The Dallas metro area's light rail network, already the country's largest with some 85 miles of track serving 13 cities in a 700-sq-mile area, is still growing. When Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) completes the system's latest expansion, expected in 2014, it will exceed 90 miles of track—nearly double what it was just five years ago.
Despite the turbulence of the past few years, Dallas-based TDIndustries has managed to maintain its financial stability and keep its people working in 2012. Related Links: TDIndustries Engineering News Record In 2010 and 2011, the firm bottomed out from a revenue perspective. However, this year, things are looking promising. Revenue across the company will be up 15%, says Harold MacDowell, TDI's CEO."Our backlog really peaked at a record level in 2011, and it's been holding pretty steady because some of these very large projects are just slow to get started," MacDowell says. "So the reason revenue is beginning to surge
The impact of the economic downturn is easing for specialty contractors in Texas and Louisiana as the region experiences the beginnings of a comeback. The changing marketplace in this transition year is shifting how these companies are doing business. Related Links: Baker Triangle The Brandt Co. The Newtron Group Orion Marine Group Team Industrial "Since 2009, when the world got turned upside down and shaken out, the market has changed in the way our customers look at the end-users," says Pete Wallace, chief operating officer at Team Industrial. "They're putting a lot more emphasis on labor buildups and cost buildups
While Cajun Industries helped rebuild Louisiana in the years following Katrina, the work also has enabled the Baton Rouge-based contractor to strengthen its own foundations for the future. Traditionally regarded as a civil contractor with expertise in specialties such as foundation and concrete work, Cajun Industries now is a formidable player in the region, this year cracking the Top 10 of ENR Texas and Louisiana's Top Contractors list for the first time. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record Through the recession, the company capitalized on unprecedented opportunities in both the public and private sectors. A combination of work with
With the launch of its $2.3-billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport faces one of the most daunting tasks in its nearly 40-year history.
Barry Moore, president of Brandt, a Carrollton, Texas-based mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor, makes it perfectly clear: “We said that we were not going to participate in the recession.” While the downturn has been a heavy financial blow for many specialty contractors and sent many executives scrambling for solutions, Brandt chose to stick with the strategies that have kept the firm on a steady upward path in recent years.The firm continued to pursue a broad mix of work, including a healthy dose of large projects with repeat customers. Although highly competitive bidding squeezed profit margins, Moore says Brandt continued to
Clark Construction seems to have taken to heart the slogan “Everything is bigger in Texas.” Throughout its 30 years in the Texas market, the national firm, which is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., has focused on large jobs. But in recent years that strategy reached a new level as Clark—in a joint venture with Hunt Construction—added such megaprojects as the $730-million San Antonio Military Medical Center. The firm's Texas portfolio has amassed a combined value of $2.6 billion over three decades, with its current projects comprising $1.1 billion of that tally. Photo Courtesy of Clark Construction Clark built a new Terminal
As Texas and Louisiana recover from the recession, these six diverse firms with operations in the two states are gaining new work and remain optimistic about the future. Hurricane recovery work will continue as a driver in the region, while the Texas economy shows resiliency. The state reported a strong $11-billion year-end balance for fiscal 2009, which bodes well for state-funded construction programs, according to a survey last year by the National Association of State Budget Officers. Residential construction starts for the south central region are forecast to increase 29% in 2011, with total construction starts set to rise 10%,
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