A small, quickly rising Ohio-based general contractor appears to have shut down.
Last August, Inc. Magazine named Columbus-based Palmetto Construction Services (and no connection to Charleston, S.C.-based Palmetto Construction Group) to the magazine's annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private U.S. companies. With $21.5 million in revenue and annual growth of 165% over three years, the company reached a rank of 2,578 on the list.
In addition to Columbus, Palmetto Construction Services’ LinkedIn page said the company had offices in Tampa, Houston and Dallas. The page said that the company makes sure “that clients have a clear understanding of the road map involved in their construction project.”
Now it looks like the end of the road for the contractor. It has defaulted on more than $14 million in work on three public projects in its home state. The projects include a jail in Ross County, a fire station and a state park’s visitor center.
Palmetto Construction Services could not be reached for comment. An email requesting comment from Casey Cusack, one of its principals, was not answered. His LinkedIn page that notes he has more than 30 years of commercial construction experience. The company’s website is down, and its phone is not accepting messages.
According to Truro Township, Ohio Fire Dept. officials, a letter sent by Palmetto Construction Services to Truro Fire Chief Jeff Sharps stated that the company had voluntarily defaulted on the its contract to construct the station.
The contractor's surety, Ohio Farmers Insurance Company-Westfield Group, is continuing work on the project, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Officials of the surety could not immediately be reached for comment.
Other newspapers reported trouble on the other projects in involved in defaults.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office also has confirmed that it has “been working on construction cases involving Palmetto [Construction Services]."