A company that has stood the test of time

The year was 1920, and J.J. Williams decided that farming in Georgia was not his future. There was a land boom in Florida, so JJ Williams and his wife, Lulabelle, moved to College Park and founded Williams Company, a quality builder focused on housing renovations.

During the Great Depression, home construction slowed in Central Florida. On July 7, 1930 construction of the Hoover Dam began. J.J. Williams joined the group of 21,000 men who worked ceaselessly over a five-year period to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures of the world. As the 1930s depression ended, J.J. came back to Central Florida to finish his legacy building homes. Photo by Ansel Adams.

The name Williams Company is truly the cornerstone of many of the homes around Downtown Orlando and College Park. A Williams built house in the 1950s meant quality and innovation. J.J. Williams and his sons were making a mark on the thriving housing market in Orlando.

After WWII, J.J.’s sons, Ralph and Randall, entered the company. Ralph handled the office side of the business and Randall was in charge of field operations.

In the early 1960s, Williams Development Company began to venture into commercial buildings. The company began acquiring property along the recently paved Silver Star Road, west of College Park in order to build bulk warehouses. Williams became an Armco Metal Building dealer and began building warehouses and offices for many local clients including Florida Coca-Cola, Blue Goose Growers and Bardo Ford Company.

In 1972, the grandsons of J.J. Williams, Bruce E. Williams and Alan Williams, both graduates of the University of Florida, joined the family business. In 1983, at 37-years of age, Bruce took the title of President from his father, Ralph. Alan, like his father Randall, concentrated on operations in the field and construction side of the business.

The 1970s and 1980s were growth years, and the company excelled in tilt-up warehouses, school projects, churches and retail centers.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the company began to travel across the Southeast with major retailers Home Depot, Circuit City, Costco, CarMax, BestBuy, Petsmart and many more. Since this time, the Williams Company has broadened its reach into 15 different states.

In 1990, Minneapolis based Dayton Hudson Corporation contracted with Williams Company to build its first Target Store on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. The building opened on time and under budget, and was the beginning of a 30-year relationship. Target and Williams Company have worked together in 11 states across the Southeast, building over 300 Target Store projects.

The Williams Company has self-performed concrete work since the 1960’s.

The 1980s was a decade of building multiple schools for Orange County Public Schools. The largest and most challenging project was the $50 million Evans High School. Built in only 17 months, Evans High School was a key project in the middle of the Great Recession.

In 2016, the Williams Company became 100% Employee Owned, buying the remaining stock from Bruce and Alan Williams.

As Williams Company celebrates being established for over 100 years, our 100% Employee-Owned company is poised to grow and flourish under the leadership (pictured left to right) of Chief Financial Officer Roger Whitty, Vice President of Preconstruction Justin Bray, President Chris Rollins, Chief Executive Officer Taylor Huddleston, Chief Operations Officer Brad Kubin, Vice President Of Operations Matt Olberding and Vice President of Operations in our Tampa Office, Dirk Heller.