Company History

In 1947, the late O.L Sims founded L & A Contracting Company with a
small highway project between Richton and Sand Hill, Mississippi. Since
that time, growth has been significant. The company was established with
the sound and timeless principle of honesty, integrity and
dependability. Through the years L & A Contracting Company has earned a reputation for success
built on high quality, skilled craftsmanship and unlimited capabilities.
With three generation family members now actively involved, the
tradition of excellence continues. Beginning with the founder, every
generation has learned the business "ground up" from an early age by
performing all types of work on a variety of construction projects.
Before starting L & A Contracting Company, O.L. Sims worked in sawmills in
Arkansas in the 1930s and built bridges in Mississippi in the early
1940s. He devoted more than forty years of active service to the
construction industry supervising the building of many bridges, docks
and wharves, roads, dams, irrigation projects, flood control structures
and utility systems. His sound judgment and leadership provided the
vision to propel the company into its second and third
generations.
Building roads and bridges came naturally to his sons, Ray A. Sims and
the late Harley L. Sims. While still in their teens, they joined
their father, learning the business literally from the ground up. Ray
and Harley Sims were instrumental in expanding L & A Contracting Company to
Alabama, Florida and Louisiana. Ray worked in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida on company projects and supervised flood control projects in the
Everglades for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1958. Harley guided
administrative and financial affairs in the office and directed in the
preparation of bids.
Lee carried the business into the third generation when he
started working at L & A Contracting Company after school during the 1970s. His first
supervisory job was building the South Miami, Florida Turnpike
Extension. He is now the company president and runs the day-to-day
operations.
C.T Sutherland, has been an
integral member of the L & A Contracting Company Management team for over 25 years. He is one of
the three shareholders and manages another family business, F-S Prestess,
LLC.
From the early days of building two-lane highways and narrow bridges in
Mississippi, L & A Contracting Company has grown to include sophisticated projects
all over the Southeastern United States. Continuous evaluation and
upgrading, as well as enhanced control procedures have fueled the
company's steady growth and expansion.
Southeastern Concrete Company was founded in 1967 by the late O.L Sims
and sons and |