Back 
I was so happy you honored the Thompson Family . They are such a loving, Christian inspiration in the community. Their kindness, generosity,family values,and positive outlook on life has always meant so much to me.
Hiram and Glen Thompson might be brothers, but according to their friends, they're as different as night and day.
The owners of Thompson Building Wrecking Co. Inc. in Augusta have distinct ways of doing things -- but their forces combined makes the recipe for a successful company.
For the most part, Hiram, 56, is the "office guy," and Glen, 55, is the "field man" at the family-owned demolition company.
Hiram serves as president and oversees duties such as procurement of equipment, human resources, accounts payable and receivable, and the bidding process. Glen, the company's vice president, serves as project manager over all asbestos abatement (removal) and demolition projects, and he assists with procurement of equipment.
Joey Hadden, the owner of Phoenix Commercial Printers and their next-door business neighbor on 11th Street, has known the brothers for nearly 20 years. He says that he has enjoyed many conversations with them while standing out in front of their buildings.
"They're a good, strong family business, and we like the way they operate. Glen is the reserved partner. Hiram is a little more high-strung," Mr. Hadden said. "I couldn't ask for better neighbors. They're just good guys."
Their friend and golfing partner for nine years, Jim Price, is the dean of industrial technology at Augusta Technical College. He says that even though Hiram is probably the more "serious" of the two brothers, they're both a lot of fun to be around.
"They both have great senses of humor. I laugh with them all the time," Mr. Price said. "They both devote a tremendous amount of time to their business -- in their individual ways.
"They always talk about how proud they are of having inherited the business from their father who founded the company, and they're very proud to be a part of the Augusta area."
It's a "family affair" at the local demolition business.
Marcus and Tyson (Hiram's sons) and Paxton (Glen's son) all work there, along with the owners' wives, Yvonne and Pam, respectively, and their sister, Linda Thompson.
Established in 1961, Thompson Building Wrecking has served the Augusta area for almost half a century, and the brothers have worked to continue the legacy of their father, Edward G. Thompson.
They took the reins at the business in 1988 when their dad entered partial retirement. Today, the company has achieved a multimillion-dollar status.
Wallace Slater, a project manager at R.D. Brown Contractors Inc. in North Augusta, says that he has done business with the Thompson brothers for more than 20 years.
Thompson serves as a subcontractor for R.D. Brown Contractors Inc., and Mr. Slater says that he doesn't hesitate to call on them for jobs.
"They're professional. They know their business," Mr. Slater said. "You give them a job to do, you don't have to worry about it -- it's going to get done and get done correctly."
He says that Thompson has done all of his company's demolition work for the last 10-12 years.
"They're one of those subcontractors you're glad to have in your portfolio. I've had a lot of calls from people out of town looking for someone who could do demolition work. They would be the only people in this area that I would recommend to do it."
"It's one of those can-do companies. They'll figure out how to make it happen," Mr. Slater said.
From father to sons
The Thompson brothers were born in Richmond County in the early 1950s and grew up with their older sister. Today, Linda works alongside her brothers handling administrative duties at the business.
Their parents, Edward and Susan, moved to south Augusta in the 1940s, and in 1960, they purchased a home on Sanders Road, near Peach Orchard Road, about which their children have their fondest childhood memories.
"Our dad liked to keep us close, and as we got older, he would either help us buy a lot nearby or help us with a down payment on a house nearby," Hiram said. "So, by virtue, we all ended up living on the same street. All our kids grew up together -- we've been together all of our lives."
The siblings and their parents all lived on Sanders Road until their father died in 1993. Later, the family members built homes on the same street in Columbia County, where they lived until recently going their separate ways.
Hiram says that his father was a self-made man.
"He didn't have education, but he always had a real desire to succeed," he said.
Their father worked as an electrician at Savannah River Site for many years but always desired to start other businesses.
"He tried several different things. Some were a little more successful than others, but when he started doing demolition, that seemed to be the one that really worked," Hiram said.
Edward Thompson started the small business from his home in 1961 and hired one employee. He maintained his job at SRS, bought a truck and worked out a deal with his employee to tear down houses.
"They would sell the material then. You didn't get a fee like we do today," Hiram said.
Their father and his assistant split the profits. In the early years, the business grossed only about $1,000 to $1,500 a month. "It's come a long ways," he said.
Their mother was extremely involved with the business. "She would take all the phone calls and messages," Hiram said. If things didn't go well during the day, she would try to handle any problems. "She was never out front, but she was always behind the scenes to keep everything going."
