Determination Puts Dennis Concrete Among South’s Top Firms

By Eric Olson

CEG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Josh Dennis knew he was going to run a concrete service — all the way back to when he was a youngster in Dover, Tenn.

In his small hometown, along the west bank of the Cumberland River and not too far east of the larger Tennessee River, there were few industries for folks to make a decent living. But one of them was the concrete business, which had a large presence in Dover.

“Well, as a kid, I was always drawn to the concrete guys because they had the nicer trucks, boats and toys,” he recalled. “I wanted that as well, so I began working in the summers helping the contractors that did concrete. When I graduated, I started in that work full time, and it is all I have ever done since.”

Today, he is owner of Dennis Concrete Service in Clarksville, Tenn., approximately 50 mi. northwest of Nashville and close to the state’s border with Kentucky. It provides concrete and construction services with turnkey solutions for contractors and government entities in the Middle Tennessee region.

“I would say most of the people that worked in concrete when I was younger originated in this part of Tennessee, specifically Stewart County, which is where Dover is located,” he said.

Part of the reason for so many concrete specialists in the area may be due to the U.S. Army’s Fort Campbell installation being close by. The base sits astride the Tennessee-Kentucky border, with most of it just to the east of Dover and north-northwest of Clarksville.

The Army contracts with builders to construct various projects on the base on a regular basis — something that has proven to be a key factor in Dennis Concrete’s growth and success over the past 15 years.

Working Long Hours at His Craft

After working for a couple different companies following high school, Dennis became a laborer for a local company. In his nine years there, he learned every aspect of the business, eventually overseeing the firm’s operations in the latter part of his career there.

The experience he gained, combined with his youthful moxie, led him to open his own one-man company in 2006, despite being only 26 years old. Slowly, more small projects came his way and as jobs became more complex, he added a couple more people to form a crew.

In his first year, he was able to secure a government contract to work on a sizable project at Fort Campbell, the first of many for Dennis Concrete. A general contractor needing a sub to do concrete services at the base knew of Dennis’s skill, having worked with him before, and shortly afterwards he and his small crew were on site to perform the work.

“My main background comes from work with the federal government — I have worked on Fort Campbell projects most of my career,” he said. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers work has also been a specialty of mine. At that first Fort Campbell job, the contractor had 82 storage buildings that needed three sizes of concrete slabs installed.

Dennis Concrete performs work at the Paris Landing State Park Hotel in Buchanan, Tenn.

Josh Dennis (L) and Slayden Johnson, senior project manager/chief estimator, both of Dennis Concrete.

1809 Blue Clay Road Wilmington, NC 28405 (910) 782-2477

www.soundheavymachinery.com