BUSINESS PERSONNEL: NEW BUSINESS OWNER

Stephen P. Ford, a Cape Girardeau native and president and operations manager of Bolden Pipe Construction Co., Inc., has purchased the company from its founder and previous owner, Robert A. Bolden.

Bolden has grown from one employee, one backhoe and one dump truck to one of the premier underground utility contractors in Middle Tennessee, said Ford.

Today, Bolden, headquartered at Nashville, Tenn., has 250 employees and annual revenues in excess of $25 million. The company specializes in municipal and industrial water and sewer systems, telecommunications, gas distribution, HVAC and plumbing, civil construction and site development.

Ford joined Bolden as a minority stockholder in 1998. Previous to that, he served six years as construction operations vice president for W.L. Hailey and Co., Inc., in Nashville. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Missouri-Rolla with a degree in civil engineering. He is a graduate of Jackson High School.