Smith-Midland Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Company Reaches Half-Century Mark Posting Its Most Profitable Year Ever

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation® will celebrate 50 years as an innovative developer and producer of a wide variety of precast concrete products with festivities for the community, investors, customers and employees later this month. Founded in 1960 by David G. Smith as the Smith-Cattleguard Co., the company began when its founder build the first concrete cattleguard for his father-in-law, who was tired of having to open and close the gate. The business started out as supplemental income to the family's 95-acre farm.

Half a century later, the company is now producing a wide array of precast concrete products that have been featured at high-profile events including more than one Presidential Inauguration.

Read more ...

Smith-Midland To Produce Custom Precast Concrete Manholes For Metrorail Expansion to Dulles Airport

Company To Support Phase 1 Of Project By Delivering 117 Units Worth More Than $800,000

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation was awarded an $800,000 contract in January to produce 117 custom precast concrete electrical manholes as part of the expansion of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport.

"Twenty-eight of the manholes will measure 16 feet by 8 feet and will be made from a custom-made form," said Matthew Smith, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Smith-Midland. "The form was designed around Dominion Power specifications and was produced by our welders at our Midland plant."

Read more ...

Smith-Midland to Build Soundwall Along Intercounty Connector in Montgomery County

$7.8 Million Contract is Largest in Company's 50-Year History

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation has been awarded a contract to construct a precast concrete soundwall along the new Intercounty Connector in Montgomery County, Md.

Worth more than $7.8 million, it is the largest contract in the company's 50-year history. The project includes 607,000 square feet of noise barrier panels that will stretch east of MD97 to just west of US29, between Rockville and Silver Spring. The project began in late 2009 and is expected to be completed in January 2011.

“The installation of a precast concrete soundwall along the Intercounty Connector will improve the quality of life for those living nearby, reducing the noise generated by traffic along a major thoroughfare,” said Matthew Smith, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Smith-Midland. “The soundwall combines the unmatched strength and durability of precast concrete with the aesthetic benefit of a variety of finishes resulting in effective sound reduction, security, attractiveness and versatility all at an economical price.”

Read more ...

Smith-Midland Awarded Contract for I-66 Highways for LIFE Project

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation of Midland, Virginia was recently awarded the contract to supply the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Pavement Slab panels for the VDOT Highways for LIFE Project on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County, Virginia. The value of the contract, which is a Lane Construction Corporation project, is valued at $1 million.

Smith-Midland will supply 52,020 square feet of precast/prestressed concrete slabs (306 pieces) with a light broom finish to support the VDOT pavement-rehabilitation project. The prestressed slabs will be post-tensioned together at the site after they are placed on the sub-grade. The project began in August with completion scheduled for November 2009.

Read more ...

Smith-Midland Partners with Local College to Make Employees “Partners in Success”

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation is looking within its own community to help it become a better, bigger, stronger and more profitable company. As they implement a lean approach to the process of manufacturing precast concrete, they are looking to their employees to take the initiative to address and correct problems they encounter throughout the manufacturing process. To be successful in this new approach, Smith-Midland turned to the Lord Fairfax Community College customized training program to help empower their employees to become their “partners in success.”

According to Chris Kemp, Director of Continuous Improvement for Smith-Midland, the company is undergoing what can best be described as a “lean” transformation. “The transformation will focus on the three main factors that production managers fear most: poor quality, increase in production costs, and an increase in lead time. It will be a shift from the traditional manufacturing system to a model that emulates the Toyota Production System.”

Read more ...

Smith-Midland Employees Participate in Red Cross Blood Drive

MIDLAND, Va. – Nearly thirty employees of Smith-Midland Corporation participated in a blood drive yesterday when the Red Cross Blood bus visited their company headquarters in Midland.

According to Ashley Smith, President and COO of Smith-Midland, "Smith-Midland wants to support the community and is always looking for new opportunities to help. March was Red Cross Month so it seemed like the perfect time to have the Red Cross Blood bus make a stop at our headquarters. The senior staff welcomed the opportunity and employees were more than happy to participate." The company provided employees participating in the blood drive with refreshments including bagels for breakfast and afternoon snacks.

Read more ...

