Exceeding Expectations

Last year (1989), we did approximately one million dollars worth of business with WayneBrothers. This year, we have kept one or two of their crews working continuously on ourplant projects.Sam Hawfield, then chief structural engineer for the mill, had come to rely on Keith Waynefor assistance in planning the extensive remodeling projects then underway at Fieldcrest. Whenit became necessary to renovate the old Cannon Plant #4 in Kannapolis, so that its woodenfloors could be replaced by a heavy steel/concrete frame system that could support the loadsimposed by modern looms, the construction requirements were so challenging that onlyWayne Brothers and two other companies bid on the project.Although the contract was awarded to Wayne Brothers, two major challenges facedthe company: a rigorous time table, as the new textile equipment had already been orderedand a delivery date set; and, even more daunting, machinery operating on the third and fourthfloors of Plant #4 had to be kept in operation while the entire second floor of the building wasentirely removed and replaced by the new support structure.The project was successfully completed one week ahead of schedule to the considerablesurprise of engineer Hawfield. He later stated that when Wayne Brothers submitted a time ofconstruction of 16 weeks, which was 20 weeks less than the nearest bidder and considerablyless expensive, he knew the company could not deliver a completed project within 16 weeks,but reasoned that even if it took them twice that time they would still beat the time of theirnearest competitor by four weeks. After the project was completed ahead of schedule andwithout interruption to other plant operations, Wayne Brothers became the “go to” contractorfor Fieldcrest Cannon and participated in some of its most difficult projects. In some years,Fieldcrest contracts provided about half of WBI’s revenue. The company worked on numerouscontracts on Fieldcrest structures in Kannapolis, Concord, and Salisbury, as well as otherlocations in South Carolina and Georgia in which Fieldcrest had plants. In 1995, Wayne Brothersserved as the general contractor and did the concrete work on the ultra-modern FieldcrestCannon Data Center.Wayne Brothersbecame the “goto” contractor forFieldcrest Cannonand participated insome of its mostdifficult projects.In addition to its continuing emphasis on quality workmanship and compliance withdeadlines, Wayne Brothers recognized at an early stage the changing state of technology inthe concrete installation industry. Isaiah Wayne, oldest son of Keith Wayne, and now a ProjectExecutive for Wayne Brothers, says that the company made an early commitment to “stay onthe cutting edge of technology” and to remain ahead of the technology curve. Keith WayneOn Solid27