In 1947 when John C. Anderson, then a commercial credit officer for a bank, and a group of investors started Roebuck Buildings, the pre-engineered building industry was in its infancy. As the market matured, the company prospered. During the 1950s, Roebuck constructed warehouses and large retail buildings, such as car dealerships, in a geographic area ranging from Virginia to Florida.

Roebuck Buildings began its transformation to a full-service contractor in the mid-1980s. Like many other construction companies at that time, Roebuck found itself at a crossroads due to the tightening of the building market. The company’s particular dilemma was that it had grown too large to compete with the smaller firms in the prefabricated building market, and it was too small to compete with the larger companies for more complex projects. The business has thrived through conscientious attention to detail and by offering its customers the highest quality construction at the lowest cost possible.
same time, Roebuck had already embarked on a course of change: John Anderson was planning his retirement, and his son, Dean, would soon become company president and CEO.
 
"We had to make a decision whether to scale back or grow," says Dean Anderson, reflecting on that period. "We chose the latter and decided to expand into a completely different kind of company. To accomplish that, Roebuck Buildings began computerizing its operations and developing computer-aided design capabilities. Then, another medium size general contracting company in Spartanburg closed. Says Anderson, "We snatched the cream of the crop from their people, which gave us more expertise in general construction.

Roebuck serves clients in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, as well as South Carolina. The company also is involved in a limited degree in development, but only in areas where it will not compete with clients who are also developers.
 
The company’s headquarters is in Roebuck, five miles south of Spartanburg along Highway 221. John Anderson established it there because his family owned peach orchards nearby. Although the Andersons no longer farm, Roebuck Buildings remains a family business. Dean Anderson’s brother-in-law, William G. Sarratt, serves as vice president of operations for the company.

The business has thrived through conscientious attention to detail and by offering its customers the highest quality construction at the lowest cost possible. "Our expertise is in value-engineering, which means working with the client from the very beginning of a project, sharing our ideas on design and cost benefits," Dean Anderson says. He adds that Roebuck personnel are the most important resource he has to offer clients. Many of them have worked with the company since its beginning, and others have as many as 30 years of experience in the construction business.

Constantly working to refine its capabilities that will yield long-term benefits for both the company and its clients. "It’s an entirely different way of doing business, and we are committed to making the most of it," Anderson says. Its superior performance has in fact made for many satisfied customers; more than 50 percent of the company’s revenue is derived from repeat clients.

As might be expected from an industry leader, Roebuck Buildings is also a community leader through its involvement in many civic, educational, and charitable endeavors. The company, which has long supported organizations that help young people with disabilities, recently built at cost, a multipurpose recreational building for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind and also helped finance the building. An effort organized by the Civitan Club and the Foundation for the Multi-handicapped, the building is providing a highly appreciated arena for helping multi-handicapped individuals reach their potential.

With its resources and capabilities in place and its direction set, Roebuck Buildings is prepared for today and the future. "We want to continue to be Spartanburg’s leading general contractor," says Anderson.