McCrory Wins Design-Build Excellence Award for E.A. Sween Project in Greenwood County
McCrory Construction, South Carolina’s oldest general contractor, won the Design-Build Excellence Award in the Industrial category in the 25th Annual Project/Team Awards competition sponsored by the Design-Build Institute of America’s Southeast Region (DBIA Southeast). McCrory took top honors for its single-source delivery of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Hodges, S.C., for Minnesota-based E.A. Sween (EAS), which produces and ships read-to-eat sandwiches nationally, selling 100+ million units annually.
McCrory team members accepted this prestigious Design-Build award on April 29, 2025, during DBIA Southeast’s 25th Annual Regional Summit & Awards Gala in Asheville, NC. Winning projects were honored for the advanced and innovative application of total integrated project delivery and finding unique solutions for project challenges. The competition drew entries from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Stephen Cooper, DBIA, Director of McCrory’s Greenville Operations, noted “This project for E.A. Sween in Greenwood County exemplifies teamwork and the successful application of DBIA’s Best Practices – from concept to completion. During preconstruction, we provided thoughtful solutions to meet the owner’s budget, which required finding $4 million in cost savings. During design development, we overcame equipment lead-time challenges and ensured that the facility was designed for future expansion. During construction, we nimbly responded to the owner’s unexpected early occupancy deadline – when, for strategic reasons, EAS moved its production timeline ahead by two months. The entire project team is to be commended.”
Project Details
McCrory’s assignment was to transform a 100,000-square-foot spec building in Greenwood County into a food-grade production and cold storage facility for EAS. This controlled environment build-out required highly specialized design and construction expertise to create a “building within a building” to house 35°F food prep and tempering rooms, 45°F sandwich production area, -10°F degree freezer, and refrigerated docks for shipping and receiving.
McCrory purposefully selected a design partner (AWB Engineers) with deep experience in the design of food processing facilities with knowledge of the stringent requirements/regulations unique to the food industry. Like McCrory’s key design-build trade contractors, AWB had extensive experience with design-build delivery.
The completed facility – EAS’s first location outside of Minnesota – serves as the cornerstone of North Greenwood Industrial Park, which is pivotal in Greenwood County’s growth along the Hwy 25 North corridor. The plant currently runs two shifts per day. By 2026, EAS plans to employ more than 300 workers at the site.
About McCrory Construction – McCrory Construction, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., with an additional office in Greenville, S.C., is a full-service general contractor that has operated continuously since 1918. At 107 years old, McCrory is South Carolina’s oldest general contractor. Licensed in 13 states throughout the Southeast, McCrory has served an array of private and public sector clients through more than 3,000 general construction, design-build and construction management projects. Now under fifth generation private ownership, McCrory continues to be a leading force in retail, commercial, industrial, healthcare, and multi-family construction in the Southeast. McCrory is consistently honored by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) as a Top Performer, a prestigious national ranking that recognizes contractors for demonstrating world-class performance in five specific areas: safety, quality, diversity, project excellence and special designations, ranked by work hours. Known for its people-focused culture, McCrory has consistently been named one of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina by SC Biz News. To learn more, visit mccroryconstruction.com.
