The firm literally regrouped, organizing operations into business units and establishing the development arm, Clayco Development Group, in 2005. “We acquired all the resources required to take a project from nothing to complete,” says Warden.

Clayco presently operates across a full spectrum of non-residential building types, including corporate, government, financial, university and residential facilities, some of which are financed by Clayco Development and constructed as build-to-suits. The firm also remains the largest tilt-up concrete contractor in the nation, self-installing about 4 million sq ft of wall systems annually, in addition to foundations, parking structures and structural systems.

Its soup-to-nuts approach has helped Clayco target Fortune 100 firms, for which it performs an array of services, including site search and selection, feasibility studies and incentive negotiations. “It's been a real point of differentiation for us,” says Clark. “We're on board when projects are conceived.”

Because clients such as Procter and Gamble serve as bellwethers of rising or flagging economic conditions, Clayco began putting its house in order when those clients started to reduce capital spending in 2007.

Though it scaled back on other expenditures, the firm invested heavily in building information modeling. “We brought in three of four employees to focus solely on virtual design—to upgrade our 3D modeling so we could align it with scheduling and estimating software and provide a truly holistic approach to 3D design and construction,” says Warden.“

“We eliminated the entire shop drawing phase,” adds Clark. “We also eliminated field cutting and shifted our focus to assembly.”

The firm also placed greater emphasis on pre-fabricated systems, including factory-assembled ductwork and bathrooms, while honing its expertise in sustainable design. In 2007, it broke ground on a global headquarters for Novus International in St. Charles, Mo., that later achieved LEED-Platinum status, only the second facility of its kind in Missouri to receive the designation.

“By the time Lehman Brothers collapsed, we'd become leaner and meaner,” says Clark. “We were impacted earlier, reacted earlier and came back earlier.”

The hard-charging Clark, who founded Clayco at age 25, says that once the recession hit, his firm began pursuing projects with renewed vigor. “I made it clear that we'd better not miss a major project in our markets or someone was going to pay.”

The firm also flexed its development muscle. Among other projects, Clayco developed, designed and built Centene Plaza, a 21-story, 550,000-sq-ft office tower and 900-car parking facility in Clayton, Mo.