John W. McDougall Co., Inc.

John W. McDougall Co., Inc. is a 3rd generation, family owned business, serving our customers with the highest standards for over 80 years. Founded in 1938, our company consists of three divisions: Industrial metals, which is responsible for our custom sheet metal fabrication and installation – the architectural metals division, which fabricates and installs wall panel systems using aluminum composite material, high pressure laminate panels, phenolic panels, aluminum plate, stainless steel plate, and more - and the newly created processing division, which helps clients complete their metals projects using our world-class equipment by bending, cutting, leveling, perforating and rolling. Our innovative, cutting-edge processes set us apart in the industry. We take pride in our pioneering products, services and solutions, and our work speaks for itself.

The company has grown and expanded over the years and now has sister companies in Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, New York, Denver and Dallas. Our mission statement says it all: The McDougall Family of Companies will be the nation’s leading enclosure and sheet metal contractor by building lasting relationships, while displaying the utmost level of integrity, efficiency, and service.

Company History

John W. McDougall Co., Inc. was formed in 1938 by John W. McDougall, Sr. We are currently in our 81st year of business, and have gone through multiple transformations throughout our history. John McDougall Sr. had to go to work at an early age. His father died when he was in high school and he had to work to support his mother. John and his twin brother, Wylie, dropped out of school and started performing manual labor jobs. John had many jobs throughout the years, but the ones that stood out were with the Illinois Central Railroad and later, with the Illinois Cement Company. John was a salesman for the railroad, with his specialty being the building products market. He traveled all over the East Coast, trying to entice product manufacturers to ship their material by rail. From that job, he developed a close relationship with the Illinois Cement Company, who eventually hired him to sell concrete all over the East Coast. John built his book of business on relationships and became an excellent salesman.

At thirty-five years of age, John met his wife, Betty, and settled in Nashville, TN. His brother Wylie had married and was now living in New Orleans, selling a variety of construction products. John Sr. started John W. McDougall Company as a manufacturer’s rep agency and went to work. He represented all types of products – corrugated siding, marble/stone, stove heaters, folding partitions, fencing, etc. He was trying to survive during the depression and a world war. Naturally being the salesman that he was, he developed relationships with wartime contractors, and the business thrived. One of his best friends was “Uncle” Gene McDonald, whose company went around the Midwest building wartime bases. John W. McDougall Company represented a Quonset hut manufacturer and followed McDonald Construction wherever they had a federal contract. In addition to erecting the Quonset huts, John W. McDougall Company also equipped each facility with a Chrysler stove heater. The manufactured heater also needed exhaust stove pipes, so John got into the sheet metal fabrication business, and that area of the business continues to thrive today.

John W. McDougall Company survived the depression and World War II, and the business grew. John’s two sons, Wylie and John Jr., entered the business in the early 1960’s and became entrepreneurs. They grew the business exponentially, as they diversified and became manufacturers. As they grew the business, they focused on architectural products and even more so on enclosure applications. They were approached by a Swiss company named Alucobond to represent their composite panels that had taken off in Europe. John W. McDougall Company was the pioneer in composite panels systems and promotion. As a proprietary product and an alternative to steel plate panels systems, the product took off. What was expected to be a three to five year “fad”, turned into a mainstay in architectural design. In the early years, the McDougall brothers were approached by the Walt Disney Corporation to help them with their vision of building a geometric ball. The Spaceship Earth, an 18-story geodesic sphere, was the focal point of their EPCOT development, and is still an architectural masterpiece to this day.

The Company Today

In the early 90’s, the third generation, Alec W. McDougall III, started in the business and is now the CEO of John W. McDougall Co., Inc. The company streamlined its focus more into manufacturing and away from the manufacturer’s rep agency. Today, over 200 employees work out of our 100,000 square foot, state of the art, manufacturing facility in Nashville, TN. The company's project resume spans the United States and is quite impressive. Driven by Alec’s passion for the business and desire to improve customer satisfaction, John W. McDougall Company, Inc. maintains leadership in the ACM panel and building enclosure market. The company continually stays ahead of the curve with our focus on customer satisfaction, sustainability, engineering, CNC equipment and lean manufacturing.

Throughout the years, the McDougall Family of Companies has increased its footprint across the nation with their knowledge of architectural manufacturing and total enclosure experience. Alec W. McDougall III and various partners own and operate facilities in Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Dallas, Chicago, Denver and New York City. The intellectual property, manufacturing processes, research, development and knowledge are embedded in all these facilities. With strong management in place, these facilities are second to none with their ability to produce superior products to meet our clients’ needs. Multiple fabrication facilities provide resources and support for the largest projects, and the ability to meet demanding schedules.