PROJECT OVERVIEW

Hutchinson Fluid Transfer Systems
Manufacturing Company Warehouse

Tennessee Steel Buildings

By day, Cledis Carr is your average, everyday quality engineer for Hutchinson Fluid Transfer Systems, a growing manufacturing company.

But after hours, he takes on another personality, that of a Harley-loving vintage car enthusiast.

The Livingston, Tenn. resident says that for years, he had wanted a good, solid permanent home for his ever-evolving collection of Corvettes, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, boats and other vehicles and equipment.

He loved to work on the cars and motorcycles, restore them, and take them for rides on the countryside surrounding this northern area of the state, near the Kentucky border.

However, he was in no urgent hurry to find the “right home” for his vehicles until he began to research his options for buildings in 2003.

“I had thought about buying a building for years as I began to acquire more different vehicles,” Carr says. “But what convinced me was when I came across a building from Allied Steel that was perfect for what I needed it for.”

Carr discovered a 40- by 90-foot kit building from Allied Steel that met both his needs – and his budget.

So after conducting due diligence on the structure as well as the company, Carr pulled the trigger on the deal that he’d been thinking about for years.

“Right now I have two Corvettes, three motorcycles, farm equipment and a boat, among other vehicles and gear inside the building,” Carr says. Some of the vehicles were stored outside in the elements. I knew that was not a good long-term plan.”

Once the decision was made, Carr realized he was not prepared to accept delivery of the building until the site could be prepared and the foundation laid. Allied Steel agreed to hold delivery until he was ready.

“I really appreciated them doing that for me, because I just wasn’t ready,” Carr says with a laugh. “I hired a contractor and crew to help me get the area on my property ready and to put up the building.”

“I didn’t have any problems with the blueprints or with getting zoning taken care of,” Carr says. “From what I understand, Allied Steel would have helped me with that if I’d needed it. That’s a good thing to know.”

Carr hired Wayne Mullins to be the contractor, and Mullins and his crew of three men got the job done in about two weeks. Carr says the crew was hampered by an uncharacteristic rainy spell during the construction.

The facility has just one large room, which Carr says he likes because it gives him maximum flexibility for working on or storing the wide varieties of vehicles that will have a way of taking up residency in the building over the years ahead.

“I’ve got plans to have all different kinds of vehicles here over time,” Carr says. “With a big single room I can do whatever I want with it and not have to worry too much.”