From a modest startup founded by two young engineers in Lexington to a nationally recognized design-build construction firm, Denham-Blythe has spent the past five decades helping shape Kentucky’s industrial, commercial, and institutional landscape.
The Lexington-based company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, marking a milestone that reflects sustained growth, thousands of completed projects, and a business model built on long-term client relationships.
Founded in 1976 by engineering graduates Charlie Denham and Dale Blythe, the company began with a vision that differed from the traditional construction approach. The founders wanted a process centered on collaboration and customer advocacy. Rather than separating design, engineering, and construction into different entities, they promoted a team-oriented approach in which all project stakeholders worked together from the very beginning. That philosophy would eventually become known as the design-build model that defines Denham-Blythe today.
Casey Dunn
“They would take a customer’s ideas and develop a full complement of designs, and then they would build it,” said Casey Dunn, Denham-Blythe’s CEO and a 27-year veteran of the company. “You get a more complete and thorough facility that meets the client’s needs. The approach also reduces timelines and costs.”
Denham-Blythe’s organizational structure includes a commitment to performing a portion of construction work using internal teams, while also maintaining in-house architecture and engineering services. The company’s departments include design, construction, and craft divisions that work together throughout a project’s life cycle. Dunn and company leaders describe the approach as true design-build, allowing clients to work with a single team from planning and permitting through construction and occupancy.
The company completes about 400 projects annually and emphasizes early planning and project assessment to reduce budget overruns and delays.
“We deliver a high-quality construction project,” Dunn said. “We care about the client and our employees. What makes a project successful is keeping a client’s budget and timeline on schedule. We always strive for a long-term business relationship with each finished product.”
Denham-Blythe completes about 400 projects annually and emphasizes early planning, a collaborative approach, and realistic project assessments.
While many contractors specialize in a narrow sector, Denham-Blythe has diversified across industrial manufacturing, food processing, pharmaceuticals, health care, commercial office, automotive, institutional construction, and more. Its portfolio includes projects for Fortune 500 corporations as well as regional businesses and community organizations.
The company has done work for Keeneland and Buffalo Trace Distillery, and will renovate the terminal at Blue Grass Airport. It has built the headquarters building for the University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union, the Stantec Engineering office building, and completed major renovations at what was then Lexmark’s global headquarters.
The company has also been involved in logistics and distribution projects, including a LEED-certified facility for health care distributor Henry Schein in Lexington. The facility incorporated sustainable design elements including a green roof, rainwater management systems, and provisions for future expansion.
Beyond Lexington, Denham-Blythe has contributed to major projects throughout Central Kentucky and across the state. Recent examples include a cafeteria project at Toyota’s Georgetown manufacturing facility, a cleanroom build-out for Catalent Pharma Solutions in Winchester, industrial expansions for manufacturers in western Kentucky, and renovations for educational institutions such as Hutchins Library at Berea College.
Recent projects include Lexhold Technology Center Building A, intended as the first of two sister buildings at the University of Kentucky’s Coldstream technology park.
Denham-Blythe states that approximately 90 percent of its projects come from repeat clients, a figure that underscores the relationship-based business model established by its founders.
“Relationships are not built overnight,” said Dunn. “The strongest relationships are built with trust that is earned over time.”
Regional development organizations have highlighted Denham-Blythe as the type of hometown success story that demonstrates the strength of Kentucky’s emerging engineering and construction sectors.
Denham-Blythe has its main office on Trade Street in Lexington and operates additional offices in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida, with plans to open offices in several more states. The company is licensed to operate in 35 states.
“We go wherever our customers take us,” Dunn said.
Denham-Blythe’s job postings and recruiting materials emphasize mentorship, collaboration, and internal career advancement. That culture has helped the company attract and retain employees during a period when skilled construction labor remains in high demand nationwide. The company was recently recognized as one of Kentucky’s Best Places to Work.
“Our founders were very instrumental in the culture and trajectory of the company,” Dunn said. “They had high integrity and a high level of customer service from which they built true relationships and therefore created repeat business.”
The economy fluctuates at times and develops challenges such as recessions, labor and material shortages, inflation, higher interest rates, and supply chain disruptions.
“We have been able to weather tough economic times by diversifying the types of projects we take on. If one sector of our industry is down at a particular moment, we shift to one that is not, and we keep going,” Dunn said.
For now, the company appears positioned for continued growth. Demand remains strong for advanced manufacturing plants, industrial facilities, food-production operations, and health care-related construction projects across Kentucky and the Southeast. Denham-Blythe’s established expertise in these sectors also appears to align with economic development projects being planned across the region.
Dunn said future opportunities for Denham-Blythe may also include distribution centers, pharmaceutical operations, and sustainable building projects.
Fifty years after Charlie Denham and Dale Blythe created a more collaborative construction experience for their clients, the company they built is leaving its mark on Lexington’s skyline, Central Kentucky’s economy, and projects across the nation.