GCS HISTORY
GCS: ABOUT OUR FOUNDER, GERALD CHAMBERS
Gerald Chambers moved from state to state in the south with his family growing up as he was the son of an operator and his father, like many families in construction, travelled to find work.
In 1962 at 25 years old Gerald formed a partnership with Billy Watkins in Benton Kentucky to form Chambers and Watkins Construction. They bought an HD-11 Allis Chalmers dozer at an auction and started doing site work and lots of clearing for farmers around Benton. In 1967 Gerald dissolved the partnership with Billy Watkins and went to the Forke Brothers Auction to buy his first Cat D7 dozer. Gerald Chambers Construction, as his company was now known, grew quickly. He added another D6C just a few months later and by the end of the first year he was able to buy his very first piece of new equipment, a Caterpillar D6D dozer.
Chambers Construction continued to prosper doing small jobs and clearing work for farmers and in 1968 secured the contract to build Saxony Mobile Home park. Between 1968 and 1975 Chambers Construction grew. In 71′ A shop was built on Symsonia Road to house a place for parts and equipment. A two way radio tower was built so employees could quickly radio back to the office or between work vehicles. We didn’t have the luxury of a phone in our pocket and constant communication back then but this was a huge improvement over the alternative. Three different contracts for state highways in Ballard county, Marshall County Vocational School, Marshall County High school and 12 different watershed dams in Graves and Carlisle counties kept the company busy and by this time Gerald, and his wife Pam had also created a growing family, Brien, Scott and Mark.
Gerald changed the name of the company to Gerald Chambers & Sons and incorporated the business. After proving his value working with his dad,Brien was appointed Vice President after a few years. In 1979 Chambers and Sons had secured its largest project to date with Ohio River Steel in Calvert City. The Steel Mill was so impressed with Chambers and Sons that they kept adding more and more work which kept the company busy for 3 years. The 80’s and 90’s were very prosperous for the construction industry and contracts with the Arvin Corporation in Princeton, boat ramps and parking lots dotted down the Ohio River and Graves county High School. GCS had outgrown the shop on Symsonia Highway so an office and warehouse were built at its current location on Main street in Benton. In 1999 the largest contract to date was awarded with the construction giant, Massman to build an assembly yard and lagoon near Paducah on the Ohio River to construct floating approach walls which would be taken by tug downriver to the Olmstead Dam project. This was a huge project with operators , laborers, steelworkers and engineers from different states and different unions working together.
GCS has the capability, the knowledge and the equipment to work on any job of almost any size simply because its what we do and what we have done for the majority of our lives. We have the knowledge, the skill and the desire to build it for you whether you want a small site cleared for a new home or need a bid proposal for a mulit-million dollar corporate project and anything in between.
Good, bad or indifferent, if you are not investing in new technology, you are going to be left behind. – Philip Green
DEDICATION TO QUALITY
GCS has a reputation for quality. We simply will not associate our name to subpar or shoddy work. Giving our customers what they want and doing so by doing it correctly is what we pride ourselves on. GCS is, and always will be, an early adopter of technology. This practice has shown time and time again that it pays to be. Historically, any advantage that can be gained that will improve accuracy and reduce costs will benefit the customer as well as the company, In the late 60’s a two way radio tower and mobile radios shaved time off of sending and receiving information from the office to the workers, In 1985 GCS outfitted the first laser and receiver to machines to assist in grade control. At the time this was considered a very expensive option but the technology paid for itself in the first year. In the early 90’s digitized mapping software and computer aided design helped to more accurately estimate quantities and costs involved with a project which gave us an advantage in keeping costs low when estimating jobs.
GCS was among the first in the area to adopt GPS technology and automated machine control on its equipment and to implement a stakeless grading system which greatly increased productivity, saved on engineering costs, cut time tremendously and further increased accuracy. There are dozens of promising technologies currently under development and GCS will take advantage of them if we find that it will benefit the customer or the company in the long run.
WHY GCS?
Experience – we have been in business for over 60 years and have a combined total of over 150 years of experience in the industry. We are often called in to correct or take over projects that other companies have failed to do correctly.
Longevity – We have stood the test of time, we have weathered lean financial times and prospered in others. We’ve never been forced into any situation that has seriously threatened the future of the company.
Accuracy – at GCS, you can be sure that whatever we do, it will be done to the greatest degree of accuracy that is required. We will not leave a job without satisfying both the specifications and our own commitment to quality work. We wont put our name on anything that is sub-par.
Community – our commitment to helping our community and remaining local allows us the time and resources to improving the neighborhoods around us. We give back to our community: Annual contributions of resources and financial contributions to Boys and Girls clubs, Community Improvement Projects, Mental Health and Recovery Centers, Wetlands Conservation, as well as athletic and scholastic organizations.
Family- Our company is a family owned business representing 3 generations who have worked in this industry our entire lives. Its what we know and know how to do well. This makes us more approachable and easier to deal with than a large faceless corporation. Being a family owned business also allows us to take on projects of any size. Whether you need a driveway built or you want to construct a multi million dollar facility, we have the experience, capability and the desire to do anything in between.