Collier Construction is the latest business to migrate south.
“Starting about four years ago, we found ourselves really connecting well with the Main Street community,” Ethan Collier, president and CEO of Collier Construction, said. “We wanted to get closer to the people we are fond of. We’ve done a lot of work on Signal and that area has been good for us, but as far as working in the community, we wanted to be with people of like mind.”
Collier moved from its Signal Mountain Boulevard location about three weeks ago to the new location at 1161 East Main Street, and employees are still getting settled, Ethan said.
Collier employees have worked on several Main Street projects, such as the Bluegrass Grille and The Crash Pad, he said.
The main reason for the move was the attraction to the Southside, but the new office space is bigger with more storage space and will better accommodate employees and customers, Ethan also said.
The business is growing and currently has 10 employees. That’s up from seven workers three years ago.
“We subcontract most of our work,” Ethan said. “The staff that we hire manages that work. The number of projects that we are doing is growing.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 68 percent of construction establishments employ fewer than five people.
The outlook for the profession is good, also according to the bureau.
The number of wage and salary jobs in the construction industry is expected to grow 19 percent through the year 2018, compared to the 11 percent projected for all the industries combined, according to the labor bureau.
Population growth, deteriorating infrastructure and buildings are expected to spur employment in the industry.
The Great Recession prompted Collier to change the way it does business, but the company still managed to grow during the economic slow-down from 2007 to 2009.
“It’s not that we didn’t feel the impact, but we are a young company,” Ethan said. “We are flexible. That sort of economic pressure forces you to change and be more efficient. We’ve been in the position to be able to do that.”
