Thompson-Arthur Paving & Construction

Thompson-Arthur Paving & Construction (Thompson-Arthur) has been a leading provider of high-quality paving and highway construction in central North Carolina’s Triad area since the company was founded in 1951. The multifaceted company has grown from its headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., to include branch offices in Asheboro, Burlington, Greensboro, Salisbury and Winston-Salem, N.C., all offering a variety of services to tackle a wide range of challenging site development projects both public and private.

Thompson-Arthur maintains nine asphalt plants strategically located across the region. With plants located in Asheboro, Burlington, East Forsyth, Farmington, Jamestown, Greensboro, Salisbury, Stokesdale and Winston-Salem – plus one sand plant in Candor, N.C. – Thompson-Arthur can supply clients with asphalt basically whenever and wherever needed.

The company produces over 1 million tons of asphalt every year, and every plant is outfitted with a quality control testing lab so every ounce of asphalt meets strict specifications, whether they are those of the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Authority or local authorities. The company tends to focus on projects within a 75-mile radius of headquarters, but, as a division of APAC-Atlantic Inc. and a subsidiary of Oldcastle Materials Inc., Thompson-Arthur brings an expertise that reaches far beyond its metropolitan area.

Thompson-Arthur offers more than just asphalt hot-mix production, sales and paving. The company has the resources to serve clients in a turnkey capacity, providing paving, bridge and structure construction, site utilities and grading, concrete flatwork construction, stone base construction, curb and gutter construction, concrete and masonry sand, culverts, retaining walls, dams and spillways.

Stringent Safety Standards

Thompson-Arthur’s well-respected ability to be streamlined, efficient, productive and quality-oriented is a direct result of its superior workforce. Thompson-Arthur believes that all of its employees are CHAMPS, which stands for the characteristics of “Courage, Heart, Attitude, Mind, Pride and Sacrifice,” and the company promises to bring these features to each project it delivers. Furthermore, the company’s unwavering commitment to best safety practices has fueled the company’s success through 60 years.

Thompson-Arthur has accumulated a portfolio of recent projects that spans public- and private-sector markets and includes big government agencies and small private residential clients. At least part of the company’s strength lies in its strong financial standing and reputation for mitigating risk with an unparalleled commitment to safety. “We see safety as equally important to our success as our financial performance,” adds Larry Brickey, division president of Thompson-Arthur.

Thompson-Arthur sets a high precedent for safety as the company believes its safety record is critical to the success of its clients as well. The company’s safety philosophy is that no job or task is more important than the health and safety of every employee. The company conducts regular jobsite safety inspections, enforcing the use of safety equipment and reinforcing good habits with on-going safety training and daily, task-specific safety meetings.

Perhaps the greatest testament to Thompson-Arthur’s strong reputation for safety is that all of its plants have been honored with awards for outstanding safety achievements. For example, the company achieved 2 million man-hours worked without a lost time incident in 2007, and the company’s sand plant in Candor, N.C., has upheld a zero lost time accident or injury record for 26 years; this earned the sand plant several accolades from the North Carolina Department of Labor. All of Thompson-Arthur’s asphalt plants have been honored with the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot-Mix Asphalt.

Paving the Way

The company’s sterling safety record and diverse capabilities have helped the team maintain its foothold in its target markets throughout the economic downturn that began in 2008. Thompson-Arthur was not entirely unaffected by the economic slump, however, as projects sometimes failed to secure funding. Brickey recognizes that the past few years have been slower than usual, but an upswing is inevitable.

Even during the more lean recent years, Thompson-Arthur has proudly taken part in its fair share of projects that are critical to North Carolina’s development. Earlier in 2012, Thompson-Arthur partnered with Barnhill Contracting Company and HDR Engineering of the Carolinas on a design-build project to construct a bypass between two major thruways in Randolph County, N.C. The US-311 High Point Bypass project includes the construction of 6.8 miles of roadway, creating a bypass from North Spencer Road to US-220 complete with 10 bridge structures. The project also includes permitting and right-of-way acquisition components and is scheduled to complete later in 2012.

It may seem like a major challenge, but the High Point Bypass project is by no means the most challenging project Thompson-Arthur has tackled to date. A few years ago Thompson-Arthur served as the prime contractor for a $104 million project with the North Carolina Department of Transportation along the Greensboro Western Loop. The project involved the construction of 23 bridges, three major interchanges, 4.5 miles of new three- and four-lane pavement through an urban area, as well as the construction of the longest single-span steel structure in the state.

The Greensboro Western Loop is just one of many projects that Thompson-Arthur has been able to deliver successfully as a prime contractor, but the company’s best days are still to come. The company reached its 60-year anniversary in 2011, which it celebrated in part by again achieving the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot-Mix Asphalt Plant/Site Operations at all nine of its plants. Proudly committed to service, Thompson-Arthur Paving & Construction has an unparalleled reputation for safety and quality, which, combined with the best workforce in the industry, will carry the company on to even greater opportunity in the future.