North Carolina contractors saw continued declines in the state’s nonresidential market in June, leading to a 36% overall drop in the value of new contracts, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction. The overall value of new June contracts totaled just over $1 billion, down from $1.6 billion a year ago. Related Links: S.C. Contracts: 20% Up at 2010’s Midpoint The value of nonresidential contracts fell 66% compared to a year ago for a $266.1-million total. The nonbuilding category—which includes infrastructure projects—declined 33% in June to tally $173.8 million. The residential sector improved yet again, increasing by 5% for
The value of June’s South Carolina contracts was flat compared to a year ago, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The overall value of new contracts signed for future construction was $733.8 million, compared to last June’s $731 million. Related Links: N.C. Contracts: 36% Drop in June Nonbuilding construction was the only positive category for the month. It soared by 75% over last June’s pace to total $232.5 million. Nonresidential was down again, though, this time by 30% to tally $194.8 million. The residential category fell 4% to total $306.5 million. For the year-to-date, South Carolina’s new contracts total roughly $3.7 billion,
Peoria, Ill.-based heavy equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. announced July 30 that it will build an 850,000-sq-ft mining equipment plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. Construction of the facility, where the company will machine, assemble, test and paint axle assemblies for its mining trucks, is set to begin in November, with production scheduled to start in early 2012. “Caterpillar has worked hard with many local partners in North Carolina, and we thank them for their assistance during the site selection process,” says Hans Haefeli, vice president for advanced components and systems. “We look forward to establishing our new lower powertrain facility in Winston-Salem,
Our annual survey of subcontractors in the Southwest shows revenue totals plummeting in 2009. Last year, we ranked 160 companies totaling $6.13 billion based on their 2008 revenue. This year, the responses fell to 113 firms with revenue totaling just $3.58 billion in 2009. Photo Courtesy Carollo Engineers Crews pour concrete for a clarifier floor during construction on the third phase of the $60-million Casa Grande Water Reclamation Facility. Related Links: Top 113 Specialty Contractors State/Worldwide Market Sectors Safest Subcontractors Even with the drop in participation, the largest firms remain fairly consistent year to year. All but five of last
Canada-based design firm Stantec announced July 20 that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire WilsonMiller Inc., a planning, design and engineering firm headquartered in Naples, Fla., with more than 265 employees and 10 offices throughout the state. “We believe that WilsonMiller will be a catalyst for future growth of Stantec in Florida, which despite the current difficult economic climate, still remains one of the largest markets in the country,” Bob Gomes, Stantec president and CEO, said in a press statement announcing the acquisition. This year, Edmondton, Alberta, Canada-based Stantec Inc. ranked No. 24 on the Engineering News-Record’s
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wetlands Reserve Program has agreed to pay approximately $89 million to acquire permanent easements on nearly 26,000 contiguous acres in Florida’s Northern Everglades Watershed. Photo: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has acquired permanent easements for 26,000 acres in the Northern Everglades Watershed. “The Northern Everglades is one of the last frontiers for large-scale land conservation in Florida, so we are excited about this,” says Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “The $89 million the federal government is investing in this project this year will do wondrous things.” In
The city of Fort Worth expects to save $65 to $58 million in program costs for $2 billion in planned infrastructure projects over the next five years under a new integrated program management system. The city worked with a consulting team led by CH2M HILL, Englewood, Colo, to streamline project delivery. Fort Worth expects to deliver projects six months earlier with its new IPM. The city’s project delivery capacity has now increased by 50%, from $240 million to $480 million annually. “The city needs more project managers, but cannot afford to hire them in the current economic climate,” says William
Construction will start by spring 2011 on Dallas’ $2.7 billion LBJ Freeway (IH-635), one of the nation’s most congested highway systems. That couldn’t come sooner for Texans. The freeway carries about 270,000 vehicles daily with demand expected to exceed 450,000 by 2020. Image: LBJIG The project developer, LBJ Infrastructure Group, is a public-private partnership led by Spanish firm Cintra, which has U.S. headquarters in Austin, and is the 51% owner of the project. Other companies in the partnership are Meridiam Infrastructure of New York, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System; Houston-based W.W. Webber; and Spanish firm Ferrovial Agroman. In
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an immediate recall of more than 2,500 stadium light poles, after confirming reports that 11 of the steel poles fell over. Most of of those incidents occurred in Texas, CPSC says. Photo: Hays ISD The commission says that the poles range from about 70 to 135 feet tall, weigh one to four tons and are located near school stadiums and gyms. CPSC says the manufacturer was Whitco Co. LLP, Fort Worth, which the commission says is out of business. It says that the recall does not affect Whitco Pole products. CPSC says
The 120 firms in Texas Construction’s 12th annual Top Specialty Contractors ranking collectively performed about $5 billion worth of work in the state in 2009. That amount is not drastically different than the $5.7 billion total from the Top Specialty Contractors total of 2007, considered a robust year for Texas. That is perhaps a sign that the state’s economy is stabilizing. Fifteen of the firms listed reported more than $100 million in Texas revenue, the same number of firms from our 2007 chart. Worldwide, the collective revenue generated by the 120 firms is about $14.8 billion. Photo: Baker Concrete Related
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