RA-LIN Forms Education Division to Leverage Company Experience

Carrollton, GA, May 12, 2017 --(PR.com)-- RA-LIN and Associates, a leader in the construction of educational facilities throughout the Southeast, has formed a specialized unit to concentrate on the firm’s deep experience in the secondary school and higher education marketplace. The new division will be led by RA-LIN veterans Derek Smith as Vice President and Brian Fritts as operations manager.

Smith is a 1992 Graduate of The Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering. He has 24 years of construction industry experience and has been at RA-LIN for 13 of those years. His experience in successfully completing large, multi-building educational campus projects includes the 406,000 SF, $58 million New Manchester High School in Douglas County, Georgia, and the 270,000 SF pre-K through 8th grade school in Metter, Chandler County, Georgia among many others.

Fritts, a 16-year RA-LIN veteran, holds a BS in Construction Management from Southern Polytechnic State University. His most recent educational facility project is the occupied school campus replacement of the 177,482 SF, $32 million Coosa High School in Rome, Georgia. Current projects include the new 200,884 SF, $49 million Spencer High School joint venture project in Columbus, GA. The construction phasing and logistics planning required to safely execute projects of this scale, while students are present, is a proven skill of RA-LIN operations. The company is renowned for its safety track record of phased building, demolition and on-time completion while students and faculty continue to occupy a campus.

“We have an exceptional position in the educational building marketplace," said Ben Garrett, president of RA-LIN. It is very possible that we have successfully completed more educational buildings and facilities than any other contractor in Georgia since we began to focus on that marketplace in the 1990’s. The total is now over 135 educational projects with most built under a construction manager at risk contract where we guarantee a maximum price before actual construction starts. There are many processes that we have developed to help us advise school officials on the optimum size and material usage in a variety of applications. We can often save money and provide more building or amenities than originally planned.

“Derek and Brian will concentrate on new educational projects and build on our considerable strengths in this market. About 90% of our customers have hired us more than once, so the Educational Division will be charged with maintaining and expanding that record,” Garrett added.

Based in Carrollton, Georgia, RA-LIN is a 44-year-old construction management and general contracting company that is licensed in eight southeastern states. The company maintains a large and professional pre-construction staff, a group of experienced project managers and field superintendents and a company of skilled carpenters and masonry personnel to help expedite projects when needed.