Inside ACME Block & Brick’s Crossville plant, where 125 years of masonry tradition meets modern manufacturing
ACME is headquartered in Kingston, Tennessee and now has locations across middle and eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia and southern Kentucky.
Last Thursday, Teknovation joined members of the UT Center for Industrial Services Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Partnership (TMEP) peer group for a tour of ACME Block & Brick’s Crossville manufacturing plant.
The plant produces three eight-inch blocks per cycle, with each cycle taking roughly eight to nine seconds. Running at that pace, the plant averages five to six thousand cycles a day — translating to roughly 15,000 to 18,000 eight-inch equivalent blocks produced daily.
History
The company traces its roots to the late 1890s, when the Solomon family founded it as ACME Block and Tile Company to serve the Roane County area. In 1942, entrepreneur A.J. Rivers, Sr. bought the business, and it has remained in the Rivers family ever since. Today, the company is led by President Brantley Rivers.
What started as a single-product operation making concrete block has grown into a full masonry and hardscape supplier serving customers from architects to weekend do-it-yourselfers. Between its plants and corporate operations, the company employs around 150 people.
Lasting the test of time
That growth hasn’t come by standing still. ACME’s expansion across three states has been built through a blend of staying true to your roots while welcoming innovation. Here’s what they have found to work:
Strategic acquiring is a long play. Rivers said staying close to people across the industry — and simply being a known, trusted presence when an owner is ready to sell — has been key. It’s often a lot easier to acquire machinery, customers, land or people than to build any of it from the ground up. Be there, be helpful and it will often come.
Rebuilding a plant from the ground up. ACME essentially had to redo the Crossville plant entirely. Knowing when a facility needs a facelift versus a whole new body is part of the job. In Crossville’s case, it called for the latter. The rebuilt plant doubled the facility’s size and doubled its output.
Automating the line. But sometimes, just a facelift does the trick. They have invested in newer, autonomous machinery across all locations. In Crossville, block is made, cut, cured and transported autonomously. At the time, the only hands-on task we saw during the tour was quality assurance, with an employee checking split block and pulling any pieces that didn’t meet spec off the line. Another location is in the process of adding robotics.
Chasing what customers want. ACME is currently building a tumbling center at the Crossville facility to keep up with demand for a rustic, worn look that’s become popular for outdoor hardscape projects in its service area. It might seem counterintuitive to intentionally rough up a freshly manufactured block, but if that’s what sells, ACME is investing in it.
Modernizing marketing. ACME’s marketing has moved from decades of local radio ads to a six-platform social media presence. Plus, a customer road show, a new product catalog and school-based workforce training to build the next generation of masons.
Staying hands-on despite the growth. Even with roughly 150 employees spread across multiple locations, the Rivers family makes a point of spending time at each. It’s a traditional industry, and leadership still knows employees by name, stops to say hello and travels to each site routinely.
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