DPR Construction, the California-based building contractor and construction manager that has built itself into a $2-billion-a-year business on high-tech construction and a push for innovation, is making moves to expand its footprint. And the company’s first step in that direction is starting in the Southeast. Photo: NY Focus Photography DPR Construction built the Max Planck Florida Institute project, located in Jupiter, Fla. Related Links: California-based DPR is Set to Buy Hardin Construction In its first major purchase, DPR announced last month that it plans to buy Hardin Construction Co. LLC, the Atlanta-based general contractor. DPR, based in Redwood City, plans
This year's Top Specialty Contractors survey revealed that at least some firms working in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are starting to experience real, and significant, business growth again. But like the overall economic recovery itself, the fortunes of Southeast specialty contractors are proving to be decidedly mixed. Photo by Ben Tanner Photography; courtesy KHS and S Contractors Improving Conditions? KHS and S handled metal panel work for Marlins Park in Miami, where market conditions are showing signs of improvement. Related Links: 2012 Southeast Top Specialty Contractors Ranking SteelFab: Southeast 'Specialty Contractor of the Year' Some firms are finally finding
Steel fabricator and erector SteelFab Inc. was certainly not immune to the construction industry's dark days of late 2008. At that time, the specialty contractor found itself in much the same panic mode that gripped many others as its project backlog suddenly, and literally, shrank to nothing. Related Links: For Southeast Specialty Firms, Recovery is Proving Hit or Miss 2012 Southeast Top Specialty Contractors Ranking The Charlotte, N.C.-based steel designer, fabricator and erector saw 26 projects mothballed or canceled as the local economy spiraled down in the wake of the nation's banking crisis. Project owners were left with no choice
As officials in North Carolina prepare to widen their probe into utility Duke Energy’s surprise ouster of its just-named CEO, officials there and in Florida are giving increased scrutiny to a problem-laden repair of the now-idled Crystal River nuclear powerplant owned by acquired utility Progress Energy as a factor in the boardroom coup. Photo courtesy Duke Energy Officials in North Carolina want to know more about the repair issues at the Crystal River nuclear powerplant project in Citrus County, Fla. Related Links: Florida, Progress Energy Reach Fix Plan for Crystal River Costly Blunders at Progress Energy's Crystal River Nuke Plant
Instead of focusing on merely surviving the Southeast's vicious downturn, Skanska USA's Southeast operation has used the slower times to improve its capabilities and people. It has been adopting new approaches to construction, accelerating field adoption of emerging technology and diversifying and deepening its talent pool. It is even expanding into new geographic markets. Related Links: Skanska USA Named "Contractor of the Year" ENR Southeast: Features on Firms It is a strategy borne of necessity that has turned into a survival tactic, says Scott MacLeod, co-chief operating officer for the Southeast in Skanska USA's Raleigh office. "We were concerned about
There's a new giant in the No. 1 position of ENR Southeast's annual Top Design Firms ranking this year, and even though it's the firm's first time atop the charts, the company's success is anything but a big surprise. AECOM Technology Corp. soared past its Southeast competition in 2011 by grabbing a big share of the major projects throughout the region. Related Links: Perkins+Will Envisions New Future for Design More Southeast Firms While many other Southeast firms struggled over the past year to eke out a mild increase, or else suffered a decline, AECOM surged, posting a gain of roughly
Designers in the Southeast are continuing to face market uncertainty, but as 2012 unfolds, more of them are starting to see some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel as the region's owners move more project plans off the shelf and into the field. It's not a boom, but architects and engineers seem ready for any kind of improvement. Related Links: Southeast Design Firm of the Year: AECOM Technology Corp. The cause for optimism starts with a look back at the recent past. A year ago, ENR Southeast's Top Design Firms ranking revealed that 2010 revenue had declined again
North Carolina's Dept. of Transportation pushed forward to meet the needs of state construction industry stakeholders and residents alike in 2011, thus earning ENR Southeast's designation as "Owner of the Year."
The Southeast's largest projects last year continued to fall within the same few construction categories as they did in 2010, according to the latest Top Starts ranking by ENR Southeast. Energy, health-care and public-sector market categories again were dominant. Related Links: The Southeast's Top Starts Ranking Only five of the 25 projects ranked on the list came from other categories. One of those, a retirement facility, could be considered health care-related.The power market generated the top three spots on this year's Top Starts ranking, with projects from utilities FPL and Progress Energy and from a four-year-old firm called American Renewables
As Southeast specialty contractors hold on for what seems like an ever-elusive recovery, successful firms are getting as lean as possible, watching their bottom lines and adjusting to a “new normal” with a mix of discipline and expanded services. Photo courtesy of KHS&S Contractors A worker with KHS&S Contractors puts the finishing touches on the Cheetah Run area at Tampas Busch Gardens. For now, it's all about survival, as the Southeast's market for specialty-contracting services continues to run lean and, sometimes, mean. The numbers reveal the downward slide that firms are enduring.This year's Top Specialty Contractors ranking includes 110 firms,