This story is free to read.

Summers-Taylor buys Cleveland, Tenn.-based Simpson Construction

In this 2005 staff file photo, Simpson Construction employee Edgar Salinas smooths concrete on a parapet wall over Candies Creek as Tennessee Department of Transportation crews work to finish bridge widening on South Lee Highway near the Cleveland Speedway. In this 2005 staff file photo, Simpson Construction employee Edgar Salinas smooths concrete on a parapet wall over Candies Creek as Tennessee Department of Transportation crews work to finish bridge widening on South Lee Highway near the Cleveland Speedway.

By Staff Report March 14, 2018 2 min read

Company at a glance

Name: Simpson Construction Co.Headquarters: Cleveland, Tenn.Started: 1948 by Carlos SimpsonBusiness line: Bridge construction across the SoutheastStaff: About 100 employeesPresident: Larry EskewOwnership change: The Simpson family, which owned the business for 70 years, is selling the company on April 1 to Summers-Taylor Inc., an 86-year-old company based in Elizabethton, Tenn.

One of Tennessee’s oldest family owned road and bridge building companies is buying Simpson Construction Co., a Cleveland, Tenn.-based bridge construction company founded in 1948.

Summers-Taylor Inc., an Elizabethton, Tenn.-based bridge, asphalt and road building firm, will aquire Simpson Construction on April 1 and will operate the Cleveland business as the Simpson divison of Summers-Taylor.

Simpson is one of the largest bridge building companies in the region with about 100 employees. The company was founded by Carlos Simpson shortly after the end of World War II with his sons, Gene, Joe, Hugh and Claude. Through its history, Simpson Construction has built bridges across Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Claude Simpson was active in the company from its beginning until his death, at age 87, in March 2016.