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O’Neal Inc. Marks 35 Years of Excellence

Greenville, SC – September 14, 2010 –O’Neal, Inc., a Greenville-based integrated design and construction firm, today announced the celebration of 35 years in business.

Since 1975, O’Neal has evolved from a modest engineering company with a two-person staff and a basement office, to a multi-million dollar business with an international client base. Throughout the years, O’Neal has become well known for superior industrial design and construction with the successful completion of well known projects for clients including BMW, Michelin, and Fiberweb.

“O’Neal remains grounded in the industrial markets today. We make it a point to listen to our long-term client’s challenges and respond accordingly. The services we provide today are very different than those we provided 10 years ago,” said Kevin Bean, President and CEO of O’Neal. The company is exploring new markets that include renewable energy and biochemicals.

Adaptation, change and innovation have been hallmarks for O’Neal. “Ours is a company built on growth and innovation,” said Bean. “Our philosophy is and always has been to take on new challenges. With those challenges we have found success and intend to continue to grow our diverse client base and services in the years to come.”

In recent years, O’Neal has built a reputation for environmentally conscious building, providing design-build services for solar arrays, plastic recycling facilities and biorefineries. “Identifying new opportunities rather than becoming a niche service provider, has, I believe, allowed our company to stay relevant and competitive in this ever-changing market,” Bean said.

Long-standing client relationships are another hallmark of O’Neal. “We are very fortunate to have numerous long standing client relationships,” Bean noted. “We’ve been able to develop a level of trust with them by consistently delivering quality projects. With a staff that has an average tenure of 21 years with O’Neal, there is a significant amount of knowledge, experience and expertise that we can bring to every project,” he added.

More than a celebration of work completed, O’Neal executives say the milestone anniversary is a reflection of the company’s strong employee team. Bean says he attributes the company’s family-friendly environment and challenging projects as key to their high employee satisfaction.

“O’Neal truly cares about the well-being of their employees,” said Randy Etzkorn, a mechanical engineer with O’Neal. “The values of O’Neal in regards to employee teams were shown during a surgery and recovery of mine, when the company’s policy of putting its people first was most evident.”

“I truly believe that we have the best and the brightest talent in our industry,” said Judy Castleberry, O’Neal’s CFO. “A respected work portfolio can only take you so far. What really speaks volumes about our company is the years of employee retention and satisfaction our employees demonstrate. Nearly 80 percent of our employees own stock in this company, an incentive-based practice that is proven to increase client and employee satisfaction.”

Rich O’Kelly, Vice President, has been with O’Neal for 34 years, making him the longest standing employee at O’Neal today. “It’s been quite a ride, beginning with a six man structural firm and presently a 200 man multi-disciplined firm with construction,” O’Kelly said. “O’Neal has allowed me to grow and mature from a young, inexperienced structural engineer to a manager of an organization that is 30 times the size of the company I hired on with.”

Through years of growth O’Neal has managed to remain true to its business practice foundations. “O’Neal has changed a lot over the years I have been here,” recalls Nancy Vandiver, who works in O’Neal’s accounting department. “But the company has strived to remain consistent in business practices and in dealings with the employees.”

In addition, O’Neal has been a fixture in the local community. “We believe in giving back to the communities where we live, work, and play,” said Brian Gallagher, Director of Marketing. O’Neal employees are active serving through community groups such as Meals On Wheels, the United Way, and Miracle Hill Ministries. The company has been a regular sponsor of community events such as Hands on Greenville and the Reedy River Run. “These are great opportunities to serve others while building camaraderie within our organization,” Gallagher added.

“Work doesn’t feel like ‘work’ when you love what you do and who you do it with,” Bean said. “Our fantastic team brings a wide range of talent and diversity to each project, allowing us to provide the best service possible to our clients. We are proud of what this company has become over the last 35 years and look forward to continued success over the next 35.”

About O’Neal, Inc.:
O'Neal, Inc., is an integrated design and construction firm that specializes in project delivery. For 35 years, O’Neal has been successfully delivering capital projects in the automotive, pharmaceutical/biotech, process chemical, manufacturing, energy, and pulp and paper markets worldwide. The company, founded in 1975, is headquartered in Greenville, SC with additional offices in Atlanta, GA, and Raleigh, NC. For more information, please visit www.onealinc.com.