Weaver Commercial Contractor revitalizes Dalton/Kidron landscape

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | DGKN

Mike Eberly, vice president at Weaver Commercial Contractor, stands outside the new company headquarters along E Old Lincoln Way, Dalton.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | DGKN

The new Weaver Commercial Contractor building in Dalton allows for all the operations of the more than 20-year-old company to be under one roof in a central location.

 

DALTON  Some of the major building projects recently in eastern Wayne County and the surrounding area have at least a couple things in common.

New construction, as well as noticeable remodeling and building additions, have not only filled specific important needs in the local communities and beyond but they have the same contractor.

Weaver Commercial Contractor has completed and continues to work on local projects to refresh the landscape, revitalize communities and contribute to significant impacts on people served by the businesses and organizations that call the buildings home.

Whether you live and work in Wayne County, you’re visiting from out of town, or you’re just passing through, likely you have seen, used or been inside a building completed thanks to WCC.

To name a few high-profile jobs WCC has completed: Kidron Volunteer Fire Department’s new station on the square in the heart of the community had its grand opening earlier this year; just down the road from KVFD, Central Christian School received a facelift and benefited from improvements both inside and out; and along U.S. 30 toward Dalton, the new LincWay multi-use building has tenants and businesses moving in and the Wayne County Children’s STEAM PlayLab is working toward opening its new children’s science center in the new space in 2023.

Somewhat ironically, Weaver Commercial Contractor is finishing up a project to accommodate the company’s own continued growth and to bring together all the operations of the more than 20-year-old business under one roof and in one convenient central location.

Weaver Commercial Contractor is employee-owned and has been a stand-alone company since 1999. The company began as a branch of Weaver Custom Homes, Inc. WCC is responsible for design, planning and construction of projects. Many of the commercial buildings they complete stray from a typical design and offer styles and colors that intertwine both trends and traditions to present a clean, comfortable timeless feel.

In the 1950s, dairy farmer Ben Weaver began building homes in Wayne and Stark counties. In 1970, Weaver sold the farm and dairy operation to pursue his passion for construction and home building. He incorporated his home-building business in 1979.
As client demand grew for commercial, retail, church, and industrial projects, it became clear that a separate company was needed to focus on these commercial and industrial markets according to the website at www.weavercc.com. In 1999, WCH General Contractors was developed for this purpose. Ron Wenger, Ben Weaver’s son-in-law, who joined the business in 1983, became the vice president of this division. As WCHGC continued to grow and expand, the name was changed to Weaver Commercial Contractor, Inc. In 2009, WCC became a stand-alone “S” corporation with Ron Wenger as president, and in 2020, both WCC and WCH restructured to begin a new chapter as employee-owned companies (ESOPs).

Weaver Commercial Contractor has outgrown its offices in Wooster and has been busy rebuilding at a location that welcomes people coming in to the village of Dalton from the east off of U.S. 30. Formerly occupied by Twisted Piston, WCC has been expanding and giving the building at 17279 E Old Lincoln Way a whole new look to accommodate its needs. Twisted Piston moved its growing diesel mechanic repair business into a larger neighboring building that became available after the retirement of the longtime Neiss Body owners.

The new company headquarters will allow both offices and field shop to have the same home base with space inside to meet with clients, a spacious parking lot and room for continued growth. At least 20 employees will work out of the new main building.
Weaver has constructed 5,260 square feet of office space onto the existing 5,330 square feet of shop space. The new office features 10 perimeter offices, multiple open office spaces, a large conference room, work room, and break room. The existing shop has five overhead doors for crew trucks and provides 270 square feet of office space with adjacent bathrooms.

WCC has received numerous awards and honors and has been recognized nationally for the company’s work, performance and achievement in many categories.
As one can imagine, it’s rewarding to be able to drive by a building that one’s company made possible, and it’s good to know that the work that goes on inside the building is important. Each project is meaningful whether it’s commercial, light industrial, food processing, retail and office buildings, or aviation, agricultural and recreational structures, or the job involves churches, private schools and other ministry-related builds.

The company has completed projects throughout Ohio, northern West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. They have new projects they are beginning in Columbus and Cleveland, and at the same time, company officials say they enjoy working on projects close to home.

A couple local projects WCC is working on now include a new 13,716-square-foot psychiatric residential treatment center for The Village Network in Wooster, and a new 48,400-square-foot steel structure for stone manufacturing facility Casa di Sassi along Carr Road in Apple Creek. Other local projects WCC has completed include work at Gerber’s Poultry and the nonprofit equestrian learning center, Stirrup Courage, as well as Fairlawn Mennonite and building Wooster Church of the Nazarene from the ground up.

“We cover a wide variety of projects and pride ourselves in high-quality commercial projects,” said Mike Eberly, WCC vice president.

With its background stemming from a custom home builder, WCC holds itself to a high-quality standard, Eberly said.

WCC is BGW (Building God’s Way) Architects exclusive Builder for all ministry-related projects in Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Fully insured and bondable, WCC has engaged in public projects at local, state, and federal levels.

Eberly said the company takes care of it all including renovations, remodeling, additions and new projects from the ground up.

“Recognized for their honesty and integrity, WCC has become a highly recommended and sought-after GC with a vast commercial portfolio,” the company’s website states. “Our proven approach focuses on value-driven solutions to keep your project within budget and on schedule.”

An experienced management team brings a wealth of construction experience to projects.

The new WCC building is expected to be complete in December with employees beginning to move in at the end of the year. An open house will likely be scheduled in the near future.