Larry Snyder and Co. builds new Ozark office

The holidays will be extra special this year for the employees of Larry Snyder & Co.

The construction company plans to move into its new Ozark facility in December. The company's Branson and Joplin offices will eventually merge into that single location, said Vice President Bob Keller.

The three-level, wood-frame office with a cultured-stone-and-brick exterior is under construction at 4820 N. Towncenter Road. The 14,500-square-foot structure has an estimated construction cost of $850,000, and the interior will feature marble walls the company salvaged from an historic renovation.

Lacy Emmert, the company's director of business development and daughter of founder Larry Snyder, said the first and second floors will have offices, a conference room, a break room and a kitchen; the basement will be used for storage.

The basement also has room for offices, if more are needed.

The structure will have an elevator shaft, Emmert said, but the elevator won't be installed right away.

The company served as its own general contractor, and Slone Architects designed the building.

Emmert said about 25 people will work out of the new office building, and more employees could be added.

"We're looking for a couple of new project managers, and we're always looking for good superintendents and laborers," Emmert said.

Ozark was chosen as the site because its location between Branson and Springfield makes it easily accessible for employees and clients, Keller said. He believes the new building will play a significant role in the company's continued success.

"We think it will allow us to attract some very qualified people," he said. "We'll have more room. Every project manager will have their own office. It will be a lot better building for us to work out of."

While the anticipated December completion makes the new building a Christmas present of sorts for the company, it also will be completed as the company celebrates its 25th year in business. While the timing as far as the anniversary was a coincidence, "it's icing on the cake," Emmert said.

History

Larry Snyder & Co. was founded in 1978 by Larry K. Snyder, whose family has been involved in the construction industry for the last five decades. The company offers complete construction services, specializing in industrial construction and site development work.

Affordable housing units account for much of the company's business, along with historic renovations, vacation resorts, hotels/motels, commercial/retail, industrial and tilt-up concrete.

In 1980, the company added a development services division LS&C Development Services that focuses on excavation, underground utilities, subdivision construction, treatment plants, retaining walls, and rock blasting and breaking. LS&C Development services is doing site work for the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Ozark.

According to Keller, Larry Snyder & Co. prides itself on customer satisfaction. In fact, according to company data, more than 80 percent of its annual volume is repeat business with satisfied clients.

The company has secured projects from across the United States, including a 12-million-gallon, not-from-concentrate storage facility in Auberndale, Fla., for Cutrale Citrus Juices USA Inc. Another project now under way is the renovation of the Frisco Building in Joplin, which will be used as senior citizen housing.