B.R. Kreider & Son announces plans to build new office in S. Lebanon Township

B. R. Kreider & Son plans to construct a new Lebanon office on a 16.76-acre property at the intersection of Evergreen Road and State Drive.

The fourth-generation, Manheim-based excavating and paving firm acquired the undeveloped, industrially- zoned property in South Lebanon Township in March 2024.

Brent Kreider, company president and owner, said the company plans to construct the building and relocate its Lebanon office from 28 Evergreen Road, a short distance away.

“We’ve had the current location for about four years. We decided to open a Lebanon County office since we have employees that live in Lebanon as well as some projects in the county. However, we lease that office; we don’t own it,” he explained.

He said the current plan is to construct a 13,000-square-foot building on the site. The company plans to use a two-story, 5,000-square-foot  portion of the building for its own use and lease the rest of the space to one or two tenants for warehouse use.

B.R. Kreider’s planned new office would have office space, a meeting/training room and warehouse as well as an area for small repairs of its construction equipment.

The property will also have some space to store some of the company’s smaller equipment, the pieces that move around a lot. “We want our large equipment out in the field at job sites,” Kreider said.

He said the company, which celebrates its 90^th anniversary this year, employs about 230 people, including 12 employees in the Lebanon County office.

“We’re hoping to grow our Lebanon-area team. The intent is to have Lebanon staff work on Lebanon-area projects, but that depends on the skill set of those staff members and the skill sets that are needed for those projects,” he said.

“B.R. Kreider & Sons has been serving Lebanon County for many years, so, it makes sense for them to build a facility of their own. This family-run business is very community minded, and (the new building) will be a fantastic addition to the companies who have already invested in Lebanon County,” said Karen Groh, president and CEO Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Kreider said the company is working with Beers + Hoffman Architecture and Steckbeck Engineering & Surveying Inc. to finalize the development plan for the new Evergreen Road office. A plan has not yet been submitted to the township.

Kreider said he anticipates the plan will be before the township in the next month or two. He said the plan could change as it goes through the municipal review and approval process, but the goal is to begin construction near the end of the year or spring 2027.

Regarding changes in the construction industry itself, Kreider said the use of technology has accelerated over the past 5 to 10 years.

Newer construction equipment now has GPS built-in, and he said it can tell you exactly where to put the blade to the tenth of an inch. The construction plan can now be loaded into a computer in the equipment, which means the operator will know exactly where he or she is on the construction site. Additionally, supervisors on the job site have hand-held computers and GPS systems that allow them to check the work as its being done.

“Years ago, you would see tons of stakes throughout a job site. They helped guide equipment operators – indicating where roads and water and sewer would go. It was helpful, but equipment operators were constantly getting in and out of their equipment to remove stakes once they finished working on an area,” Kreider said.

“All the new technology makes it more efficient for operators and job supervisors.”