The Thompson brothers said they've been working at the business practically all of their lives. They worked at the business throughout their school years, mostly during the summer. "When we got in our early 20s, we kind of figured this would be it for us," Hiram said. "We enjoyed doing this -- it was relatively lucrative, and it made us a good living. I couldn't see why we'd do anything else."
In 1967, Thompson moved to Government Road in Augusta, and then to Peach Orchard Road in 1977. The company relocated to 11th Street in 1989.
They said that their father was an integral part of the business until his death. The brothers had started running the business on their own five years before because their father had "semiretired," but said that he always remained involved.
Like him, the Thompson brothers also have tried other business ventures. They ran a retail building supply store, Thompson and Sons Hardware, in south Augusta from 1977-88 on Peach Orchard Road -- in the same building with their business.
"The business did really well until we had a lot of the larger chain building supply stores, like Lowe's and Home Depot, start coming in. We saw there was not much future in that, so we sold it out," Hiram said.
Glen recalls a humorous moment with their demolition business.
"A guy called us and wanted us to tear down his house. He and his wife were getting a divorce, and he wanted to tear down the house before she got it," Glen said.
Of course, they didn't take the job, but he got a good laugh out of the request, he said.
Most recently, the Thompson brothers have branched out into the building supplies recycling business. They purchased a 15-acre property in Beech Island nine years ago, which now serves as their recycling yard. The site once was a large hole from highway projects, but they have filled the land with concrete and now operate a full-service recycling business.
"We're recycling all of our concrete. It's expensive to do, but it works well," Glen said. They haul in broken concrete from demolition projects -- and with heavy equipment they have purchased -- they crush the concrete into an aggregate, or resalable stone, that can be reused for new building projects.
Previously, concrete was disposed of at a landfill, Hiram said, but larger cities have begun doing this as a part of environmental, or "green," building efforts. He says they have been selling all of the crushed materials and "can hardly keep up with the demand."
The Thompson brothers also recycle antique bricks, which can be used for new houses. In addition, they recycle metal, which they haul to a metal dealer.
"Pretty much nothing goes to waste," Glen said.
They recently completed a demolition project for Bulloch Memorial Hospital in Statesboro, Ga.
"The building was 80 percent concrete. We crushed the concrete and left it there for them to use on various projects -- to build roads, etc.," Hiram said.
Glen says that the company is working on a project for Doctors Hospital in Augusta. The concrete, which has come from the job site, was crushed to be reused for the hospital's construction yard, he said.
The brothers have also expanded their business to include roll-off container rentals and asbestos abatement, Hiram said. He says they had never planned to get into the container rental business, but found a ready market in Augusta. Roll-off containers are the large bins placed on trucks, which are used to haul away materials from demolition projects.
"We had roll-off containers for our own use, but then people started calling and wanting to rent them. We grew from five containers for ourselves to almost 200 in rentals," he said. That has been over the past 11 to 12 years.
Hiram's son, Marcus, handles the company's asbestos abatement services. He performs all the company's pre-demolition asbestos inspections, which are required to obtain a permit for almost all demolition projects. He is licensed in Georgia and South Carolina.
"We used to sub that out to various asbestos contractors, but for the last several years, we've done it all in-house," Hiram said.
Marcus says that asbestos can be present in almost any building material, such as floor tile, drywall, window glazing, roofing or insulation.
"It's used as a binder and a fire retardant. They've pretty much eliminated using it now, but it's still in some roofing materials," Marcus said. "If the inspection reveals that a building has asbestos, then our asbestos abatement crew goes in before the demolition crew and removes all asbestos-containing materials."
The asbestos material is then bagged and taken to a proper landfill, he said.
Over the years, Hiram says, this service has contributed to the company's success. It prevents owners from having to contact several companies to tear down their building.
"We can usually save the person money, too," Marcus said.
Next generation
Mr. Slater says the Thompson brothers trained their sons to enter the business "by teaching them from the ground up."
"They don't just stick them in a position and expect to be there. They make them learn the business from the ground up. I think they're doing a great job," he said about the Thompsons' three sons.
Marcus, 36, started working at the business in the early 1990s.
"As I worked here part time and went to school, I grew to like it more and more and realized that I could make a pretty profitable living," he said. "I have some of my own ideas that I've brought into the company, some of which may have helped."
He says that many people mistakenly think operating a successful business is simple.
"It doesn't come easy, like a lot of people think. We actually work really hard at it," he said. "We put in a lot of hours everyday. A lot of times when most folks are off work, we are working -- trying to make things happen. Our income is actually on our shoulders and not dependent on someone else."
Marcus says that he is still learning from his father, even after all of these years. He thinks his generation of the Thompsons will be able to run the company, though, when his father and uncle decide to retire.
