Over 60 years ago, in his early twenties, J D (Buck) Buchanan settled in Gastonia and began raising his family. He was working on the Cowan’s Ford Dam project at Lake Norman in the 1960s when he found an opportunity to start his own concrete business. Pouring driveways and small commercial building pads locally started the name association of ‘Buchanan’ with ‘Concrete.’
Reputation provided Buchanan with a pathway to building numerous long-lasting business relationships. Buck was awarded his first significant commercial contract for Sun Oil Company … with many more to follow. Often spending the day with his dad on a project, young Brian Buchanan found creative ways to pass the time and began leaving his footprints in concrete. Buck’s empire continued growing, and by the mid-eighties, Buchanan had built a large skilled labor workforce.
With interest in starting his own concrete company, Buck’s son Brian established ‘Brian Buchanan Concrete’ … the business now known throughout the Carolinas as ‘Buchanan Concrete.’ Starting small and local, Brian gained a financial base, management experience, and an excellent reputation. Work scopes included light commercial and residential until a long-term connection was made with David Russell (our Operations Manager) and James Harmon (our Project Executive). At the same time, they managed the Building Division of a Charlotte-based General Contractor in the 1990s.
The relationship was fitting and Brian Buchanan was able to show off his stuff on the heavy industrial stage. Over the years, Buchanan performed above expectations on numerous heavy projects including: PYA Monarch, Fuji Film, Broad River Energy, Catawba Nuclear Plant, several Duke Energy projects, and numerous Phillip Morris additions. Over this period of time, Brian built up his crews & equipment profile, developed dozens of properties, and purchased several buildings. He brought on Kim Edwards (our Controller) to manage financials and Drew Henry (our Project Manager) for estimating and directing multiple tilt-up distribution centers. After 30+ years managing heavy concrete projects and general construction, David Russell joined Buchanan Concrete in 2010. Four years later, James Harmon joined Buchanan Concrete with 18+ years of experience in commercial and industrial construction management. These are only a few of the key employees brought to balance our office and field operations. Today, Buchanan operates at the highest level of concrete service.