WHITEHEAD CONSTRUCTION MOVES FAMILY BUSINESS HOME TO WHITLEY COUNTY

A Whitley County family recently moved their family-owned business home. Whitehead Construction of Columbia City is in the process of moving into the old OmniSource Recycling building.

Brenda Whitehead-Myers took possession of the building in June 2019 and has been preparing the site to fully move her business, Whitehead Construction home. The Whitehead family is from Whitley County but settled their business in Fort Wayne when it began nearly four years ago.

Whitehead Construction equipment at the Columbia City location.

“We’re from Whitley County so we’re so glad to have the business here,” said Brenda Whitehead-Myers, owner of Whitehead Construction. “Not only is the commute shorter for a majority of our employees but it’s nice to put money back into the community we’re from.”

Whitehead Construction is a sub-contractor specializing in slip forming concrete barrier walls and concrete bridge rail. Slip forming is a method of construction in which concrete is poured continuously into a moving form. Their work is done throughout the state and are known for their innovative block molds.

“My dad, Marvin D. Whitehead, gave his life to the highway and made a difference in the slip form paving world of concrete,” Whitehead-Myers said. “From the beginning, when I started the company, I wanted to name it Whitehead Construction to restore the Whitehead name, the only thing my dad truly cared for.”

As leaders in slip forming and their block molds, Whitehead Construction is able to lay the concrete more efficiently, laying about a mile an hour.

“Often, we’re the last sub-contractors to come onto the scene before the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) comes in, so we have to be safe and efficient to get projects done on time. The quality of our work because of the innovations of our blocks make a difference,” Whitehead-Myers said.

For the last five years, Whitehead-Myers has been back in the area and used to drive more than an hour to get to work.

“I now drive 10 minutes to get into town and have a lot more time to spend with my children and grandchildren,” Whitehead-Myers said. “When I saw the building was for sale I was adamant about buying it.”

Whitehead-Myers bought the 8.5 acres of land and has been renovating the space into office space, functional shop space and a more secure area to keep machinery.

“As a good neighbor, the fence is one of the very first things to fix before we can move all of our equipment to Columbia City,” Whitehead-Myers said. “I don’t want any children seeing cool machines and thinking it’s ok to play on. It’s part of being neighborly.”

Whitley County is thankful Whitehead Construction chose to come home, there is no place like it.