Find out what's in Gray's DNA. A History of Gray, 1960 through 2010 (recorded April 2010).

A family-owned company, Gray Construction was formed by James Norris Gray on October 11, 1960. James Norris was a Glasgow, Ky. farmer turned builder. In fact, his first project was a tobacco barn.

When James Norris died of cancer in 1972, his eldest son, Howard Gray, became president of the company at the age of 23.

During the 1970s, Gray entered the world of municipal utility work and constructed its first sewage and wastewater treatment plant. Gray also landed a contract with Toshiba, the company’s first project for a Japanese company, through a Japanese general contractor.

Gray continued to grow during the 1980s and was awarded a contract with Hitachi, the company’s first direct contract with a Japanese customer. Shortly thereafter, Gray was selected to build the plastics building at the Toyota facility in Georgetown. Gray’s growth included opening a branch office in Tokyo, Japan.

During the 1990s, Gray moved the corporate office to Lexington, Ky. Gray also acquired Woodford Steel, Inc. in Versailles, Ky. and renamed it the WS Construction Co.

Since 2000, Gray opened a new office in Birmingham, Ala. and acquired a new group company, Gray-I.C.E. Builders in Anaheim, Calif.

Today, Gray is consistently ranked in our core markets among the top 20 design-build firms nationally.