Central States Building Works names Ahmed Abdalaal vice president of engineering and operations

Newest hire to lead technical services as growth plans take shape for Central States Building Works.

Central States, a leader in metal building components, roofing and building packages, has named Ahmed Abdelaal to the new role of Vice President of Engineering and Operations for the Central States Building Works division. Ahmed will lead the group’s technical services including engineering, drafting and detailing and will bring his know-how in automation, software, operations, and manufacturing to the business as preparations are made for the company’s new frame plant, planned to open in Springdale, Arkansas in the Spring of 2025. 

“I’ve always believed in the power of innovation to create solutions, to overcome roadblocks and work collaboratively,” Abdelaal said. “Central States has a great reputation for metal building components and packages and is expanding upon this foundation to add new offerings, manufacturing capability and know-how to serve our customers well. I look forward to playing a role in this evolution of Central States Building Works.” 

Ahmed brings almost three decades of industry experience working for some of the largest Pre-Engineered Metal Building (PEMB) companies in the United States and internationally. He comes to Central States after spending the initial 11 years of his career at American Buildings Company (now Nucor) and Butler Manufacturing Company (now BlueScope Steel), where he held leadership positions in engineering and project management. For the last 12 years, Ahmed has served global companies by building out factories and technical capabilities in executive operations roles. He has worked with large, multi-national commercial customers in retail, auto shops, warehouses & logistics facilities, car showrooms, sports arenas, entertainment facilities, aircraft hangars and manufacturing, leading commercial general contractors and public entities, including the US military. 

“We are excited to welcome Ahmed to the team. He has an outstanding track record driving technical excellence, assembling high-performing teams and leading growth in the metal buildings industry,” said Jennifer Davis, President of Central States Building Works. “His expertise will be invaluable to our employee-owners and customers as we continue expanding our solutions and capabilities to meet the needs of our customers today and into the future.” 

Central States Building Works designs and delivers material-only building packages across the United States for commercial, storage, agricultural, industrial and other applications. The business unit was established in 2003 as Central Storage Works and was rebranded earlier this year in recognition of its expansion to additional building types and capabilities. Starting with an idea and a location, the business provides a full portfolio of services from initial estimating to drafting and working through final contracting and engineering stamps, delivering all that is required to erect the building directly to the job site. These custom kits include metal bolt-up buildings, rigid frame metal building systems, carports and garages, self-storage and more. When combined with private label manufacturing capabilities, Building Works enables customers to grow their portfolio of offerings. All Central States Building Works packages include metal building components, which are 100% recyclable and designed with sustainability in mind. 

On November 15, 2023, Central States broke ground on a new 105,000-square-foot plant to support the fast-growing pre-engineered metal frame business. The factory, which will open in 2025, expects to grow to 140 employee-owners over the first few years of operation. 

About Central States

Central States, Inc. (www.centralstatesco.com) is 100% employee-owned and was founded in 1988. With over 1,400 employee-owners and 11 manufacturing facilities, the company serves over 6,000 commercial, architectural, post frame and residential contractors and customers across the United States across three business operating units. Central States Manufacturing is a leading manufacturer of metal building components with 14 metal roofing and wall panel profiles, along with a full line of trim, accessories, and structural purlin. Two new factories are under construction, including a frame plant for pre-engineered metal buildings. Central States Building Works provides material-only building packages for self-storage and metal building systems. In 2022, Central States acquired Elevate Structures (formerly Storage Structures, Inc.), a leader in self-storage offering the patent-pending Alpha Framing System.