The birth of the Kelley Companies was October 1955 when brothers T.O. Kelley and E.L. Kelley began “Kelley Brothers Contractors” with two rusty bulldozers, a few miscellaneous pieces of equipment, and a vision.

It has been said that “What sets ordinary men apart from extraordinary men are the limits of their dreams.” These men’s dreams were without limits, their goals were high, and their determination was colossal.

These brothers worked many long hours building government farm ponds, clearing pasture land, and other “odd” projects.

By and by, a propane distributorship in southern Wayne County was acquired. Local LP Gas was acquired and become the second company in the strand.

Times were hard back then and T.O. and E.L. were “penny pincers” They began to notice that their largest expense every month was fuel. So, as fate would have it, a bulk fuel distributorship came up for sale in Waynesboro, MS and they purchased it. DATE It was their philosophy that if they could keep their largest expenses “in house” they could be more profitable.

As the oilfield expanded and began to boom, T.O. and E.L. recognized the need for a second location of the Kelley Brothers office. In DATE, an office was established in Flomaton, AL to support the demand for oil field contracting in that area.

As time passed, once again the brothers began to audit their books. Their second largest expense each month was lumber used to build board roads on oilfield locations. A sawmill in Greene County, MS went on the market and was quickly bought by the Kelleys. Thus was the beginning of Al-Tom Forest Products.

But some changes were about to happen. In 1990, T.O. Kelley Sr. purchased his brother’s stock in the company. Since that time, Tommy, Jerry, and Terry Kelley (T.O.’s sons) have managed the operations of the companies under the guidance of their father.

With the second generation holding the reins, the companies began to expand even further. In order to enlarge the sawmill and logging operations, they purchased an existing sawmill in Clarke County, MS which came to be known as Kelwood Products. Today, the two sawmills combined produce over 3 million board feet of lumber a year and each have their own logging crews.

As the oilfield industry thrived in Mississippi and surrounding states, many of the operators of these fields began to see an increase in the environmental regulations that the government issued. From oil spills and soil contamination to NORM concerns, the “Kelley Brothers” recognized another business opportunity. In 1998, Complete Environmental & Remediation Company was created. Since then, Complete has expanded and now has two service sites, one in Mississippi and the other in Alabama.

As the saying goes, “like father, like son” Tommy, Jerry, and Terry Kelley noticed that the largest expense that Complete paid every month was for testing. In 2002, EDL Labs, a full service environmental laboratory was acquired. The lab is conveniently located in Purvis, MS.

In the past 50 years, Kelley Brothers Contractors has evolved into a highly respected, multi-faceted organization. Our company has a unique knack for recognizing business opportunities that result in synergies which contribute to each other.

In recent years, the third generation of Kelleys have joined the team. Jerry’s children, Kati and Marc Kelley are very involved in the operations of the companies. That’s why to us, the “Kelley Companies” are more than just an occupation… It’s our passion, it’s our life. We make it our priority to stand out above the rest. We are over 50 years strong and just getting started.