Ray Black & Son

What Ray Black & Son does

Ray Black & Son is a privately held, family-owned general contractor founded in 1925 in Paducah, Kentucky, currently in its fourth generation of family stewardship under Principal Chris Black and President David Black. The company delivers four core service lines — Healthcare Construction, Commercial Construction, Historic Preservation, and Design/Build — to healthcare systems, commercial developers, educational institutions, religious organizations, and government entities primarily across Paducah and Western Kentucky, with extension into Eastern Kentucky for preservation and disaster-recovery work.

The firm's technical differentiators are concentrated in healthcare construction (hybrid ORs, radiation therapy and imaging renovations, emergency departments, occupied-facility phasing) and historic preservation (Historic Preservation Tax Credit project management, LEED Gold and Silver delivery, Secretary of Interior standards compliance, and a first-of-its-kind seismic stabilization of Grace Episcopal Church's 1873 bell tower). It leverages relationships with local architects, engineers, and specialty designers for design-build delivery. Notable institutional customers include Baptist Health Paducah, Mercy Health – Lourdes Hospital, Independence Bank, Murray State University, Paducah School District, and multiple churches served under the Preserving Black Churches program.

The business model is project-based general contracting: customers are acquired through referrals, Chamber of Commerce relationships, and direct engagement; projects are won via competitive bidding or negotiated contracts; and revenue is recognized per project under multi-year contract cadences. Pricing is custom-quoted per scope and is not publicly disclosed. The firm has remained privately financed through retained earnings since founding, with no external funding, no public listing, and no M&A activity, and it reinvested in a new corporate headquarters in May 2026 after 77 years at its prior location.

Name

Ray Black & Son

Legal name

Ray Black & Son, Inc.

Website

https://rayblackson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ray Black & Son is a fourth-generation, family-owned general contractor in Paducah, Kentucky, delivering healthcare, commercial, historic preservation, and design-build construction services to hospitals, schools, churches, and commercial clients across Western Kentucky.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paducah

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Healthcare Construction: General contracting services for healthcare facilities including new construction, renovations, and complex healthcare projects such as emergency departments, surgical suites, cancer care centers, and hospice facilities. Revenue is project-based, typically multi-million dollar contracts with healthcare systems.
2. Commercial Construction: Construction services for educational, religious, retail, restaurant, banking and office space projects ranging from historic renovations to new buildings. Project-based revenue from commercial developers, institutions, and business owners.
3. Historic Preservation: Specialized preservation services including Historic Preservation Tax Credit project management, adaptive reuse, conservation, and structural stabilization. Revenue derived from nonprofit organizations, churches, and property owners seeking historic preservation incentives.
4. Design/Build Services: Integrated design-build delivery working with local architects, engineers, and specialty designers to meet programming, aesthetic, and budget goals for project owners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ray Black & Son is a fourth-generation, family-owned general contractor providing healthcare construction, commercial construction, historic preservation, and design/build services across Paducah and Western Kentucky. The firm specializes in complex medical environments (hybrid ORs, radiation therapy, imaging centers), adaptive reuse and structural stabilization of historic buildings, and integrated design-build delivery for healthcare systems, educational institutions, religious organizations, and commercial developers.

Product overview

Ray Black & Son is a construction company offering four core service lines: Healthcare Construction Services, Commercial Construction Services, Preservation Services, and Design/Build Services. The company specializes in healthcare facilities, historic renovations, adaptive reuse projects, and new commercial construction in the Paducah, KY area. Projects include hospitals, medical offices, churches, banks, educational facilities, and commercial buildings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthcare Construction Services

Quantifiable outcome

• First LEED Certified building (Gold status) in Western Kentucky - Crounse Corporation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Trust for Historic Preservation - African American Cultural Heritage Action FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2021Ray Black & Son worked with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund on the St. James AME Church restoration project in Mayfield, KY. The partnership included a $100,000 PBC Rapid Response Emergency grant to support the church's recovery from tornado damage. Chris Black served as subject matter expert helping guide the congregation toward preservation instead of demolition.
• Preserving Black Churches (PBC) ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership program created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund supporting historic Black churches. Ray Black & Son serves as the preservation contractor for churches in the program, including the St. James AME Church project that leveraged nearly $570,000 in funding.
• Kentucky Heritage Council / State Historic Preservation OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Black served as a member and Chairman of the Kentucky Heritage Council (State Historic Preservation Office). The company works with KHC on preservation projects and disaster recovery efforts, including volunteer work in Eastern Kentucky after 2022 flooding.
• Local Architects, Engineers, and Specialty DesignersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRay Black & Son's design/build services rely on relationships with local architects, engineers, and specialty designers to deliver integrated project delivery meeting programming, aesthetic, and budget goals for owners.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Skanska USA: Global contractor with strong US healthcare and sustainable construction credentials including LEED-certified projects. Comparable to Ray Black & Son's LEED experience but at enterprise scale.
• Clark Construction Group: Major US general contractor with healthcare, education, and commercial practices. Comparable healthcare and historic preservation work at much larger scale.
• Turner Construction Company: One of the largest US general contractors with significant healthcare construction volume. Operates broadly rather than regionally, but overlaps on healthcare facility delivery.
• Walsh Construction: Multi-generational general contractor with healthcare and education practices. Comparable to Ray Black & Son's family-owned heritage and healthcare construction focus.

Direct peers

• Gilbane Building Company: Family-founded (like Ray Black & Son) general contractor with major healthcare and education practices. Comparable in healthcare facility construction and long-tenured multi-generational ownership.
• JE Dunn Construction: Major healthcare and education general contractor with strong regional presence. Direct competitor in healthcare facility construction and modernization.
• Brasfield & Gorrie: Healthcare-focused general contractor headquartered in the Southeast with strong regional concentration. Compares directly to Ray Black & Son's healthcare vertical and regional model.
• Robins & Morton: Specialty healthcare and commercial contractor with deep regional hospital relationships. Directly competes in the same healthcare construction niche as Ray Black & Son.
• Barton Malow Company: Healthcare and industrial general contractor with comparable mix of new construction, renovation, and complex specialty work. Similar mid-sized contractor profile.
• McCarthy Building Companies: Large US general contractor with a dedicated healthcare construction practice (hospitals, surgical suites, imaging centers). Highly comparable to Ray Black & Son's healthcare specialty, though at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RayBlackSonInc
• Instagraminstagram.com/ray_black_son

Compliance2 records

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 Ray Black & Son