Metl Span: A Build to Suit Designed Around One Manufacturing Line, Running Two Decades and Two Owners Later
Metl Span, an insulated metal panel manufacturer, chose SouthPoint Business Park in Prince George County, Virginia for its first plant outside Texas. The Hollingsworth Companies delivered an 84,500 square foot build to suit designed around Metl Span's automated panel line in roughly eight months from agreed terms to occupancy. The plant kept producing through Metl Span's acquisitions by NCI Building Systems in 2012 and Nucor in 2021.
At a glance
| Client | Metl Span (now Metl-Span, A Nucor Company) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insulated metal wall and roof panels |
| Location | SouthPoint Business Park, Prince George County, VA |
| Building | 84,500 SF build to suit |
| Delivery | Roughly eight months from agreed terms to temporary certificate of occupancy |
| Custom features | Equipment pits, overhead cranes, utility trenching, special equipment foundations, enhanced power |
| Site selection | Won against several competing East Coast locations |
| Outcome | Plant in operation more than two decades later, through two changes of corporate ownership (NCI Building Systems 2012, Nucor 2021) |
Who is Metl Span?
Metl Span is a manufacturer of insulated metal wall and roof panels used in commercial, industrial, and cold storage buildings. Founded in Texas in 1983, it became Metl-Span, A Nucor Company in 2021.
When this project began, Metl Span was expanding beyond its Texas headquarters for the first time. The company was owned by Mexican industrial group IMSA at the time, and its Virginia project was, per the record of the day, the first new industrial project undertaken in the Commonwealth of Virginia by a Mexican owned company. Metl Span has since passed through two acquisitions, joining NCI Building Systems in 2012 and Nucor in 2021, and the Prince George plant kept running through both.
What did Metl Span need?
Metl Span needed a building designed around a specific automated manufacturing line, delivered by a developer it could trust to hit an aggressive schedule, in a location competing against several other East Coast sites.
A continuous insulated panel line is not a generic tenant improvement. The building had to include custom pits for specialty fabrication equipment, overhead cranes, utility trenching, special equipment foundations, and enhanced power. Just as important, Metl Span was making its first expansion outside Texas and needed certainty that its developer could deliver on time and on budget. Hollingsworth and Prince George County won the project against several competing East Coast locations.
How did The Hollingsworth Companies help?
Hollingsworth designed and built an 84,500 square foot building around Metl Span's equipment line at SouthPoint Business Park, obtaining permits and completing site preparation within weeks and delivering a temporary certificate of occupancy roughly eight months after terms were agreed.
Because Hollingsworth controls its own land, keeps design and construction in house, and funds work with its own cash, the slow parts of a normal build to suit were already done or moved fast. Permitting and site preparation that often consume months were completed in weeks. Barely eight months after terms were agreed, Metl Span had its temporary certificate of occupancy and immediately began installing and testing its manufacturing equipment.
What were the results?
Metl Span met its project schedule, and the building served the same purpose for more than two decades, through two changes of corporate ownership.
A building designed that tightly around one manufacturer's process could have become a liability when the company changed hands. Instead, the plant Hollingsworth built at SouthPoint Business Park kept producing panels through the NCI Building Systems acquisition in 2012 and the Nucor acquisition in 2021, operating as a Metl-Span plant under each owner. That is the quiet test of a build to suit done right: the building keeps earning its keep long after the ribbon cutting.
The bottom line is that we could not be more pleased with our Hollingsworth Companies experience.
Frequently asked questions
What did The Hollingsworth Companies build for Metl Span?
An 84,500 square foot build to suit at SouthPoint Business Park in Prince George County, Virginia, designed around Metl Span's automated insulated panel manufacturing line, with custom equipment pits, overhead cranes, utility trenching, special equipment foundations, and enhanced power.
How fast was the Metl Span building delivered?
Roughly eight months passed from agreed terms to a temporary certificate of occupancy. Permitting and site preparation were completed within weeks because Hollingsworth already controlled the land and manages design and construction in house.
Did the Metl Span plant survive the company's acquisitions?
Yes. The Prince George County plant continued operating through Metl Span's acquisition by NCI Building Systems in 2012 and by Nucor in 2021, more than two decades after Hollingsworth delivered the building.
Can Hollingsworth design a building around specialized manufacturing equipment?
Yes. The Metl Span building was engineered around a specific automated panel line, and the same in house design and construction team handles equipment driven requirements like pits, crane runs, trenching, and heavy power.