Buchanan Concrete of the Carolinas

While concrete is just one of many elements of a construction project, James Harmon, project executive of Buchanan Concrete of the Carolinas, points out that it forms the foundation of every other trade.

“We provide the foundation for all other trades by performing critical path work that has to be accurate and completed in a timely manner,” he says.

This pattern of quality work, completed on time and within budget, has enabled Buchanan Concrete to develop many long-lasting relationships with general contractors.

Based 30 minutes outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, Buchanan Concrete is a full-service concrete subcontractor that specializes in foundations, flatwork, tilt panels and exterior paving. The company, which was founded by Brian Buchanan in 1986, started out performing light commercial and residential work.

During this time, Buchanan made long-term connections important to the company’s growth, working closely with David Russel and James Harmon while the pair was managing the building division of a Charlotte-based general contractor in the 1990s. Russell joined Buchanan Concrete  as operations manager in 2010, and Harmon come on board four years later.

“The relationship was fitting and Brian Buchanan was able to show off his stuff on the heavy industrial stage,” Harmon says.

Today, Buchanan Concrete has expanded, having multiple finishing crews and performing tilt-up construction, in which walls are poured onsite and then raised.

The tighter the schedule

Even as the projects get bigger, Buchanan Concrete takes pride in having project managers who can deliver the desired results on a project while staying ahead of the construction schedule, Harmon says.

“Buchanan has the ability to hit the ground running,” Harmon says. “We have much of the pre-work in place so we can get in and get out. We leave them with quality work, ahead of their construction milestones. This makes everyone look good while saving the GCs time and money.”

In February 2017, when the company was awarded a project that involved 280,000 square feet of tilt box construction for a distribution facility in Charleston, South Carolina, Buchanan Concrete was given 15 weeks to complete the work. “Our guys were able to complete the work in 11 weeks,” says Harmon.

“Brian surrounds himself with the right people, which attracts quality individuals and helps them feel that they are part of a family, and when you feel that kind of pride in the company, it makes people more excited to show up for work,” Harmon says.

This meant the general contractor could bring the other trades into the fold much sooner.

“I like to think we’re as good as it gets in performing ahead of schedule. It’s one quality we’re known for and one of the reasons why the best GCs continue contracting with us.” Harmon says.

Buchanan Concrete has performed footings, slabs, tilt panels and exterior paving for hundreds of larger projects throughout the Carolinas. The company has even traveled as far as Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

While it is a logistical challenge to move manpower and equipment throughout the Southeast, Harmon says the company never resorts to using outside crews.

“No matter how far we go, we can trust our guys to get the work done. They’re all trained to perform safely and productively. Everyone on our team is part of the Buchanan family,” he says.

Concrete buy-in

This culture has been cultivated by Brian Buchanan since he founded the company 30 years ago.

“Brian surrounds himself with the right people, which attracts quality individuals and helps them feel that they are part of a family, and when you feel that kind of pride in the company, it makes people more excited to show up for work,” Harmon says.

This environment is what drew Harmon to work at Buchanan Concrete in the first place.

Before 2014, Harmon was general contracting in and around Charlotte, North Carolina, where he often subbed out concrete work to Buchanan’s company.

“I knew from the very beginning that there was something different about Brian and the way he ran his company,” Harmon says. “So when the opportunity came up to work with him and be at an organization where everybody feels a part of it, it was too good to pass up.”