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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.
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