While firms across the country are tightening their belts, Denver contractor RK Mechanical Inc. has re-invested in its employees and completed one of the largest construction projects in the company's history. For its ongoing pursuit of portfolio diversity and its steadfast attention to the health, safety and training of its employees, RK has been selected by ENR Mountain States as Colorado's Specialty Contractor of the Year for 2011.
From its modest start 48 years ago as a plumbing and heating company in northeast Nebraska, to its current world-class headquarters on a 16-acre site in Denver, RK has grown to become one of the region's leading full-service plumbing, mechanical and process piping contractors and fabricators. The mechanical powerhouse closed its 2011 books with $156.7 million in revenue, up from $124.2 million in 2010. While these figures are down from the company's high-water mark of $164 million in revenue in 2009, "we've actually grown despite the recession," says Rick Kinning, chairman and CEO. He has run the company with his brother Jon, president of RK's Performance Building Services division, since their father retired in 2007.