heirs. We are now mining a portion of the 124 acres off Nebo Road. The property sits on both sides of the 40 Freeway, with a concrete tunnel under the freeway that provides access to the entire site.
In the past 68 years, Robar has generated almost 2 billion dollars in revenues;we have employed thousands of residents, supported families with hundreds of millions in payroll dollars, and acquired over 4,300 acres of real estate. We currently have approximately 300 employees and have proudly had many employees retire from our family business.
Although history has unfolded well for Robar – we believe the best is yet to come… and perhaps a 6th generation?
