The Southeast’s strong construction market is buoying Metcon, which reported a 43% increase in revenue to $150 million last year. It’s an acceleration of a long-term success story engineered by Pembroke native Aaron Thomas, who started the company at age 23. He has built a major sense of pride in the Lumbee Native American community that is centered in Robeson County.
Last year, Metcon expanded its management team by hiring Steven Hunt as chief operating officer and named Thomas Plant as vice president of operations for the Raleigh market. Plant is a veteran industry executive who most recently worked for Choate Construction.
Metcon also added 10 staff members last year and maintained its record of never having companywide layoffs.
Key projects in the past year include the Robeson County Administration Building in Lumberton, the business school building at UNC Pembroke, a residence hall at the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, and public schools in Mecklenburg and Harnett counties. Metcon is also involved in the construction of the Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain and Concord’s electric operations center.
The Charlotte Minority Enterprise Council named Metcon as its Diversity Firm of the Year in 2021.
“I love it because we are creating something that will be there for my lifetime and well beyond,” Thomas told Business North Carolina last year.