Chief Executive Officer, President & Director, Valmont
Search every verified Avner Applbaum interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. At the Gabelli 16th Annual Omaha Value Investor Conference on May 17, 2025, Applbaum stated that his initial focus as CEO was renewing the company's emphasis on its core business, embedding commercial and operational excellence. He said the company is now moving into a phase of accelerating growth by investing in plants to capitalize on what he described as "undeniable mega trends." Applbaum noted that the utility infrastructure market is "booming" and that Valmont is on a three-year program to invest about $100 million in capital expenditures for growth, which he said would generate over $100 million in annual new revenue. Applbaum discussed the company's approach to tariffs and trade uncertainty, stating that Valmont is "cost neutral and earnings neutral" due to localized supply chains and sourcing US steel. He highlighted that the telecom business grew 30% year-over-year in the prior quarter and is one of the company's highest margin businesses. Regarding capital allocation, Applbaum said the company is disciplined and focused on return on invested capital (ROIC), with a $700 million share repurchase authorization planned over three to five years, of which $75 million had been purchased in the first few weeks of the first quarter. He expressed optimism about the company's future, citing potential for mid-single-digit growth over several years and operating margins approaching 15%.
“One of the first things I did when I came on as CEO is renew our focus on the core. Let's focus on what we're really good at, how to be more effective, more efficient, and do things better, embedding commercial and operational excellence into the business to provide value and strengthen relationships with customers.”
“We've been driving a steady and strong increase on our number one financial metric which is ROIC, and now the next phase we're going into is growth. How do we accelerate growth and capitalize on undeniable mega trends and strong secular demand drivers by investing in our plants to take our fair share of the growth?”
“The utility infrastructure market is booming and we really can't meet the demand. We're on a three-year program to invest about $100 million of capex just in growth, which will generate over $100 million in annual new revenue and over 20% operating margin, with a $30 million or more cash basis return.”
“We are investing in people and processes, including AI and scheduling, to increase throughput and lower cost per unit. If we can always have material at the right time and place, more poles will go through our factories more efficiently.”
Chris Marangi (Co-CIO, Value, Gabelli) moderates a discussion with Valmont Industries at the 16th Annual Omaha Value Investor ...
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