Our History

William A. Bell purchases Drywall, Inc., which was initially incorporated on March 18, 1967 in Kentucky. At the time it was a small, almost dormant residential drywall company. Mr. Bell infused new life into the company to make it one of Lexington, KY’s finest residential drywall subcontractors.

The company started moving from the residential market into the commercial market, adding metal framing, acoustical ceiling systems and exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) to its repertoire.

Mr. Bell had a vision, which propelled Drywall, Inc. into the prefabricated exterior wall panel business. He felt off-site manufacturing of exterior wall panels could compress construction schedules, improve both productivity and quality and add diversification to his company.

After one and one half years of testing the concept, Mr. Bell formed a new company named Panel Tech, Inc. (incorporated in Kentucky on August 3, 1981). Panel Tech, Inc. flourished as manufacturer/erector of prefabricated exterior wall panels and subcontractor for field installed EIFS, while Drywall, Inc. continued to focus on metal framing and interior finishes.

Prior to the start-up of the new business, Mr. Bell hired a moonlighting consultant, Mark E. Nabity, to design his panelized projects. They worked together in this fashion for about nine months until Mr. Bell offered Mr. Nabity the opportunity to join his new company. Mr. Nabity accepted the offer in 1982 and was running Panel Tech, Inc. within three years, while Mr. Bell focused his attention on the management of Drywall, Inc.

The two companies continued to grow and prosper in a sister company relationship throughout the decade. In late 1989, Mr. Bell and Mr. Nabity examined the relationship between both companies and decided there was no advantage to operating two separate companies.

On April 1st, Drywall, Inc. and Panel Tech, Inc. were merged to form Grayhawk Corporation. Mr. Bell and Mr. Nabity co-managed the new company as CEO and President respectively.

In March, Grayhawk, LLC opened a branch office of Grayhawk Corporation in Louisville, KY. The business plan for the new office was to create an employer presence in Louisville, build a loyal and competent work force and pursue profitable projects within the Louisville metro area. Through hard work and persistence the plan worked, and today Grayhawk, LLC is one of the largest and most successful drywall subcontractors in Louisville.

Looking for further diversification, Grayhawk, LLC entered into an agreement with MiTek Industries, Inc. (now Aegis Metal Framing, LLC) to become a licensed fabricator of the Ultra-Span Light Gauge Steel Truss System. This business line, motivated by code mandated non-combustible construction, has shown steady and continued growth. In early 1996, Mr. Bell and Mr. Nabity began to formulate a succession plan that would guarantee the viability of the business after Mr. Bell’s planned retirement.

On April 1st, they formed Grayhawk, LLC, a limited liability company with two corporate members, W. A. Bell, Inc. and M. E. Nabity, Inc.

On March 31st, the buyout was completed and Mr. Bell retired. This left M. E. Nabity, Inc., a company wholly owned by Mark E. Nabity, with sole ownership.

On May 1st, M. E. Nabity, Inc. sold a twenty-five percent interest in Grayhawk, LLC to J. M. Keller, Inc.

That same twenty-five percent interest was repurchased on January 1st, leaving M. E. Nabity, Inc. as the sole company owner.

Bill Ford, a twenty-eight year veteran of the commercial construction industry acquired an equity stake in Lexington based Grayhawk, LLC. The acquisition was part of a strategic plan to transfer complete ownership to Ford over the next four years. Ford joined the company in August of 2016 as Executive Vice President, charged with managing contracting operations.

Grayhawk, LLC, headquartered in a 43,000 square foot facility, located in Lexington, KY, with a branch office in Louisville, KY, continues to grow around the talents and loyalty of its 100 plus employees. The company is recognized nationally for both its interior finish and prefabricated exterior wall panel work and within the Commonwealth of Kentucky for its on-site ability to construct the largest, most complicated and tightly scheduled projects.