CarolinaPower Leaders Reflect on 25 Years in Business
It was the late 1990s when Georgia-based MetroPower decided to launch an out-of-state branch in Greenville, SC – doing business as (dba) CarolinaPower. The challenge at hand for the start-up: breaking into an established construction market with zero name recognition and minimal resources. Fast-forward 25 years and CarolinaPower has four offices across South Carolina –…
SouthCon Building Group Promotes Brandon Needham to Vice President
SouthCon Building Group, a full-service general contractor based in Mount Pleasant, has promoted Brandon Needham to Vice President. In addition to his new role on the executive leadership team, Needham will continue to support SouthCon’s clients as a senior project manager. “Brandon is proven leader who has significantly contributed to SouthCon’s growth and solid track…
SouthCon Building Group Welcomes Anne S. Derbyshire as Business Development Manager
SouthCon Building Group, a full-service general contractor based in Mount Pleasant, welcomes Anne S. Derbyshire as Business Development Manager. She comes to SouthCon with more than 20 years of business development and marketing experience in the Carolinas construction industry, most recently with LandOne Group in Charleston. In her new position, Derbyshire will focus on the…
The Economic Situation and What Lies Ahead
With the books for 2025 ready to be closed and knuckles still white from the roller coaster ride generated by President Trump’s first year policy actions, and all this compounded by war, terrorist attacks, and a recovering post-COVID world, I begin this report with a summary forecast for the next four quarters. I offer thoughts…
From Boom and Pause to Balanced Growth: What’s Next for the Southeast Industrial Market
After several years defined by extremes, the Southeast industrial market is showing signs of shifting toward steadier footing in 2026. The post-pandemic boom of 2021–2022 created record construction and aggressive speculative development. That momentum slowed noticeably in 2023–2024, when rising costs, tighter financing and pockets of oversupply pushed many developers to pause and reassess. Now,…
Results of 2025 ASC Region 2 Student Competitions
Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 2 recently held its annual Student Competitions. Region 2 includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico and has seen significant growth in the annual competitions. Over 300 students on 49 teams from 18 universities competed in seven different competitions. Each competition category was…
For Love of Country and Construction: Meet CarolinaPower’s Veterans
Saluting all veterans who have served this great country – including those who now serve our customers – is an honored November tradition at CarolinaPower, a leading employee-owned, regional electrical contractor with four offices in South Carolina. “We are proud to be a military friendly employer. We have employees at all four of our locations…
Rebuilding Together: Harper General Contractor’s Commitment to Western North Carolina
Reflecting on the past year, we are reminded of the importance of building up our communities. When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina in September of 2024, many of our projects and clients were immediately impacted. In the Town of Burnsville, the hurricane caused a significant infrastructure failure, leaving the town’s water system crippled. Floodwater…
5 Strategies for Superior Industrial Construction Projects
We are always thinking about what our customers want and need. With industrial construction projects, the solution is sometimes highly complex, like installation of seven, 30-ton test benches for ZF Gray Court or the sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives that we designed for MÜNZING’s newest manufacturing facility. The idea behind the solution, however, begins with…
From a Recession’s Spark to a Carolina Legacy: The SeamonWhiteside Story
In 1985, starting a business that blended two site design services when no one else was could have resulted in swift failure. Despite the challenging economic climate, two young entrepreneurs, Stuart Whiteside and my dad, Kenny Seamon, shared a vision that would soon transform the Carolinas’ landscape. From that, SeamonWhiteside (SW+) was born, which became…