Lean Approach to Manufacturing Makes SMC Bigger and Stronger than the Rest

MIDLAND, Va. – In a time when most companies are focusing on survival, Smith-Midland Corporation of Midland, Virginia, is transforming. They are tearing down the walls on what is typically known as "economy of scale," or traditional manufacturing and taking a more holistic approach to the process of manufacturing precast concrete. Ultimately, they will build a better, bigger, and stronger company which, in turn, may result in a more profitable company.

According to Chris Kemp, Director of Continuous Improvement for Smith-Midland, the company is undergoing what can best be described as a "lean" transformation. "The transformation will focus on the three main factors that production managers fear most: poor quality, increase in production costs, and an increase in lead time. It will be a shift from the traditional manufacturing system to a model that emulates the Toyota Production System."

Read more ...

Smith-Midland Awarded Prestigious CUP Award for Fort Story Project

MIDLAND, Va. – Officials at Smith-Midland Corporation were recently the recipients of the prestigious Creative Use of Precast (CUP) Award for a building project completed in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This is the fifth consecutive year that Smith-Midland has received a CUP award. They also received the only Honorable Mention in the Above Ground Category for their 3120 Fairview Park Drive (Fairfax, VA) project.

The company's submission for its Military Combat Facility project replicating an Iraqi village utilizing their Easi-Set Precast Concrete Buildings, garnered third place in the CUP Awards program for the Above Ground category. The CUP Awards Program is an annual competition for NPCA members recognizing projects promoting innovative and cost-saving advantages of precast concrete over competing materials. The award was presented at the Salute to Excellence Award Banquet on Saturday, February 21 in Houston, Texas. The Gala is the closing event for the NPCA Winter Conference.

Read more ...

Smith-Midland Introduces Latest Sound-Absorptive Technology

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation has announced the introduction of SoftSound to its Easi-Set Industries product line. The latest sound-absorptive technology for use in highway noise walls, SoftSound is a proprietary composition that is molded and compressed to suit the desired technical and aesthetic requirements of the customer. By combining special aggregates with cement as a binder in a specific and exacting process, SoftSound creates a material that surpasses any other combination of durability, acoustics, thermal, strength and moldability.

SoftSound, currently being used in the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a fully-tested, porous, lightweight material averaging 36 pounds per cubic foot. It is durable under all weather conditions, environmentally friendly, and 100% recyclable. It is resistant to rot, decay, mildew and mold buildup, insect nesting, vermin, termites, and combustion.

Read more ...

MILDEP Headquarters to Feature Smith-Midland Architectural Precast Panels

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation is pleased to announce that they will be providing the architectural precast concrete panels for the Military Department (MILDEP) Investigative Agencies headquarters to be located at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.

The contract for the concrete panels awarded to Smith-Midland is valued at $4.3 million and features 135,000 square feet of architectural precast panels. The panels are thick, steel reinforced, with a buff and dark brown, light sandblast finish.

Read more ...

M Square Features Architectural Precast Panels

MIDLAND, Va. – Smith-Midland Corporation is pleased to announce that they will be providing the architectural precast concrete panels for the construction of "M Square", Maryland's largest research park located in College Park, Maryland. The research park will encompass two million square feet and be located next to a world-class university as well as in close proximity to Washington, easily accessed by adjacent commuter lines.

The $1.5 million contract awarded to Smith-Midland features 38,000 square feet (333 pieces) of architectural precast panels. The finish on the panels is a combination of two architectural concrete mixes, buff colored precast with a light acid wash finish and a cocoa brown colored mix with a medium acid wash finish. The color was chosen to match an existing building.

Read more ...

Manager of Business Development Joins Smith-Midland Team

MIDLAND, Va. – Jeff Wholey of Fredericksburg has joined Smith-Midland Corporation as Manager of Business Development. Jeff's focus will be on the sales and marketing of the company's Slenderwall architectural precast concrete wall panel system and architectural products.

Jeff brings more than 25 years of sales experience to Smith-Midland in positions ranging from major account representative to national sales manager with such prestigious companies as Xerox, Lanier and Advanced Oxidation Technology. He brings a strong work ethic and excellent customer skills to the company's sales team. Jeff's enthusiasm about his new position is very obvious. He said, "I'm very excited about the Smith-Midland product line and opportunities which exist in the marketplace. My goal is to grow sales for the Slenderwall system and architectural products and contribute to the continuing success of the company." Jeff is a graduate of Bridgewater College with a degree in Business Administration. He lives in Fredericksburg with his son Logan 17 and daughter Shannon 12. In his spare time Jeff enjoys playing golf.

Read more ...