William Young

South Carolina-based design-build company Robbins Construction is celebrating its fifth anniversary in business this year. In its relatively short lifetime, this company has stayed busy by working on a breadth of interesting projects while continuing to diversify its market sectors and projects.

RONCO emphasizes the protection of the head, hand, and body for workers on the job across its native home of Canada.

JR McNeal, owner and founder of Salinas Shell Contracting, has been involved with the home construction market since 2000, in a career that has seen him go from decking roofs to framing and into concrete. At the suggestion of one of his concrete contractors, he got his start in shell contracting, the construction of the foundation and structure of a building, around two years ago in Tampa, Florida.

Ever since its humble beginnings, WORD Rock Drills has aimed to be both a family-focused and faith-driven operation. The company began operations in 2006 in Colorado after its founders, John and Lisa Patterson, pivoted from longstanding careers in the drilling industry to start their own business. WORD started as a venture run out of the attic of the Patterson family home in Colorado, mainly dealing with buying and selling drill parts from suppliers in Mexico; by 2011, John pursued a product line that included the company's first drill.

For Central Builders Inc. (CBI), it all started with family. The company began in 1989 under the leadership of Carl Ehrlich and his son Matt, who is now the company's Vice President of Administration. The Ehrlichs wanted to fill a niche as a general contractor in the grocery industry in the early '90s, at a time when construction projects attached to grocery stores had turned into seven-figure remodeling operations.

American railroad contractor Cranemasters officially began operations on October 10, 1986. It originated as the culmination of an idea of Loren Isringhausen's, an idea that came to fruition with help and input from his sons Brian and Barry. The family moved to Richmond, Virginia from Southern Illinois and seized an opportunity to purchase equipment from a crane manufacturer to begin work in the industry in their own way.

LIVIO Building Systems is making big moves and bringing new ways of thinking into the construction industry—but the person behind its development initially made his name outside of construction. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Navneet Aron began his journey as a real estate developer in 2013, possessing no background in development construction; prior to this, he was an engineer who had worked in software developing consumer and mobile applications, among other projects.

When it comes to the type of work that Fathom Studio is most interested in—and indeed has built its reputation on—collaboration is always the name of the game.

The history of Griffin Enright Architects begins with the partnership that comprises its namesake. The business was named Griffin Architects when it launched in 1998 in California, headed by Margaret Griffin, FAIA, who was looking to start her own architecture firm. After getting initial projects in order as well as securing a viable working space, she joined forces with her husband and business partner, John Enright, FAIA, LEED AP, in 2000. Enright, also established in architecture at that time, left his position working for the famed Thom Mayne at the Morphosis architectural firm in Santa Monica to join his wife and strike out on their own.

Since its founding in 1984, the Western SC Economic Development Partnership has been committed to driving growth and opportunity across its four member counties—Aiken, Edgefield, McCormick, and Saluda—in South Carolina. Representing a combined population of approximately 230,000, the partnership supports both current residents and newcomers seeking to establish businesses in the region. Over the decades, the organization has continuously refined its strategies and strengthened relationships to meet the evolving needs of these communities.