Waynesboro Construction Company was founded in 1899 by Mr. A. R. Warner. A native of the Westminster, Maryland area Mr. Warner came to Waynesboro and being a carpenter by trade, started business of remodeling and building homes under the business, name A.R. Warner.
In the 1930’s Mr. Warner son, A. C. Warner joined the business and with a background in engineering, the company continued to expand by engaging construction of commercial and manufacturing facilities. The name of the company was changed during that time to A. R. Warner & Son.
In 1957 the assets of the company were purchased by Mr. John A. Abbott, a Civil Engineer who had previously served as the City Engineer for the City of Hagerstown, Maryland. Also in 1957, Mr. Robert W. Brown, a Civil Engineer from Wayne State University, and a Registered Professional Engineer, joined the firm from the Baltimore District Corp of Engineers where was the Assistant Resident Engineer.
In 1960 the company was reorganized as a corporate partnership between Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brown, and the name was changed to Waynesboro Construction Company. For the next 10 years the volume of the company grew 10-fold and with a strong background in engineering the company performed Design-Build and Competitively Bid work of increasing complexity.
In 1969 an agreement was reached where Mr. Brown purchased the interest of Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brown became the President of the company. During the time from 1969 to the mid-1980’s Mr. Donald G. McCleaf served as Vice-President and Julia Sanders was Corporate Secretary/Treasurer. Mr. Brown served as company President and Owner until 1985 when Mr. Wilbur N. Sanders II, General Manager and 20-year employee, was appointed President of the Company.
In 1983 the company was incorporated and the name became Waynesboro Construction Co., Inc. Through the mid-1980’s, new management personnel joined the expanding firm. Starting in 1983, Herbert E. Sandifer and William G. Adams IV joined the firm. Then in 1985 Gregory W. Brown and in 1986 Charles C. Branchman Jr. joined the firm. Mr. Sandifer with a Urban Planning degree from James Madison University, Mr. Adams with an Accounting degree from Penn State University, Mr. Brown with a Civil Engineering degree from Drexel University, and Mr. Branchman a construction business owner/operator, all worked for the company and became officers of the Corporation in 1988, when the company was purchased from Mr. Robert Brown. The sale of the company in 1988 restructured the business where the company became Employee Owned. Waynesboro Construction is one of the early ESOP owned companies. In 1986 the company expanded its operations with an office in Frederick Maryland.
In 1996, Mr. Wilbur Sanders II retired from the company and Gregory Brown became President of the company. Since 1996 in addition to Gregory Brown, the Company Officers have been Herbert Sandifer – Exec Vice President, Charles Branchman – Vice President, William Adams IV – Chief Financial Officer, Charles Geesaman – Vice President, and Robert W. Brown serving as Chairman of the Board. In 2012 Richard Thomas, Daniel VanGosen, and Cy Geesaman joined the Company Board of Directors. In 2015 Gary Large, a Virginia Tech Civil Engineer and previously owner of a Commercial Construction company, Parker, Cade, & Large Inc, joined the company management team as a Vice President.
Since 1996 into 2018, under the current management team, the company has grown and revenues have steadily increased. Waynesboro Construction enjoys a close employee team relationship as evidenced by the fact that many employees have been continuously employed from 25 to over 50 years. Notable 50+ year employees include Ronald L. Powers and Walter L. Harbaugh. The employees of Waynesboro Construction have been well served by the Company ESOP, Profit Sharing, and 401k Plans.