What Smithson does

Smithson, Inc. is a privately held commercial design-build construction firm founded in 1979 and headquartered in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, with a second office in Wilmington, NC. The firm's core offering is integrated design-build project delivery, in which its in-house architects, engineers (including PEs), project managers, and general contractors operate under one roof to provide owners and developers with a single contract and single point of responsibility across design and construction phases. Specialty capabilities include cold storage facility construction, industrial and food processing facilities, retail and grocery construction, institutional projects (banks, churches, schools, fire departments), and the largest CECO Metal Buildings distribution operation in the United States, combining pre-engineered metal building systems with conventional construction.

The firm pursues enterprise and mid-market clients through a direct, relationship-based sales motion. Pricing is project-specific and quoted individually based on scope, design needs, and budget expectations; multi-year contracts are typical. Revenue streams include design-build project fees and CECO Metal Buildings distribution (hardware sales). Customer logos span beverage manufacturing (Pepsi Bottling Ventures, with four warehouse expansions in three years), consumer brands (PFS Brands), food processing and cold storage (Mt. Olive Pickles, Prestage Foods, Southeast Frozen Foods, Pro Foods System, Nutkao, Carolina Innovative Food Ingredients, Villari Brothers Foods, McLane Company, Bailey Farms, Cottle Farms, M.R. Williams Inc), retail (Piggly Wiggly), and paper/manufacturing (Kapstone Paper). Reported repeat business exceeds 75%, indicating strong customer retention.

Smithson is licensed and domesticated in multiple states for government agency work. The company is privately held with no disclosed ownership changes, parent companies, institutional investors, or funding activity. The leadership team includes President C.E. (Sonny) Foster, CFO Louis Weeks, and Vice Presidents Lamar Walston (37 years tenure), Jimmie Carson (36+ years), David Sherk (since 1997), and Earl Reese (since 2005), supported by long-tenured architects, project managers, and engineers. There are no disclosed revenue figures, patents, AI/ML capabilities, awards, or M&A events in the source materials; public news content focuses on cold storage demand trends in 2020.

Name

Smithson

Legal name

Smithson, Inc.

Website

https://smithsonnet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Smithson, Inc. is a privately held commercial design-build construction firm founded in 1979, serving enterprise and mid-market industrial, cold storage, retail, and institutional clients across the US from offices in Rocky Mount and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rocky Mount

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Construction Services: Design-build construction services for commercial, industrial, cold storage, and retail projects. Revenue is project-based, generated through single contracts for design and construction phases. The firm manages all subcontractor, equipment vendor, and materials provider contracts.
2. Pre-Engineered Metal Building Distribution: Distribution of CECO Metal Buildings as the largest distributor in the United States, complementing conventional construction offerings

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Smithson is a commercial design-build construction firm that delivers integrated project delivery combining architecture, engineering, and general contracting under a single contract for industrial, commercial, cold storage, and retail clients. The firm also operates as the largest distributor of CECO Metal Buildings in the United States, supplying pre-engineered metal building systems alongside conventional construction. Projects span cold storage facilities, industrial centers, warehouses, distribution centers, food processing plants, retail stores, and institutional buildings across the U.S. and abroad.

Product overview

Smithson is a commercial design-build construction firm offering integrated project delivery with architects, engineers, and general contractors operating under one roof. The company provides design-build services as its core product, complemented by general commercial construction capabilities. Specialty services include cold storage facilities and industrial building construction. Additionally, Smithson operates as the largest CECO Metal Buildings distributor in the United States. Projects span across cold storage, industrial, grocery stores, convenience stores, churches, schools, banks, fire departments, funeral homes, and trucking facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design-Build Services Integrated design-build project delivery providing a single point of contact for both design and construction phases, with architects, engineers, and project managers operating under one roof.
• Commercial Construction General contracting services for commercial, industrial, cold storage, and retail construction projects delivered under the firm's design-build methodology.
• Cold Storage Facilities Design and construction of temperature-controlled storage facilities for grocery, food processing, and distribution applications, leveraging refrigeration expertise and energy-efficient building technology.
• Industrial Buildings Construction of industrial facilities including manufacturing plants, processing facilities, and warehouse distribution centers.
• CECO Metal Buildings Distribution Distribution of CECO pre-engineered metal building systems; Smithson is the largest CECO Metal Buildings distributor in the United States, combining conventional construction with pre-engineered metal building expertise.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 75% repeat business rate indicates high customer satisfaction and successful project delivery
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CECO Metal BuildingscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSmithson is the largest CECO Metal Buildings distributor in the United States. This partnership allows the firm to offer pre-engineered metal building solutions alongside conventional construction. The relationship combines traditional design-build services with specialized metal building distribution.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tippmann Group: Specialist design-builder of temperature-controlled warehouses, cold storage, and food distribution facilities. Closely matches Smithson's cold storage and food processing focus with a similar integrated design-build approach.
• ARCO National Construction: Design-build general contractor serving commercial, industrial, and cold storage clients nationally. Comparable integrated single-source delivery model and target customer base to Smithson.
• Pepper Construction: Mid-Atlantic/Midwest design-build contractor serving commercial, industrial, and institutional clients. Comparable project delivery model and customer base to Smithson.
• The Haskell Company: Integrated design-build firm serving industrial, commercial, and cold storage/food processing clients. Comparable full-service architecture, engineering, and construction delivery model.
• FCL Builders: National design-build contractor focused on refrigerated and cold storage warehouses. Highly comparable to Smithson's cold storage specialty and pre-engineered metal building construction approach.
• Brasfield & Gorrie: Large private design-build general contractor with significant commercial, industrial, and healthcare construction practices. Comparable integrated delivery model and project scale to Smithson.
• Big-D Construction: Design-build commercial and industrial contractor with food processing, cold storage, and retail experience. Comparable vertical mix and integrated project delivery approach.
• Gray Construction: Design-build firm specializing in food and beverage manufacturing, distribution, and cold storage facilities for large enterprise customers. Directly comparable to Smithson in vertical focus, integrated delivery model, and cold storage expertise.

Broad incumbents

• Cornerstone Building Brands: Parent entity and manufacturer of multiple metal building brands including CECO. Comparable because CECO's product line underpins Smithson's pre-engineered building distribution business.
• The Walsh Group: Large national design-build firm with extensive commercial, industrial, and cold storage capabilities. Provides a benchmark for the broader private design-build competitive landscape Smithson operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Smithson-Inc-1761048523921920
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smithson-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smithson