Texas 2010 rank: No. 48 Market, rank: Tile and Stone Construction, No. 1 Photo Courtesy Sigma Marble Sigma Marble and Granite Inc. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Dallas-based Sigma Marble and Granite blends high-technology with dedicated customer service to provide quality marble, granite and tile installations. Last year turned out to be a good one for the firm, in part due to long-term projects, such as the Dallas Cowboys Stadium but also due to company leadership’s positive attitude. “The recession is psychological,” says George Kanaan, president and founder of Sigma Marble. “If you believe in it, you fall for
Texas 2010 rank: No. 2 Market, rank: Mechanical No. 1 and Plumbing No. 1 Photo Courtesy Tdindustries TDIndusties div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Experienced in select markets less affected by the recession, mechanical contractor TDIndustries of Dallas found opportunities during the last year, leading to additional jobs. “We have a lot to be thankful for,” says Harold MacDowell, chief executive officer of TDIndustries. “We were fortunate to have a diverse amount of work in health care, federal government and higher education, mixed in with a few data centers.” The company finished a project at Texas Children’s Hospital and worked
What a difference a year can make. Image: Courtesy RdlR Architects. SpawMaxwell will build Houston’s new Joy School, shown here in conceptual design. Designed by RdlR Architects of Houston, the approximately 26,000 sq-ft school on a tight urban site will aim for LEED-silver certification. A rendering of the new 1.14-million-sq-ft Dallas Convention Center Hotel, which Balfour Beatty is building to meet LEED-silver certification. In 2009, SpawMaxwell was tapped as Texas Construction’s 2009 Contractor of the Year and praised for its entrepreneurial spirit and flat ownership structure. Now, 2010 finds the Houston-based interior and general contractor a member of the Balfour
Central Texas remains one of the brighter regions for construction in the nation, with many public projects moving forward as well as a few private jobs. “We have a positive outlook on Central Texas, whereas a lot of areas of the country still have a dark cloud from the economic meltdown,” says Chuck Lipscomb, business development manager for JE Dunn Construction in Austin. “We think this will be one of the first areas to rebound from the recession.” Forbes magazine, in an article published last summer, placed Austin-Round Rock at the top of a list of cities where the recession
Texas 2010 rank: No. 14 Market, rank: Electrical, No. 6 Photo: Courtesy Alterman Alterman Inc. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Employee-owned electrical and data contractor Alterman of San Antonio finished 2009 with $110 million in revenues. “We were fortunate that we picked up a number of large projects in ’07 and ’08 and to a large extent they carried us through ’09,” says Don Kuykendall, CEO of Alterman. Alterman completed several data centers in 2009, including ones for Valero Energy and Frost Bank, and the Christus Santa Rosa Hospital—Westover Hills. Founded in 1923, Alterman has been 100% employee owned
Archer Western Contractors of Arlington has grown significantly since entering the Texas market 16 years ago. The diversified firm is committed to developing and maintaining good working relationships with clients, and it has built major infrastructure projects from light rail to water treatment plants to energy-recovery facilities. Texas Construction magazine selected Archer Western as its 2010 Contractor of the Year. The annual designation recognizes excellence in a contractor’s commitment to construction innovation and best business practices, reputation in the industry, volume of work and safety record. “We’ve established a good reputation here and recruited good people,” says Joe Lee,
Texas 2010 rank: No. 4 Market, rank: Concrete, No. 1 Photo Courtesy Baker Concrete Baker Concrete div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Sticking to its values and what it knows best—concrete—Baker Concrete in Houston completed the year with $195.5 million in regional revenue. “We stick to our mission and core values—having the right safety on the job, doing right by our people, giving quality services with a smile, and bringing value to all projects we get involved in,” says Jon Chastain, coordinator of preconstruction services for Baker Concrete. “If we apply that to everything we do, amazingly enough, it seems
Despite modern bookkeeping software and other tools, many construction companies remain bogged down by accounting functions. This has a lot to do with the nature of the industry, in which contractors have to juggle projects, sites and subcontractors. Of all accounting functions, payroll often wastes the most time. It creates headaches for all businesses, which must account for federal and state taxes, FICA, Medicare and state unemployment deductions as well as 401K plans, vacation pay, health insurance and garnishments. For construction firms, reports and payments of union deductions and fringe benefits add to the process. Contractors can handle payroll internally
Contractors spend considerable time negotiating contracts before signing up to do a project. Particular attention is often paid to provisions that shift risks between the parties, such as liability for damages, non-payment, insurance, delays and concealed job-site conditions. By the time a contractor executes a contract, he usually knows exactly what he is signing. But the same attention may not be given to language in other contract documents that are signed during the course of constructing the project, such as payment applications and releases. Provisions that a contractor accepts after thorough negotiations can be drastically modified with the simple stroke
In an economic downturn, many firms cut public relations budgets. Is that wise? It depends. Review your strategy to make sure you are reaching your customers–and potential customers–while cutting extraneous activities. More isn’t necessarily better. Targeted public relations can yield more results than a shotgun approach. The bottom line–think strategy. Every effort must yield a return on investment. Know Your Brand Before undertaking a PR effort, know your organization and what it stands for. A brand is what your employees, customers, competitors and stakeholders feel and say about your product or services. A review of critical strategic checkpoints will confirm
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