Find a contractor Buyer's guide Partner with us
MCAA Logo
Log in Sign up Join Hi, there Account
2026 Midyear Registration is OPEN
Find a contractor Buyer's guide Partner
Log in Sign up Join Account

ACME Block and Brick acquires Pennington Block

Words: Trent GareisTennessee-based ACME Block and Brick Inc. has purchased Pennington Block Co. in Corbin and will be producing products at the facility beginning next spring.

“We are a small, family-owned business,” says Brantley Rivers, part owner and president of ACME Block and Brick. “This will be our sixth location.”

Rivers is a fourth-generation owner of ACME Block and Brick and runs the business with his father, Arthur, and brother, Will.

ACME was founded in the late-1890s in Roane County, Tenn. Rivers’ great grandfather, A.J. Rivers, and grandfather, James O. Rivers, bought the business in 1942. It has expanded and operates in Crossville, Kingston, Alcoa, Sweetwater and Chattanooga, in addition to Corbin.

Corbin will be its third production plant. Rivers says the company produces and sells all kinds of brick and block products, but specializes in “outdoor living” hardscape items, including pavers for patios, structural block, blocks for dry stack retaining walls, and landscaping. ACME Block and Brick is a direct seller of its products, dealing with both individuals and contractors.

“We hit a lot of the counties in northern Tennessee already,” Rivers says. “This plant was centrally located to help hit those markets, plus get into some new markets as well.”

Rivers says the block and brick business has been steadily growing since the housing bust of 2008. “Each year it seems to be a little better from when we bottomed out in 2008 and 2009,” he says. “It’s looking pretty good. Hopefully, it keeps going that way.”

Pennington Block Co., owned by Charles Pennington and family, operated for over 50 years in Corbin before closing this year. Rivers retained one of the company’s employees. He said ACME plans to hire three more people in the near term, and will have about 12 to 15 employees total at the new plant by spring. Overall, the company employs 70 people across its six locations.

“It’s a really nice plant here in Corbin with a lot of potential,” Rivers said. “It’s a good fit for us and it will allow us to bring some products to the market that I don’t think they had in the past.”

Rivers would not divulge the final terms of the sale to acquire Pennington Block Company’s facilities.
 0
Managing the Mysterious Job Site Slowdown
August 2026

Every contractor knows the feeling. A job looks good on paper. The schedule makes sense. The crews are lined up. The material is supposed to be there. Then, for no obvious reason, the whole job starts crawling. That is what makes it so frustrating. Nobod

Damian Lang
Contractor Tip of the Month
Read More
Sainte-Cécile Cathedral
August 2026

Imagine being handed a set of plans calling for the largest brick cathedral in the world. Now imagine building it without modern cranes, engineered scaffolding, forklifts, power tools, or structural analysis software. That was the challenge facing medie

Cass Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More
Why SkillsUSA is the Keystone to MCAA’s Outreach
August 2026

When I stepped into the role of the MCAA’s first Director of Youth Outreach and Education, I knew we had a massive job ahead of us. I am a fourth-generation brick mason, and I have spent over two decades teaching the trade, from working with apprentices a

Robert Melgaard
Outreach Outlook
Read More
The First Paycheck
August 2026

Several years ago, Huntley Brothers hired a young apprentice. It was his first real job, and he had never had a paycheck before. Friday rolled around, and he got paid just like everyone else. Later that day, one of the guys told me something I have never

Kent Huntley
Chairman’s Message
Read More