Masonry Arts

Masonry Arts (formerly the John Swindal Masonry Company) is a Bessemer-based building contractor specializing in stone and masonry exterior and interior finishes. It was founded in 1979 by John Swindal with his son (and current CEO) Roy. The company employs 140 workers on staff in order to minimize the amount of work it subcontracts out. It deals directly with stone producers in Europe and Asia and maintains two fabrication shops in Alabama.

Masonry Arts competes for commercial cladding and construction projects across the Southeast. It has worked on numerous hospitals, university buildings and government facilities. Masonry Arts developed a specially-designed blast resistant curtain wall system for installation at the Pentagon and was in the process of installing it in September 2001 when a hijacked airliner was flown into the building. The new wall system helped to support parts of the structure long enough for it to be evacuated and the company returned to participate in the re-building.

The company has also developed in-house skills relevant to historical restorations and was responsible for repointing and repairing the masonry on Vulcan's tower.

In the Birmingham area the company also supplies stone to the residential market through its Dr Pepper Place showroom.

Notable projects

• Red Diamond office building
• Our Lady of Angels monastery
• Pentagon
• Children's Harbor
• BellSouth Building (U. S. 280)
• Jefferson County Courthouse annex
• First Commercial Bank headquarters

References

• Wolfe, Sarah (April 30, 2009) "MasonryArts, Inc.: One company, three generations" ConstructionDigital

External links

• Masonry Arts website