BENNETTJames P. “Jim” Bennett twice turned down invitations, dating back to 1973, to join Canada's PCL Construction Enterprises Inc. He finally came aboard 15 years later, in 1988, as vice president of its Denver building unit, eventually leading its U.S.-based operations in building and civil construction, which included the contractor's push overseas. A former president of two PCL units, Bennett died on June 9 in Georgetown, S.C., at age 74 of a massive stroke, says the firm. A former vice president of J.A. Jones Construction Co. and president and CEO of Rogers Construction Co., Bennett became PCL Construction building unit
Recent bid openings for subway projects in New York City and San Francisco revealed a range of prices and teaming partners. In New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Agency opened bids on June 7 for a contract to furnish and install systems and finishes on the No. 7 subway line extension. A joint venture of Skanska Civil and Railworks was the low bidder at $513.7 million, followed by the joint venture SPP, at $539.8 million; Tutor Perini, at $542.2 million; a team of Judlau and Citnalta, at $563 million; CCA, at $598.5 million; and CHRE Construction LLC, at $758.5 million,
Timothy L. “Timmy” McLaughlin was about to step down June 30 as this year’s president of the American Subcontractors Association Inc., (ASA), but his term came to a more abrupt end when he suffered a fatal heart attack on June 9 in Charleston, S.C. He was 62. MCLAUGHLIN McLaughlin, active in the Alexandria, Va.-based specialty contractors advovcacy group for more than 20 years, also was general manager of Austin Construction Co. Inc., a site and utility contractor in Summerville, S.C. Immediately succeeding him is Kerrick Whisenant, ASA president-elect, who was to have assumed the 4,500-member group’s top role on July
There have been few large contract awards signed so far in 2011, dampening financial results for publicly owned engineering and construction firms. At a June 2 Credit Suisse-sponsored briefing in Manhattan, E&C executives told an audience of Wall Street analysts and investors that, despite disappointing first-half results, they are optimistic the tide will turn later this year.“Investor sentiment remains horrible, and we get why,” said Jamie L. Cook, a Credit Suisse managing director, at the engineering and construction sector briefing. “In addition to broader macro fears, [first-quarter] awards and [earnings per share] disappointed, and no one believes the 2012 consensus
There have been few large contract awards signed so far in 2011, dampening financial results for publicly owned engineering and construction firms. At a June 2 Credit Suisse-sponsored briefing in Manhattan, E&C executives told an audience of Wall Street analysts and investors that, despite disappointing first-half results, they are optimistic the tide will turn later this year. “Investor sentiment remains horrible, and we get why,” said Jamie L. Cook, a Credit Suisse managing director, at the engineering and construction sector briefing. “In addition to broader macro fears, [first-quarter] awards and [earnings per share] disappointed, and no one believes the 2012
Photo courtesy of Fluor Corp. Les McCraw led the contractor into new markets and pushed safety, the firm says. Leslie G. “Les” McCraw, who expanded Fluor Corp. into a global diversified powerhouse in the 1990s as chairman and CEO but whose forays were costly and prompted successors to shed non-core businesses, died on May 25 in Greenville, S.C., at age 75.He suffered from cancer since 1997, when he stepped down from the construction giant.McCraw rose quickly through the Fluor executive ranks after its purchase of Greenville-based Daniel Construction in 1977. He was named Daniel CEO and joined the Fluor board
Tutor Perini Corp. acquired Frontier-Kemper and plans to acquire Lunda Corp., adding significantly to its market share in heavy and civil construction, especially in the Midwest. Tutor Perini says in a statement that it will pay $153.5 million for Lunda--$131.8 million in cash and $21.7 million in debt. In addition, Tutor Perini says there is a structured earnout based on profitability targets for three years. The transaction is scheduled to close July 1, 2011. Founded in 1938, Lunda Construction Co. is based in Black River Falls, Wisc. It has extensive experience in bridges and marine and railroad-related construction. The company’s plainly presented website
FUSILLI Donald P. Fussilli Jr., who rose from assistant engineer to CEO at Michael Baker Corp., Pittsburgh, and then took a chief executive role at David Evans Marine Sciences Inc., died on May 17 in Adams Township, Pa., of complications related to brain cancer. He was 59. Fusilli, who also served as Michael Baker's general counsel, went on to lead the firm's energy group's expansion into Asia and South America in the 1990s. He became corporate president in 2000 and CEO in 2001, leading a company restructuring. Fusilli was named to head the David Evans Associates' subsidiary in 2008 and
Leslie G. “Les” McCraw, who expanded Fluor Corp. into a global diversified powerhouse in the 1990s as chairman and CEO but whose forays were costly and prompted successors to shed non-core businesses, died on May 25 in Greenville, S.C., at age 75. He suffered from cancer since 1997, when he stepped down from the construction giant. N/A Les McCraw led the contractor into new markets and pushed safety, the firm says. McCraw rose quickly through the Fluor executive ranks after its purchase of Greenville-based Daniel Construction in 1977. He was named Daniel CEO and joined the Fluor board in 1984.
The study of groundwater was pretty much “out of sight, out of mind’’ when James J. Geraghty began plying the field in the 1950s. Few schools offered courses, let alone degree programs. Even after forming a successful engineering partnership with David W. Miller and pioneering the study and practice of groundwater geology and contaminant flow, Geraghty once admitted that the much-ignored niche still “bored everybody” in his firm. Geraghty (left) wth partner Miller pioneered in a field considered a stepchild and set the standard. Geraghty, former chairman of Syosset, N.Y., consulting firm Geraghty & Miller, who co-wrote some of the
