Texas Construction presents its annual Top Design feature of 95 participating firms ranked by instate revenue from the previous calendar or fiscal year for work performed in Texas. This year the Top Design firm is URS Corp., with more than $388.1 million in Texas billings. Related Links: Top Design Firms: Overall Ranking Top Design Firms: Breakout Charts Company Snapshots: CH2M HILL Company Snapshots: CP&Y Inc. Company Snapshots: Freese and Nichols Company Snapshots: HDR Inc. Company Snapshots: Llewelyn-Davies Sahni Company Snapshots: PBS&J The 95 Texas firms in the annual Top Design ranking collectively billed about $2.878 billion in the state, no
Texas 2010 Rank: No. 8 Market, Rank: Hazardous Waste, Industrial, No. 2, Water Supply, No. 4 Leaders of Texas operations for CH2M HILL, an international engineering and environmental construction firm, credit its diversity, experience in sustainability and nimbleness in responding to changing trends with contributing to a solid 2009. It had about $91 million in regional revenue. Photo: CH2M HILL div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" “We’ve adapted by managing costs,” says Mike Lucchesi, Houston-area manger for CH2M HILL. CH2M HILL entered the Texas market in 1970. With 200 offices worldwide, it can send infrastructure projects to low-cost areas such
Texas 2010 Rank: No. 30 Market, Rank: Sewage/Solid Waste, No. 8, Transportation, No. 9 CP&Y completed 2009 in good stead, with more than $30 million in regional revenue. The Dallas-based engineering consulting firm will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. Photo: CP&Y Inc. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The firm began with water projects and now offers full civil engineering on infrastructure jobs across Texas. It has regional offices in Austin, Fort Worth, McKinney and in Oklahoma. “Last year, we did pretty well,” says Arnold A. Cohen, president of CP&Y. “We had one of our better years in our
Texas 2010 Rank: No. 9 Market, Rank: Manufacturing, No. 2, Sewage & Solid Waste,No. 6, Sports & Recreation, No. 7 Founded in 1894, Freese and Nichols of Fort Worth has entered new fields in existing market segments. It is growing its program management and consulting with Texas counties. Photo: Freese and Nichols div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The firm finished 2009 with $77.48 million in revenue. “Our focus is to help our clients, many of whom are struggling with budget and staffing challenges,” says Robert F. Pence, the firm’s president and CEO. “Our leaders have called on decision-makers within
Texas 2010 Rank: No. 4 Market, Rank: Correctional, No. 1, Power, Water Supply and Transportation, No. 3 Employee-owned architectural, engineering and consulting firm HDR has stayed the course during the recession, ending the year with about $121.5 million in Texas revenue. Photo: HDR div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" “We may have been a little more versatile in terms of what work we went after,” says Ramon Miguez, department manager for engineering at HDR, Dallas. “But we didn’t make any dramatic changes with regards to what we did in the past.” The firm was founded in 1917 by H.H. Henningson,
Even during the recession, a few high-rise projects are under construction in Texas and Oklahoma, but those either started before the economic meltdown or are funded with the help of public dollars. “High-rise construction in the Texas region, for the most part, has come to a standstill,” says Cameron C. Curtis, manager for business development at Turner Construction Co. in Dallas. “Developers are planning, but wanting to see what happens.” Scott Ziegler, founding principal of Ziegler Cooper Architects in Houston, does not anticipate a quick return to high-rise construction, although he is aware of developers with projects in planning. Three
In June the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published a draft to improve and align the financial reporting of revenue from contracts with customers and related costs. While an honest effort to reduce U.S. revenue industry standards from more than 100 to five or less and mesh U.S. and international standards, the proposal became impractical, unwieldy and will increase business costs. Construction firms should resist it. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The deadline for comments on the proposal is Oct. 22. The potentially negative impact on construction firms has most industry accountants,
Warren Buffett opines that “risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.’’ This applies to our industry, as owners ask contractors to assume the risk of inaccurate contract documents and unknown or differing site conditions that may be encountered after construction begins. Texas law allows “freedom of contract’—owners can shift these risks to contractors. What happens if the contract contains unclear or contradictory language as to who is responsible for these risks? A judge or jury may decide the parties’ intent. This all-too familiar fact pattern is illustrated by MasTec North America Inc. v. El Paso Field Services LP, a
Collaboration has long played a critical role in our industry. With today’s increasingly complex projects, the right team of partners is important in not only winning commissions but also in successfully completing projects. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Excellence in Design Starts with a Strong Core Team Excellence in design is achieved by excellence in service. A goal on every project should be to effectively translate the client’s vision. Excellence in service is not only about the design. It means managing process and project development, mitigating risk and assembling the best team. ARMSTRONG It is important to develop a
After more than a year’s halt prompted by the economic slowdown, Valero Energy Corp., the country’s largest independent oil refiner, is reviving refinery expansions in Port Arthur, Texas, and St. Charles, La., that will cost nearly $3 billion combined. The San Antonio-based company announced last month restarts of hydrocracker construction projects at the two facilities that will help it remove sulfur and produce more diesel. Valero stopped both projects in mid-2009, citing weak demand and poor refinery margins, says Bill Day, a company spokesman. The estimated $1.5-billion Texas project is expected to generate up to 1,500 new construction jobs and
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