For a construction firm best known for gritty industrial and power projects, the suburban Chicago-based Graycor Inc. is spending a lot of time these days presiding over tenant fit-outs—its own, as it happens.
While the lingering slowdown has prompted flashier firms to thin their ranks or pull up stakes, Graycor has expanded—to Portage, Ind.; Charlotte, N.C.; Tempe, Ariz.; and Oak Brook Terrace, Ill., home to its new headquarters, a space every bit as steely as Graycor itself. "This isn't a showplace," observes Matthew Gray, president, gazing about the firm's reception area, a monochromatic mix of black and gray. "We're still a workshop."