Preconstruction, project development, general contracting and construction services for foreign investors have become a hallmark of Evans’ growth, with $2.15 billion in regional revenue and $2.3 billion in overall revenue reported last year. Evans says that work has sharpened its ability to manage increasingly complex project needs of advanced technology manufacturing.

“They come here, set up shop and move in [advanced manufacturing] equipment from all corners of the world, and we are right there with them,” says RT Evans, now president and CEO, who succeeded his father as company leader in 2021. Sarah Rothwein, the founder’s daughter, oversees preconstruction and marketing as a senior vice president.

“Putting that all together on U.S. soil is just a tremendous treasure in what you learn, what you see and the people you interact with,” RT adds.

Growing From the Ground Up

Including its Alpharetta, Ga., headquarters, Evans General Contractors has nine offices across Georgia, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as in Germany, with approximately 550 total employees.

Among the company’s recent notable projects is the Georgia Steamship Terminal Redevelopment project for the Georgia Ports Authority; a 350,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility for Archer Aviation’s eVTOL (electric vehicle takeoff and landing) in Covington, Ga.; and a battery manufacturing campus for BMW. The company was also recently awarded the second phase of a design-build, turn-key delivery of manufacturer Arglass’ first glass container plant on 75 acres in Valdosta, Ga.

“Very complicated process, not often done in the U.S., but we got to do the first phase, and we’re fortunate enough to do the second phase,” RT says about Arglass. “Another very challenging job.”

Yet Evans has taken its challenges in stride. The company says it is currently seeing an uptick in revenue generation through advanced technology and manufacturing markets with project demand for production plants, processing facilities and data centers.

“We have been working diligently for many years to get into data centers, but the last three to four years have been extremely successful for us,” says RT, adding that last year was an especially benchmark-making year. “We turned over several complex data centers, but we also were awarded some very large, hyperscale data centers, these large AI-type data centers that are the hot new item in the news right now.”

Evans also specializes in distribution and logistics, food and beverage, and life sciences facilities. The company says it is seeing an appreciation of diversified delivery models among its clients and value-engineered solutions that tap into virtual design and construction and building information technologies in addition to supply chain and procurement management services.

Corey Lemming, senior vice president of advanced technology, said Evans’ design-build contracting work on the DC BLOX Cable Landing Station (CLS) in Myrtle Beach, S.C., is an example of how advanced technology projects have buoyed its current success in the data center market. This 15-MW facility, located in the international technology and aerospace park, opened in October 2023. The company announced in July that it plans to build a second subsea Cable Landing Station campus in Palm Coast, Fla.

“As you know, Atlanta has emerged as either the No. 1 or No. 2 data center market in the last 48 months, and we’re a huge part of that,” according to Lemming. “We’ve got somewhere between $2 billion to $3 billion worth of data center and artificial intelligence infrastructure underway in Atlanta.”

Evans’ portfolio over the last few years has also included a wide range of electrification projects in the manufacturing space, Hersacher says.

He adds, “We literally touched every possible industry [that’s] going electric. It starts with automotive, BMW, obviously, as the flagship project. In parallel, we completed this year Archer Aviation. So the electrification of things was really for manufacturing over the last few years, very impactful and very interesting, and with that comes a big variety of sub suppliers, so we’re involved on the OEM side.”

Evans General Contractors worked on this 15-MW facility in the international technology and aerospace park in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Image courtesy of Evans General Contractors

Building Company Culture

In growing Evans’ portfolio of work, Tim Evans says his focus on making connections with people and prioritizing relationships over profits has helped the company’s reputation as a trusted contracting partner. The company does not self-perform any construction contracting, but its strong regional relationships with subcontractors and its design-build specialty have ensured that it can deliver what clients need and remain flexible.

“What happens is, when you spend a year with somebody, before you actually construct anything, you develop relationships, trust and confidence,” says Tim Evans.

RT Evans adds that the firm’s preference for communication and collaboration has also helped the company navigate the industry’s ongoing labor shortage challenges.

“You just have to be talking to everybody early,” he adds. “If you have a big job coming up, you’ve got to be lobbying with the subcontract market, the supplier market, the designer market to make sure they know there’s a big job coming down that we’re pursuing.”

A decentralized command structure among the leaders of Evans’ business lines also enables a level of autonomy to steer and make decisions quickly.

“Because at the end of the day everybody wants to have autonomy. They want to be professionals that are recognized as capable of working in [their] field, and that’s created a lot of growth for us,” says RT.

Such a structure has also instilled a culture of continuous improvement in Evans employees. The company says it holds monthly training programs for all associates on safety, specific jobsite training and leadership development to develop the next generation.

“That’s where we take someone we identify that shows a lot of attributes at the company, but also outside the company, with volunteering,” RT says, explaining that Evans has a company-wide initiative in which each of its offices must select a nonprofit of their choosing to support through the Evans Silver Linings Foundation, established in 2009. The foundation donates to a number of initiatives to support student financial aid, families in need, after school programs for underserved communities and support for veterans.

Last year, it was announced that the Allen E. Paulson Stadium, home of the Georgia Southern football team, will be renamed “Allen E. Paulson Stadium at Evans Family Field” following a $3-million donation from the Evans family.

The contractor has delivered multiple projects for BMW’s facility in South Carolina.  
Image courtesy of Evans General Contractors

Focus on the Future

As Evans looks to expand its footprint, the company says it is focused on innovation and having a seat at the table as technology continues to develop.

“More than anything, Evans is looking for the next challenge. That’s one of the things that makes us different—we actually are more attracted and thrive on the first-of-a-kind, unique projects,” says Hersacher. “We’re not as enthralled with building the same buildings over and over and over. We do some of that, too, but it takes a lot of effort and perseverance and grit to help a developer or client for many years to come up with a concept to find the land, to negotiate incentives, to get the power by any means necessary, and, you know, develop multiple plans of records to make the numbers work.”

Lemming says Evans is exploring the possibility of building power and transmission sources for data centers.

He adds, “It’s only a matter of time before we build power generation on a data center campus; that’s going to be very unique to us. So getting ourselves ready for that to produce energy, it’s only a matter of time.”

With increasingly complex projects in the construction space, Hersacher believes it will reignite an interest in construction among the next generation.

“We’re looking for the challenging projects, and I think that’s also very attractive to young people. You’re constantly getting confronted with new challenges, with new exciting projects,” he says. “And I think especially for people that think of construction, they typically don’t think of cutting-edge technology. They think of dirt and concrete and steel. But it’s more. We’re creating environments for tomorrow, where the technology of tomorrow is getting built, and ... what we offer is the interaction with those people that basically build our tomorrow world, if you will. We work with them, hand-in-hand to create facilities and solve problems that help them to deliver basically the dreams of tomorrow.”

According to RT, it’s the firm’s hand-in-hand approach to working with its clients that is behind a lot of the contractors success.

“That’s keeping your word, doing the right thing, and that’s led to a lot of great referrals, a lot of great partnerships, a lot of great relationships,” says RT. “And those have carried us to where we are.”