Concrete is such a universal part of the human landscape that most people seldom stop to ask where it comes from. For the past 100 years, substantial amounts have originated with a company founded in the Upstate.
Since 1925, Metromont has grown from a company with roots building South Carolina’s highways and interstates to a regional precast concrete powerhouse responsible for iconic projects throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Road roots
As described by CEO Rick Pennell, when his grandfather, James R. Pennell, founded the company a century ago, the state’s road system was nothing like it is today.
The company’s initial years were focused almost exclusively on transportation projects. Working extensively with the agency that would eventually become the state’s Department of Transportation, the company played an important role in building the state’s road infrastructure.
Pennell said that virtually all the bridges along Interstate 85 during its initial construction were built with precast concrete from Metromont.
That work would continue over decades but diminish as the company diversified into other sectors. Founded in Spartanburg, by the mid-20th century the company moved to Greenville as that city’s rapid growth promised new opportunities.
As the company expanded its precast and prestressed concrete products to encompass commercial buildings and parking structures, its impact on Greenville and a growing list of other markets populated the landscape with iconic structures, such as Greenville’s Daniel Building.
Pennell said over the decades the company helped build notable structures for Milliken & Co. and many of the schools still in use across the Upstate. He added the company’s success in Spartanburg and Greenville helped put it on a trajectory to expand.
From a single facility and about 300 associates at its founding, Metromont has grown to a team of 1,500 manning six plants operating across the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Virginia.
Emerging markets
From its origins building roads and bridges and transition into commercial and parking structures, Metromont has become a leader in total precast mixed-use structures like the University of South Carolina’s Gadsden and Greene student housing complexes.
Pennell said such projects highlight both the evolving nature of construction techniques and the unchanging fundamentals of concrete as a building material.
He said the virtue of precast concrete components is the precision and speed with which they can be assembled into a finished structure.
“We’re really doing nothing more than concrete Legos,” Pennell said. “They’re custom-made pieces that we just put together with a crane and you have a structure when you get done.”
As straightforward as that may sound, each of those concrete components must be transported by truck from the facility where it was produced to the site where it will be assembled into a new structure. That inescapable necessity has driven Metromont’s expansion and acquisition of new facilities in new markets stretching from central Florida to northern Virginia.
Although advances in technology and the opportunities afforded by rapid growth across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic have contributed to Metromont’s success, Pennell said that success is founded on the bedrock of the company’s people and the values they embody.
Bedrock values
Founded by the man widely referred to as “Captain Pennell,” Metromont was imbued with values he learned from his upbringing and experience as an Army officer.
Those values centered on doing the right thing and treating people with respect.
Initially operating as Pennell & Harley Construction Engineers, Metromont’s guiding principles were forged by the man who believed deeply in passion, honor and faith.
“We feel like we’re just a reflection of those characteristics he brought to the culture of the company he started 100 years ago,” Pennell said.
He said the legacy of treating the company’s associates as family may have begun with his grandfather, but it remained a bedrock principle nurtured by his father and passed down to him to continue.
Pennell said these core values have been essential guides for the company through its decades of growth, which have been marked by both success and adversity. But because those values weren’t derived from an edict issued from management, but have been baked into the fabric of the company since its founding, they have forged a family of associates who care about their work and are proud of the legacy they are building, one component at a time.
“At the end of the day, knowing I’ve worked hard and created a great project makes me proud and happy,” said Matt Cooper, director of engineering at Metromont’s office in Winchester, Virginia. “If we can create a culture that fosters passion and share it with others, it will inspire everyone around us to give their best as well.”
Similar testimonials from associates across Metromont’s network of facilities are common. From production managers to carpenters and associates and everywhere in-between, Metromont’s people — many of whom have been with the company 20, 30 or more years — reflect how being valued inspires a sense of belonging and dedication.
“This company doesn’t just offer a job, it offers an opportunity to build a career, develop new skills and be part of something much bigger than yourself,” said Adrian Moyd, a production supervisor. “From the moment I first joined Metromont, I knew it would be a journey of growth.”
Some notable projects that used Metromont concrete
- Honeywell headquarters — Charlotte, North Carolina
- Upshot Medical Center and parking deck — Orlando, Florida
- Cobb Energy Centre for the Performing Arts — Atlanta, Georgia
- Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art — Savannah, Georgia
- One Main North & South Towers — Greenville
- Camden Yards Ballpark — Baltimore, Maryland
- Truist Park — Atlanta, Georgia
Metromont timeline
- 1925 — Pennell & Harley Construction Engineers founded by Capt. J. Roy Pennell
- 1934 — Spartanburg Concrete Co. formed
- 1936 — Greenville Concrete Co. purchased from The Sloan Construction Co.
- 1946 — Dick Pennell joins company
- 1959 — company adds prestress concrete plant to White Horse Road facility
- 1976 — Spartanburg Concrete Co. and Greenville Concrete Co. merge to form Metromont Materials
- 1981 — Rick Pennell becomes third generation to join company
- 1986 — company expands operations to Hiram, Georgia
- 1995 — operations expand to Charlotte, North Carolina
- 2007 — operations expand to Richmond, Virginia
- 2010 — operations expand to Bartow, Florida
- 2018 — company purchases Shockey Precast Group in Winchester, Virginia
Metromont by the numbers:
- Produced an average of 442,000 cubic yards of concrete annually in past three years
- Completed more than 1,000 parking structures in past 20 years
- More than 2,700 total projects completed or in progress in past 20 years
