C.W. Brinkley, Inc. General Contractors
Four Generations of Craftsmanship and Integrity
Mark Brinkley, president, C.W. Brinkley, Inc. For more than 70 years, four generations of the Brinkley family have provided construction, design and building expertise from a modest beginning in Suffolk to a million-dollar enterprise today. Their success is based on their commitment to forging relationships and offering high-quality craftsmanship, as well as a legacy of integrity and customer service that began with their founder.
“My grandfather, Carroll Wesley Brinkley, started the business in 1954,” explains Mark Brinkley, president. “He was a farmer who did renovations and small construction jobs. Things really took off once my dad, Carroll Hunter Brinkley, got here in the 1960s. He grew the business and added the commercial side. Then, when I got out of college in 1990, I ended up pushing us to design and build on the industrial side as well as the commercial side, and that’s where we’ve been ever since. My son, Hunter, started working with us when he finished college about four years ago, so he’s the fourth generation.”
As general contractors go, C.W. Brinkley is atypical in that they perform approximately fifty percent of the project themselves rather than sub-contracting out the work. “We keep about 50 people in the field, and we do our own concrete work and a lot of our metal building erection in house,” says Mark. “We try to take on jobs within a one-hour radius of our office so that our employees can go home every night. We’ve worked as far away as Fayetteville, and Raleigh, North Carolina and even South Carolina, but that’s typically for repeat clients where there is a long-term relationship. We try to stay home just because traveling is very hard on families and a lot of our people stay with us because of that reason.”
C.W. Brinkley building projects include Obici Healthcare Foundation, the Northgate Madison Building, City of Suffolk Health and Human Services Building, Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts and the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Harbour View Campus.
Mark says he enjoyed working with his father, who passed away in 2014 at age 72. He recalls, “From the time I was old enough to push a broom or dig a ditch, my dad had me out there. I went to college and got my degree in construction management from East Carolina University. I always felt that I was going to come back here and work.”
The Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Harbour View Campus. “When my dad was no longer running the day-to-day operations, if I had a question, I could take him to the job site and say, ‘what do you think we should do here?’ He didn’t have a formal education, but structural engineers and architects who had worked with him through the years would call him and ask his advice.”
C.W. Brinkley has provided construction, design, and building expertise for more than 70 years. One recent major project is Believers Church in Suffolk, a 60,000 sq. ft. facility. Mark’s role models include his mom, Joyce, now retired, who worked as a teacher but joined the company in the early 1980s to handle accounting. “My mom was a huge factor in my dad’s success. She knew how to manage the books and the money. My dad was an excellent builder, but my mom kept him grounded. She’s a big part of our success story.”
According to Mark, C.W. Brinkley has always been friends with TowneBank – his father knew Bob Aston, executive chairman, back in the 1990s. The company officially transitioned its accounts to TowneBank with the help of Ross Morgan, Portsmouth president.
Mark explains, “It’s been a good relationship, it’s a natural fit. Ross is someone I can call and talk to. I always wanted to have a relationship with a banker who can help guide you, so you know you’re not making bad business decisions. Ross knows me and the way that I run my business. I have since moved all my personal accounts over to Towne, too.”
“C.W. Brinkley has a long history of providing high quality construction with the highest level of integrity,” says Ross. “It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with Mark and his organization. He is a treasured member of the Towne family.”
For more information, visit CWBrinkley.com.