COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Knight’s Companies is expanding its management team in the Midlands by hiring Billy Ray as its new Area Manager and promoting Chris Dennis to Production Manager. Now up to five plants, this is another step in the process of growing the footprint Knight’s set in Columbia in 2017.
With 25 years of experience, Ray held a variety of roles while working his way up from a Yardman to a Construction Products Manager at MMC Materials, Inc..
After a brief retirement, he found his way to Columbia to work for a different employer, and after parting ways had no intention of getting another job. However, a conversation with Pete Knight, Knight’s Companies CEO, changed his mind.
“I saw Pete’s passion and vision, and his philosophy on our industry is the same as mine,” Ray said. “He realizes like I do that, when it comes down to it, we’re a relationship business. So when I got up here it just kind of clicked, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I want to be a part of this.’”
As Area Manager, Ray will oversee everything in the Midlands: sales, dispatch, production, batch plants and personnel. However, Dennis will be there to help him adjust to working at Knight’s and directly support Ray in his role.
Dennis has been with Knight’s since they started production in the Midlands and moved from the Lowcountry to work at the Pineview Plant in 2019.
Chris Dennis handles the plants and personnel in the Midlands as Production Manager.
“It took me awhile to get used to the market up here,” Dennis said. “It’s predominantly residential work that’s extremely spread out across the area, but we’re starting to grow our customer base up here a lot more than when we first came up. We’re taking more of those one-off customers and making them repeats.”
To ensure continued market success, Dennis will be managing things on the production side, focusing on everything that goes on at the plant-level.
Both are sincerely committed to making sure those who work with them feel appreciated and are coached and developed to accomplish their professional goals.
“To me, it’s all about doing for others what was done for me,” Ray said. “I want to make them the best they can be and give them the tools and opportunity to excel, even if they don’t think that they can.”
As a team, Ray and Dennis will start to put those words into action August 2020.
For more information contact Mia Grimm at 843-214-5741, mgrimm@knightscompanies.com.
Since 1969, Knight’s Companies has offered septic, ready-mix concrete, precast concrete, trucking and concrete pumping services to commercial and residential customers in South Carolina and Georgia. It is a family business focused on winning together by always striving to bring its best to its customers and communities. Visit their website at www.knightscompanies.com to learn more.