GroundBreak Carolinas Q & A: Ben Barfield, Vice President and Division Manager, Brasfield & Gorrie
Nicknamed “Betamax” by his brothers for his machine-like tenacity, Ben spent his childhood disassembling, fixing, and reassembling things, from Lego toy villages to television sets. He took on his first construction job during high school, working in the field. He loved the hands-on aspect of manual labor—putting in hard work to accomplish a tangible result….
New Report Offers Strategies for Addressing Bias in Architecture Profession
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) in partnership with the University of California Hastings College of the Law is releasing a new report today that sheds light on the impacts of bias in the workplace. Additionally, the report offers resources that can help move the needle on equity, diversity, and inclusion in the architecture profession. “This study…
Toyota to Build Battery Plant in North Carolina
Toyota Motor North America announced plans to build a $1.29 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery production facility at the 1,825-acre Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, a KPMG-certified, shovel-ready site featuring the ideal combination of strategic location, world-class workforce and unparalleled transportation infrastructure. North Carolina is home to the global headquarters of several top lithium companies including the world’s largest provider…
ABC Wins Key Nationwide Challenge Against Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate
Associated Builders and Contractors today applauded a federal court for granting a nationwide preliminary injunction order against the federal contractor vaccine mandate. The ruling came from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. “ABC’s participation in the case was essential to nationwide and construction industry relief, which would otherwise have been limited to the…
A Brief Guide on Content Marketing Strategy for a Construction Business
Content marketing is a great way to subtly push your brand among consumers while offering them unconditional value. The successful content marketing with continuity also eventually improves the organic online visibility of the business. For these reasons, businesses from all sectors and niches have made content marketing an integral part of their digital promotions. However,…
Brian King Elected to 2021 Class of Design-Build Institute of America’s College of Fellows
Brian T. King, Founder and President of A M King, an integrated Design-Build firm based in Charlotte, has been inducted into the Design-Build Institute of America’s (DBIA) 2021 Class of DBIA Fellows. King and four other inductees were honored on November 2 during the 2021 Design-Build Conference & Expo in Denver, CO. “Based on input…
Encouraging Collaboration Inside Organizations
I found myself in a debate with someone on LinkedIn recently in response to an HBR article on collaboration inside organizations. This fellow and I got into the subject of how to actually encourage collaboration inside our businesses. This isn’t the first time I have had one of these debates, and in my opinion, it…
The Threat of Email Compromise
Ransomware attacks grab most of the headlines—for instance, the Colonial Pipeline attack earlier in 2021—but in terms of direct loss, Business Email Compromise/Email Account Compromise (BEC/EAC) was the top crime reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).[1] BEC has evolved over the decade and is now also referred to as EAC in acknowledgement…
Guest Commentary: Workforce Recruiting for Plumbing/HVAC Contracting Sector
GroundBreak Carolinas is always looking for industry experts to weigh-in on important topics such as workforce development, safety and the economy. Mendi Arnold is director of human resources for Cullum, based in Charleston. Arnold explains how Cullum is working to change the perception of the construction industry as it promotes careers in the trades to young people and…
A M King Crowns Winner in Collegiate Design-Build Competition
It was an international quandary at the Associated Schools of Construction’s (ASC) Region 2 Design-Build Competition last week. Ultimately, the five-member team from the University of Florida solved the knotty puzzle posed by sponsor A M King, a leading integrated Design-Build firm based in the Carolinas. ASC is made up of eight regions: seven regions…
