Staying put: A&S cuts ribbon in David Jones Industrial Park
Anderson County and Clinton officials, employees and management of A&S Building Systems, and officials from the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon for A&S Building Systems last Friday in the David Jones Industrial Park.
A&S Building Systems, a division of NCI Buildings Group, has relocated their headquarters from Caryville to the David Jones Industrial Park in Andersonville.
The plant was scheduled to close and relocate out of state.
“We were asked where did want to work,” President Dennis McDeavitt said. “We said ‘East Tennessee,’ and they came back with, ‘Find a place ... Hurriedly.’”
McDeavitt said most of the 65 employees are from East Tennessee and “about 30-percent” moved in from another state.
“But once you live in East Tennessee, you don’t want to leave,” he laughed.
A ribbon cutting was held last Friday for the new facility and was attended by Anderson County Chamber, Anderson County Government and local municipal officials and many general contractors from throughout the United States to congratulate the officials and employees.
With the new facility, A&S has expanded their engineering and sales support.
McDeavitt said, “A&S has seen continued growth by maintaining a recognized level of customer service.”
McDeavitt said locating in David Jones Industrial Park required a lot of hard work, “by Joe Hollingsworth and Tim Thompson (Anderson County Economic Development Association).
“They carried most of the load on this,” he said.
“While we ship buildings world-wide, many local projects such as the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Holston Gas facilities are highly visible. A&S Building Systems have been a key partner in our Southern Advantage building program. We have been very pleased with the expertise of their design and sales team, ease of construction, and long term quality of their buildings” stated Joe Hollingsworth, President and CEO of The Hollingsworth Companies.
Anderson County Chamber of Commerce President Rick Meredith said the arrangement is a win-win for everyone involved.
“They (A&S) can show off the building to prospective customers while maintaining their own business. They (A&S) can show them everything this place has to offer,” Meredith said.
“It’s not often you look at a 62,000-square foot building and get to know everything about it from the people who designed it.”
The structure has separate entrances so that any future tenant will have its own space, McDeavitt explained.