Related Links: How DPR Construction Pushes Innovation and Industry Change-ENR Contractor Business Quarterly DPR Construction, the building contractor and construction manager that has built itself into a $2-billion-a-year business on high-tech construction and a push for innovation, appears to be trying something else relatively new—a big acquisition.In its first major purchase, DPR announced Jan. 18 that it plans to buy Hardin Construction Co. LLC, the Atlanta-based general contractor that would further boost the Calfornia firm's national scope.DPR, based in Redwood City, plans to buy 100% of Hardin shares from its manager-owners in a move that expedites regional growth.DPR ranks at
Baybutt.com Nantucket Memorial Airport was one of the first projects on which Baybutt Construction Co. was terminated. This photo is from a gallery of project photos on Baybutt's website. Clients are cutting ties to Baybutt Construction Corp., the Keene, N.H.-based general contractor that has been doing business in New England since 1964. Most of the contracts are small but the apparent failure of Baybutt may signal another, more perilous year for recession-weakened construction companies, say people familiar with contracting and Baybutt's troubles.Commissioners of the Nantucket Memorial Airport in Massachusetts voted to terminate Baybutt Dec. 11 from a $4.5-million contract to
Hoping to make itself a key player in high-voltage transmission and substation contracting, Granite Construction Inc. announced Dec. 28th an agreement to acquire Kenny Construction Co. for $130 million.
Louis Berger Group completed a costly, condensed two-year program during which it upgraded its compliance and audit systems and functioned with the supervision of a monitor as part of its 2010 settlement with federal prosecutors of fraud and overbilling charges.Known as a deferred prosecution agreement, the program’s completion marked the end of a painful period for the company that included an initial $69-million settlement of fraudulent billing charges with the U.S. attorney in Newark, N.J.Based in Morristown, N.J., Louis Berger Group said in a statement Dec. 20 that it spent an additional $20 million since the initial settlement on new
ballengerconstruction.com Related Links: Ballenger Construction's First Day in Bankruptcy Court Ballenger Penalized for Road Project Lateness When Ballenger Construction Co., a well-known Texas contractor founded in 1937, sought protection from its creditors in federal bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi Dec. 7, equipment and material companies among the major creditors were left with millions of dollars in unpaid bills.But while those companies may have been surprised by the bankruptcy, one company that probably wasn’t is Ballenger’s main surety, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. It has been working with Ballenger since the summer first to try to sell the company and now to
Related Links: Trainor Glass Default Raises Questions About Sub Vulnerability (subscribers only) Judge Denies Tampa Bay Water a New Trial Against HDR Judge Acquits New York City Crane Owner After CEO Resigns, Millions of Dollars Still Missing (subscribers only) For many companies in the AEC sectors, business never seemed more fraught with risk and complication than in 2012. Lawsuits and indictments kept attorneys as busy as ever, especially as several legal matters reached the trial stage. Projects and risk management became more complex, while financial woes engulfed many recession-weakened small and midsize contractors. News of sputtering contractors rolled in at
Edel Rodriguez Are solid employer abuse complaint policies enough? Source: Society for Human Resource Managment Steps to take for supervisors and employers when sexual harassment complaints are received. Related Links: Viewpoint: Tell Bullies to Step Off Will Proposed Anti-Bullying Laws Bring a Wave of Lawsuits? You could call it "jerk control"—what companies do to prevent or prepare for the day an employee crosses the line and starts making racial, sexual or intimidating comments to a co-worker or subordinate. Solid anti-discrimination and abuse policies and complaint procedures have helped contractors prevail in many of the lawsuits filed against them.Whether that has
Illustration by Edel Rodriguez As part of a tabulation, analysis and review of lawsuits filed in the last decade, ENR found that most claims for sexual harassment, including those lodged over same-sex harassment by men, were defeated without a full trial or reversed on appeal. Research by Barbara Mende Ten years of data on construction-related sexual harassment lawsuits. Related Links: Judges Overturn Same-Sex Harassment Verdict Editorial: Justice Denied in Boh Bros. Same-Sex Harass Verdict Viewpoint: Tell Bullies to Step Off What Companies Do to Fend Off Abuse SPECIAL INVESTIGATION In the first few months of 2007, John Cherry worked on
Related Links: Post-Sandy Mobilization Shifts into High Gear New York Ponders Plan For Next Storm Structural Damage Assessors Decide Whether Storm-Damaged Houses Can Be Entered With NYC Tower Crane Secure, Plan Shifts To Recovery RMS Comments on Hurricane Sandy RMS Exec: Consistent Use of Catastrophe Model Key Claims by contractors and building owners under builders' risk policies could climb in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy, but the pricing for coverage of windstorms already had been adjusted in the last year, making rate increases less likely, say insurance brokers.For some brokers, a week after the storm is too soon to tell
Contractors and building owners may flood insurers with builders’ risk claims in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, but they haven’t started showing up yet, according to brokers.The full extent of the claims won’t be known for a while. “It’s too early,” says Paul Primavera, who heads the construction insurance operation for Lockton Cos., the insurance broker and consultant.Other brokers say the claims are inevitable. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a substantial number,” said one insurance broker outside the disaster area. Something half-built doesn’t stand up as well as something fully built, he notes, and “if the project involves
