The 120 firms in Texas Construction’s 12th annual Top Specialty Contractors ranking collectively performed about $5 billion worth of work in the state in 2009. That amount is not drastically different than the $5.7 billion total from the Top Specialty Contractors total of 2007, considered a robust year for Texas. That is perhaps a sign that the state’s economy is stabilizing. Fifteen of the firms listed reported more than $100 million in Texas revenue, the same number of firms from our 2007 chart. Worldwide, the collective revenue generated by the 120 firms is about $14.8 billion.
Other findings from the ranking, found on the following pages, include our specialty categories. These so-called “breakout rankings” arrange firms by different market sectors.
Additionally, this year we show 28 firms with earnings of $50 million or more of instate revenue, a difference of only five fewer than 2007 revenue.
The Top Ten Orion Marine Construction of Houston claims the No. 1 spot, with $293.49 million in Texas revenue. Last year the marine construction specialty firm was No. 4.
TDIndustries of Dallas moves into the No. 2 spot from last year’s No. 1, with approximately $275 million from its Texas operations. The firm reported nearly $300 million for all work worldwide.
In the No. 3 spot with $228.00 million is Brandt of Carrollton, which ranked No. 2 last year. Worldwide revenue performed by Brandt was $240 million.
Appearing on this list for the first time is Baker Concrete Construction Inc., with Texas offices in Houston. The firm is in the No. 4 spot with $195.53 million. With $779.11 million in revenue from work worldwide, it takes No. 3 in that category.
Moving up to No. 5 is Fisk of Houston with $184.33 million, about $5 million more than the firm reported last year, when it placed No. 10 overall.
Rounding out the top 10 by Texas revenue are: No. 6, IES Commercial Inc. of San Antonio., with revenue of $183.51 million; No. 7, Facility Solutions Group of Austin with $174.96 million; No. 8, Keystone Concrete Placement of Houston with $169.50 million; No. 9, Walker Engineering Inc. of Fort Worth with $163 million; and No. 10, EMCOR Group Inc. with Texas subsidiaries in Houston and El Paso.
EMCOR, the specialty contracting giant with national headquarters in Norwalk, Conn., had $150.42 from its Texas firms. Worldwide the company is No. 1, reporting a good 2009 and more than $5.5 billion in overall revenue. EMCOR’s recently appointed CEO Anthony Guzzi says new acquisitions may be on the horizon, and that the company would like representation in the Dallas area. “EMCOR came through 2009 in really good shape, by any metric – with record margins on the operating side with our mix of businesses,” Guzzi says.
Specialty categories Firms leading the break-out categories that did not make the top ten were: Cherry Co. of Houston, which keeps its top spot from last year, topping the breakout listings in the demolition/wrecking category.
Wilks Masonry Corp. of Aledo, tops the list in the masonry category. It placed No. 3 in that category last year and went from No. 39 overall in 2009 rankings to No. 60 in this year’s list.
With $33.43 million total revenue, Baker Triangle of Dallas took the No. 1 spot in the plastering/drywall category, and ranked No. 11 overall with $124.93 in regional revenue.
Conducting the survey Texas Construction’s top-list rankings are conducted via an online survey much like those of Engineering News-Record, also a McGraw-Hill Construction publication. We attempt to reach as many firms working in Texas as possible.
The results are based on information each firm provides. We include valuable information about each firm such as their specialty and Web site address. Remember, the list includes only firms that fill out the survey. To be added to our database, contact database manager, Richard Mui, richard_mui@mcgraw-hill.com.
