A chance meeting more than a decade ago would eventually forge a new direction and leadership path for Carson City general contractor Metcalf.
Tom Metcalf said that while serving on the board of the Nevada State Public Works Division he met former board member Bryce Clutts. In 2018, when Metcalf turned 60, he turned his focus inward since he had no real succession plan in place for the construction company that he co-founded in Carson City with his father, Red, back in 1994.
After some brief discussions, the two decided to partner up, with Clutts stepping in as president of Metcalf in 2018. In 2020, Clutts purchased half the business and will be full owner of Metcalf in 2029.
“It was one of those things where we said, ‘Why don’t we date for a year or so’ and we did a trial run for a year and a half and decided it was a good fit, so we solidified it,” Clutts told NNBW.
Clutts said the change in leadership ensures the company will continue to serve clients in Northern Nevada and beyond long after Tom Metcalf steps away entirely from the business. Clutts has spent his entire career working in the construction industry. He started in construction after graduating from high school in Las Vegas in 1994. He moved to Minden in 2012 for a lifestyle change for his family but continued commuting to Las Vegas for another five years.
Deeply road weary, Clutts began searching for better options. He took a year off in 2017 before reaching out to Tom Metcalf, and those initial discussions led to them forming a business partnership. Metcalf said one of the main reasons the transition works so well is because of Clutts’ deep business background in the construction industry.
“I’m a carpenter by trade, and an engineer by degree,” said Metcalf, who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Arizona State University in 1980. “I took just enough business classes to be dangerous. When I met Bryce, who had a business construction background, I knew that was the foundation that could take this company to the next level.”
Like many longtime regional general contractors, Metcalf has left its stamp across Greater Reno-Sparks, Carson City and the Carson Valley over the past three decades. A handful of the company’s most recent past projects include Springhill Suites hotels in Reno and Truckee, multi-story climate-controlled storage facilities for U-Haul in Double Diamond and Spanish Springs, and Galaxy Theater, Eagle Valley Medical Center and Michael Hohl Subaru in Carson City.
Current projects include a medical manufacturing facility for Hamilton Medical, a senior living facility in Minden, and expansions to Michael Hohl GMC and Subaru dealerships in Carson City.
The company also underwent a slight rebrand, narrowing its name down to simply “Metcalf.”
“The name was really important to continue its legacy,” Clutts said. “We have been (known as) Metcalf Builders, Incorporated, and the acronym MBI has been out there for almost 30 years. But the company needed a fresh look and a rebrand. We wanted to do something that honored the founders, Red and Tom Metcalf, and also solidified the name going forward and positioned it so the company could go on in perpetuity.”
Metcalf has enjoyed many long-term client relationships that have provided work in more than a dozen states across the country. Although Northern Nevada will always be the company’s primary focus, Clutts said he plans on expanding Metcalf’s footprint over the next decade. Doing so required moving its headquarters to Reno in order to attract more employees and be closer to its primary client base, he added. Metcalf currently has a headcount of around 60.
“Tom and I have a history of doing work throughout the U.S., and we will continue to expand throughout the western region,” Clutts said. “But at some point, our growth will be limited in Northern Nevada. This will always be our home base, and we want to serve this community all the way from Gardnerville to Sparks. From a growth perspective, we want to be able to provide long-term opportunities to our employees, and to do that we’ll need to continue to grow.
Metcalf will move to a new 12,600 square-foot space at McCarran Business Park at the eastern end of Mill Street. Metcalf is the general contractor on two 50,000 square foot concrete tilt-up flex warehouse buildings for Locus Development Group at the business park. The space is about three times larger than Metcalf’s offices in Carson City.
“The majority of our employees live in the Reno-Sparks area, and the majority of our work in Northern Nevada is in the Reno-Sparks area,” Clutts said. “The majority of our clients, even those that come in from out of town, fly into the airport in Reno. If we are going to be considered one of the largest and most-respected contractors in Northern Nevada, we have to be where the other contractors are.”
Metcalf will maintain a satellite office in Carson City to better serve its dedicated client base in the state capital and Carson Valley. Clutts will make the drive from the Carson Valley to Reno.
“It was really time to take the next step and put our stamp in Reno,” Clutts said. “When we are trying to recruit employees, having them make that drive every day is not as attractive as being right down the road.
“The future’s so bright. I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Metcalf and our employees,” he added.
