Acquisition of Summit Builders Brings Southwest Presence to Pittsburgh-based Firm
Pittsburgh-based dck worldwide purchased Summit Builders earlier this month. The Phoenix-based general contractor will be renamed Summit dck, to underscore the effort to unite the capabilities of both companies and open up the Southwest market for dck.
“We’ve worked in the area but never had a strong presence in the Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas,” says Stephen D’Angelo, dck worldwide president and CEO. “This really adds a strong regional presence with a company that has a long history of quality projects and repeat clients.”
Summit has performed general contracting work in the region for the past 26 years, with a focus on hospitality, commercial, education and healthcare. The firm has averaged annual revenue around $200 million, though the past 12 month period was slightly lower at $180 million. Summit recently completed the 80,000-sq-ft Naco Boder Patrol Station in Bisbee, Ariz. and is currently working on Cadence, a 196-unit student housing development in Tucson, Ariz., and a 4-story Candlewood Suites on the Yuma Proving Ground Army Base in Yuma, Ariz.
“Combining the depth, creativity, and strength of dck worldwide with Summit Builders will allow us to continue to expand the organization while still providing outstanding, quality services to our clients,” says Jeffrey Stone, Summit dck president.
Dck worldwide specializes in military/defense, resort, education and healthcare, and works along the eastern U.S., Hawaii, Guam, the Philipines and throughout the Caribbean and Asia.
Both firms will gain efficiencies in the process, D’Angelo says. “The management structure will stay the same, but we’ll leverage each other's strengths. We’ll take some of our relationships and bring them to Summit, while Summit will bring some of their relationships to us.”
The acquisition came about because the two firms shared a common bonding company and lender, which recommended the two contractors meet.
With 90 years in the industry, dck has weathered many economic ups and downs, and D’Angelo is confident in his outlook for the Southwest. “At the time of the acquisition, we picked up 125 people, and we expect that to increase,” he says. Strength is expected in the healthcare, education, commercial and resort markets, but D’Angelo sees potential weakness in military markets. “We are concerned about the Dept. of Defense and what’s going on with the budget, so we’re looking at that to probably be a smaller percentage of our business over the next couple of years,” he says.
