The largest specialty contractors in the 11-state Midwest region put $10.03 billion of work into place last year, a slight increase over 2016’s mark that was just shy of $10 billion. The markets for electrical, mechanical, concrete and other specialty work continued to demand faster turnaround times from the 55 specialty contracting companies that responded to ENR Midwest’s annual survey.
Renewable energy—particularly solar and wind farms—as well as hospitals and other health care projects and data centers are still in high demand and providing the region’s specialty contractors with healthy work backlogs. The manufacturing sector is still growing, and specialty work on infrastructure projects increased in 2017. One major project—the $52-million stabilization of Bagnell Dam in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.—completed work this year. The project falls into both the infrastructure and power categories because it’s a hydro-electric dam owned by power company Ameren Missouri but also the gravity dam that created the Lake of the Ozarks. MC Industrial fitted the dam with 67 new anchors and 3 in. of new concrete.