What Brownlee Construction does

Brownlee Construction is a family-owned commercial general contractor headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, founded in 1947 by Joe Brownlee Sr. The firm serves commercial clients across East Tennessee, providing full-service general contracting for projects including warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, aviation hangars, and fire/EMS stations. The company is now in its third generation of family ownership under brothers Griffin and Heath Brownlee, and has no disclosed external investors, funding rounds, or institutional shareholders.

The company's service offering spans the full commercial construction workflow in-house: site excavation, concrete foundations, concrete tilt-up panels, structural steel erection, roofing, sheet-metal fabrication and installation, and rough/finish carpentry. Documented completed projects include the TAC Air Hangar, Rural Metro Station 36, Johnstone Supply, House Hasson, the Custom Foods Raw Materials Building, and the Cherokee Distributing facility, spanning aviation, emergency services, wholesale distribution, and food manufacturing verticals. The firm markets a hands-on delivery model in which each client works with a single point person from initial contact through project completion, and the same crew executes the build start to finish.

Revenue is generated on a project-by-project basis through one-time commercial construction contracts, priced via custom quotes per build rather than published rate cards. The go-to-market motion is direct: inbound leads arrive via the company website (which features a project gallery), a published phone line (865-588-0537), and word-of-mouth referrals within the East Tennessee business community. The customer base is exclusively enterprise/commercial, with no SMB or consumer segment. Brownlee Construction is a privately held Tennessee entity with no publicly disclosed financials, no intellectual property filings, no certifications, and no strategic partnerships in the available record.

Name

Brownlee Construction

Legal name

Brownlee Construction

Website

https://brownleeconstruction.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brownlee Construction is a family-owned commercial general contractor founded in 1947 in Knoxville, Tennessee, now in its third generation of family ownership. It provides full-service commercial construction — excavation, concrete, steel erection, roofing, and carpentry — for businesses across East Tennessee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Construction Services

NAICS

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (23622)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

Keywords

• Commercial construction services
• General contracting
• Concrete foundations
• Steel erection
• Commercial roofing

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commercial Construction Services: Revenue is generated through one-time project-based commercial construction contracts. The company provides general contracting services for commercial buildings including excavation, concrete work, steel erection, roofing, and finishing carpentry. Projects are custom and quote-based, typically serving as prime contractor for commercial builds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Brownlee Construction operates as a commercial general contractor serving businesses across East Tennessee. It delivers full-scope commercial building projects including excavation, concrete foundations, concrete tilt-up panels, steel erection, roofing, sheet-metal work, and rough/finish carpentry, typically serving as the prime contractor on custom, quote-based builds.

Product overview

Brownlee Construction is a family-owned commercial construction company serving East Tennessee since 1947, now in its third generation of family ownership. The company operates as a general contractor offering a comprehensive suite of construction services including excavation, concrete foundation, concrete tilt-up panels, steel erection, roofing, sheet-metal work, and rough/finish carpentry. Their project portfolio includes commercial buildings such as TAC Air Hanger, Rural Metro Station 36, Johnstone Supply, House Hasson, Custom Foods Raw Materials Building, and Cherokee Distributing. The company emphasizes a hands-on approach with direct client communication throughout projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Construction Services Full-scope commercial general contracting for businesses across East Tennessee, covering site excavation, concrete foundations, concrete tilt-up panels, structural steel erection, roofing, sheet-metal work, and rough/finish carpentry, delivered as a single contracted project with the same point person from start to finish.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Holder Construction: Atlanta-based national commercial GC specializing in corporate, higher-education, and data center construction. Represents a larger, more diversified incumbent competing for the same institutional customer pool in the Southeast.
• Brasfield & Gorrie: One of the largest privately held U.S. commercial GCs, headquartered in Birmingham with a strong Southeast presence. A larger incumbent competitor pursuing similar commercial, healthcare, and industrial work across the region.
• Clark Construction Group: Major national commercial GC headquartered in the Mid-Atlantic with broad institutional and commercial capabilities. Represents a much larger incumbent capable of bidding regional Tennessee projects Brownlee targets.
• Hensel Phelps: National employee-owned commercial GC with a broad portfolio spanning aviation, healthcare, and commercial buildings. A larger incumbent competing for the aviation hangar and commercial work Brownlee performs.
• Turner Construction Company: Largest U.S. commercial GC by revenue with nationwide operations including a Southeast presence. A broad incumbent competitor that increasingly targets the same industrial, distribution, and commercial segments.

Direct peers

• Batson-Cook Construction: Georgia-based regional commercial GC with a similar mid-sized footprint across the Southeast. Comparable service mix (concrete, steel, general contracting) and customer profile to Brownlee.
• Messer Construction: Cincinnati-based 100% employee-owned commercial GC with Southeast regional presence. Directly comparable as a mid-sized relationship-driven GC delivering commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings.
• Robins & Morton: Birmingham-based employee-owned commercial and industrial GC active across the Southeast. Comparable to Brownlee in self-performed concrete and steel work on healthcare, warehouse, and industrial projects.
• BL Harbert International: Birmingham-based commercial and industrial GC with U.S. and international operations. Overlaps with Brownlee on commercial building construction, steel erection, and concrete scope across similar end markets.
• Hoar Construction: Family-founded (1940) commercial general contractor headquartered in Alabama with a Southeast regional footprint. Closely comparable to Brownlee as a relationship-driven, multi-generational regional commercial GC serving similar owner and developer customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brownlee-construction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Brownlee Construction