Established in 1987, Colby Enterprises Inc. services the eastern region of Georgia. As a company ethos, Colby Enterprises takes massive comfort in helping men and women take great pride in achieving its goals by giving them the opportunity to work in a family-oriented corporation.

The company, located in Savannah, Ga., is a specialty subcontractor with a special focus on metal stud framing, metal trusses, insulation, drywall, acoustic and specialty ceilings, acoustic wall panels, rough carpentry, painting and stucco. Tony Phillips founded the company in 1986.

“I grew up in the drywall business,” says Colby Phillips, vice president of operations. “My dad started the company just before I was born and named it after me. I spent a lot of time growing up on job sites with my dad.”

Heavy Duty

The company has a heavy focus on the Department of Defense and health care work. It likes to take on the projects that seem difficult and are a challenge. Typically, the company averages around 150 employees.

“In the early days of the company, my father did many small jobs to get started,” Phillips explains. “That grew over the years into a much larger, multimillion-dollar operation. After 2008, he scaled down and did a lot of traveling to keep work. Building since that time, we have gone from a few million dollars a year to what will be north of $20 million this year.”

According to Phillips, business is as good as it has ever been. “With us doing a lot of government work, we have seen a net growth in business,” he says.

The most interesting aspect of the job for Phillips is being able to face new issues every day that need solutions. The company gets to do a lot of work for the DoD and gets to work on projects that improve the safety of the country and how the military can operate more efficiently.

“The hardest aspect of the job to me is putting work down when I get home. I have gotten better at this, but still have some work to do in that aspect,” Phillips says.

The rest of the year looks bright for Colby Enterprises. The company is optimistic for next year and is looking for work then and beyond at this time.

“Our long-term goals are to break the $50 million mark and to be a top 10 wall and ceiling contractor in the U.S.,” Phillips says.

According to Phillips, the company is doing the projects that matter. “We are building the projects that not many want to tackle,” he says.

In addition, when hard times hit next, what will the company do differently from the last recession? Phillips says that the company will use its ability to stay lean to its advantage. Colby Enterprises will figure out not just how to survive, but how to thrive. The company cites Mill Steel Framing, HILTI, Georgia-Pacific, National Gypsum and Sherwin Williams as manufacturing partners.

Project Profile

Location: Enmarket Arena Savannah, Ga.
Owner: City of Savannah, managed by Oak View Group
Architect: Perkins+Will
General Contractor: AECOM Hunt

Located just under one mile from the Civic Center, the new arena will expand the current downtown district while revitalizing a historic section. It will bring a new level of entertainment to the region while breathing new life into a quiet section of Savannah.

With its elegant Historic District, and festive delights, such as River Street and City Market, all wrapped in a unique coastal charm, the city has high hopes of attracting more tourists and locals alike. 

The development of a new arena and the surrounding canal district on Savannah’s westside is one of the largest projects to ever be undertaken by the City of Savannah. The new arena site presents the opportunity to redevelop the canal district to the west of West Boundary Street, creating a vibrant new center of activity in Savannah’s core.

For its role, Colby Enterprises performed exterior and interior framing, sheathing, a CI system, drywall, insulation, finishing, acoustical ceilings, acoustical wall panels, wood ceilings, lapendary panels and rough carpentry.

“There were a lot of very large walls with critical lighting that required a high level of finish. My team did an amazing job and it turned out beautiful,” Phillips says.

According to Phillips, the company secured this important Savannah project because of—among many other things—the company’s ability to stay lean in management, hence on the job site.