From left to right: Mike Brown with Fite Building Company, Bethany Shockney Limestone County Economic Development Association President & CEO, Michael Rothacher with Gregory Industries, Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, Matt Gregory of Gregory Industries, Tara Gregory of Gregory Industries, Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks, Jack Fite with Fite Building Company, Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly, and President Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce Pammie Jimmar.

Gregory Industries held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday in Athens for a new G-STRUT® manufacturing facility.

The first of three building phases will focus on a 90,000-square-foot manufacturing space and warehouse in Elm Industrial Park. Production at this new location will primarily focus on G-STRUT metal framing and back-to-back channels, along with related accessories.

Those who spoke were:

• Greg Canfield, Secretary of Commerce, Alabama Department of Commerce

• Bethany Shockney, President/CEO, Limestone County Economic Development Association

• Matt Gregory, CEO, Gregory Industries

• Jack Fite, President/CEO, Fite Building Company

• Collin Daly, Chairman, Limestone County Commission

• Ronnie Marks, Mayor, City of Athens

• Pammie Jimmar, CEO, Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce

“We welcome this family-owned industry to our community and look forward to attending the ribbon cutting on the facility,” Mayor Marks said. “This is a $30-million investment in our city with 100 jobs.”

Gregory is partnered with Fite Building Company for construction of the facility. In early 2022, the steel products manufacturer purchased 72 acres of industrial park land from the City of Athens and Limestone County.

Gregory Strut — a division of Gregory Industries, based in Canton, Ohio — manufactures close tolerance galvanized, stainless and green G-STRUT® metal framing channels, as well as a complete line of strut accessories, fittings, pipe hangers and supports. Gregory Strut products provide unlimited ways to hang, hold and complete the job with flexibility.

Gregory Industries has operated for more than 125 years and five generations, and leads the highway safety and road construction industries with roll-formed steel products manufactured in the heart of the U.S.