Marcus' brother, Tyson, 31, worked at a few small jobs during high school, but his family's company was his first real job. He is responsible for quoting demolition projects and managing about half of all the company's ongoing tasks.
"I feel very fortunate to be in the position that I'm in. The experience and to be learning what I'm learning -- not many people get that opportunity. I'm very thankful," he said.
Most of all, he says that he loves working with his father.
"You're learning something every day -- just by being with him."
Likewise, Paxton, 31, Glen's son, considers his father to be a role model in business. He started working at the company in 2000 by driving a roll-off truck to help with the rental business.
He was successful in building a clientele, and last summer, he was able to stop driving and hire two full-time drivers.
Among the many valuable lessons his father taught him is to "always treat people the way that you want to be treated," Paxton said.
He says that rather than making promises he can't keep, he strives to be up front with customers.
"I think that comes back around and helps you in the long run. People always respect you for that," he said.
Mark Mills, a friend and project manager at Georgia Power, says the sons' computer savvy is an asset to the business.
"It used to be when Hiram and Glen bought big equipment for the company, they would essentially have to buy everything local, and they didn't always get the best deal by doing that," Mr. Mills said.
Since the brothers brought their sons in, however, they have made "tremendous gains," he said.
Mr. Mills said their sons have helped to find deals for equipment nationwide, which has improved the company's profitability. He especially praises Marcus' bargain-hunting abilities.
"(Marcus) could go into Saks Fifth Avenue and find a bargain. He's got that innate ability to find a deal," Mr. Mills said.
Marcus hopes to contribute to the company through his new hobby. He recently completed his pilot's license and wants to use his skills for transportation at the business someday.
If the Thompsons purchased an airplane, they could use it to travel to jobs farther away, thus increasing their mobility and clientele, he said.
On the green
Most families spend their spare time together, but things are different for the Thompson family, Hiram said.
"We work together all the time, and a lot of our leisure time is spent away from each other," he said.
Hiram and Glen have turned to golf. Lining the walls of their 11th Street office building are pictures of their heroes: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer.
"I've been playing golf pretty much my entire adult life, for about 35 years. We're able to do it a lot more now because we're in a position to leave our sons running the business," Hiram said.
"We play golf on weekends with our buddies, and a few times of year, we go out of town," Glen said.
Among their faithful golfing partners are Mark Mills, Joey Hadden and Jim Price.
Mr. Mills says that he met the brothers on a golf course in the early 1990s. Since then, they play at least twice a month at Woodside Plantation in Aiken.
Accompanied by their golfing buddies, the brothers have traveled to Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, among other golfing retreats. Mr. Mills says that family is important to the brothers.
"When Hiram is on vacation, he has to rent probably three rooms because he's not going unless he takes his whole outfit with him -- his children and grandchildren. They go in a big caravan," he said.
Mr. Price says that he was privileged to attend Paxton's birthday party a few years ago and admires Glen's relationship with his son.
He says that Glen has spent much of the past year helping Paxton remodel a house.
"It's a testament to how much he admires him and wants to help him," he said.
Big hearts
Mr. Mills affectionately refers to Hiram as "Hoss Cartwright," a character from the popular television show Bonanza .
"(Hoss) was always known for taking in wounded animals or people who were hard on their luck. Hiram is that way," Mr. Mills said. "He's a very giving person, and if somebody's in trouble, he's going to help him. That's just the way he is."
He says Hiram often helps employees who might be down on their luck.
Mr. Hadden says the brothers are both giving people who frequently reach out to the community.
"I think they'd do anything in the world to help somebody, and they don't do it to get noticed. I think they're great ambassadors and philanthropists for the city," he said.
Mr, Price says the Thompson brothers also treat their almost 60 employees with great respect.
"It's hard to get people to do the grunt work," he said. He says, though, that his son worked for the Thompson brothers the summer before he went to college, and had a "fantastic time."
"He'd come home and say how well the Thompsons treat their employees. He was very impressed with that," he said. "I'm very honored to be friends with them."
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
HIRAM E. THOMPSON
BORN: July 22, 1951
TITLE: Co-owner and president of Thompson Building Wrecking Co. Inc.
EDUCATION: George P. Butler High School, Augusta State University
FAMILY: Wife, Yvonne; sons, Marcus and Tyson; five grandchildren
HOBBIES: Family activities and golf
GLEN F. THOMPSON
BORN: Nov. 12, 1952
TITLE: Co-owner and vice president of Thompson Building Wrecking Co. Inc.
EDUCATION: George P. Butler High School
FAMILY: Wife, Pam; children, Paxton and Cassidy
HOBBIES: Family activities and golf
Comments
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
