ESS Opens New Office in Northwest Arkansas! Wallis and Eldredge to Lead Local Team

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) is excited to announce the opening of a new office in Springdale, Arkansas. The Northwest Arkansas (NWA) market provides a great opportunity for ESS. The Springfield branch has been pursuing and performing work in this market for more than a decade. Our recent success with ARDOT projects and the relationships that Hutchens Construction provides makes this location a natural next step in the strategic growth of ESS. Our new temporary office facilities have been constructed and sized to support the area for the next two years while we work to build out a permanent office, shop and laydown yard.

This expansion is being supported by the leadership of the Springfield, DOT and Hutchens Construction teams. Both local ESS and Hutchens operations will be co-located in this new office.

The NWA team will be laser-focused on creating dynamic partnerships and opportunities within the private sector and commercial markets. To support this expansion and new strategic direction, two ESS team members have been named market leaders and relocated to the local area. We are proud to announce the promotion of Billy Wallis to Assistant Vice President and Jason Eldredge to Project Executive.

“We are thrilled to expand our regional presence with an office in Springdale, AR where we have long standing client relationships,” said Robert Gillis, Co-CEO of Emery Sapp & Sons. “Northwest Arkansas is a great fit for our culture and will provide a lot of growth opportunities for our firm. Billy and Jason have a solid reputation in the industry and bring the right mix of technical expertise and client service focus we wanted to lead our local team.”

“I’m excited to see Billy and Jason ignite our next wave of growth in Northwest Arkansas,” said Jason Rode, Vice President. “Our ambition regionally is to deliver a fully-integrated offering and to be an invaluable partner to our clients. I believe that our newly appointed leadership team and strong market presence set us up for success in the NWA region.”

In his new role as Assistant Vice President, Wallis will be responsible for pursuing and managing work within the Northwest Arkansas market. With the full support of the Springfield management and operational teams, Billy will continue to expand ESS’ capabilities throughout the NWA region.

Wallis joined the ESS team in 2008 through the acquisition of Kennedy Contractors, where he had worked since 2001. Wallis served as a laborer, operator, surveyor, superintendent, project manager, estimator, and most recently as pre-construction manager. Billy has played a key role in growing our Springfield operations and positioning our team to take on aggressive and complex infrastructure projects throughout the region. Billy has earned his strong sense of leadership by directing construction teams as well as serving as a machine gunner in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves from 2002 to 2008 where he reached the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Billy Wallis said: “I’m incredibly proud to be leading our local team at this pivotal time. My family and I just moved to town and we already love it here. I am excited to see the opportunities that this new market brings to ESS and our employee-owners.”

Eldredge joined the ESS team in 2017 and has spent the last three years supporting the DOT and Kansas City teams in the management of notable projects such as the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma; OTA Eastern Oklahoma County Turnpike; and Bella Vista Bypass in Bella Vista, Arkansas. As a Project Executive, Eldrege’s role will be equal parts business development and project execution.

In his 13-year career, Eldredge has spent a number of years in the NWA market working for some of the country’s largest general and civil contractors managing projects in both the public and private sectors. Having diverse experience with distribution, e-commerce, railway and logistic center clients, Eldredge will be able to provide valuable insights to the many fortune 500 companies who depend on mission critical infrastructure to operate supply chains in the region. Returning to the NWA market, Eldredge will work with Wallis to build strategic opportunities for our team, foster relationships with our local partners, and continue to develop owner-centric solutions for our clients.

Jason Eldredge said: “Myself and my family have fully committed to the NWA market. I am ready for my next challenge. The partnership of Emery Sapp & Sons and Hutchens Construction is a strong one. It’s given us the opportunity to leverage the full power of our collective experiences and services to create a turn-key infrastructure solution for our clients, which is truly exciting. I also enjoy the team’s positive energy and drive. I couldn’t think of better people to embark on this new adventure with.”