In response to a U.S. challenge before the World Trade Organization, China has shut a fund that the U.S. says subsidized Chinese wind-energy equipment companies. U.S. Trade Rep. Ron Kirk said on June 7 that China closed its Special Fund for Wind Power Equipment Manufacturing, which the U.S. contended violated WTO rules by providing grants to Chinese wind-turbine companies that used Chinese-made components instead of imported parts. The grants ranged from $6.7 million to $22.5 million and may have totaled several hundred million dollars since 2008, according to Kirk’s office. USTR launched a probe last October in response to a
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
Two industry giants are taking steps to expand their footprints, revealing agreements for major acquisitions that, if and when completed, would total about $535 million. London-based engineering and project management firm AMEC said on May 17 that it has agreed to buy Atlanta-area engineer MACTEC for $280 million in cash. EMCOR Group Inc., the Norwalk, Conn., specialty contractor, said the next day that it planned to pay $255 million in cash to acquire USM Services Holdings Inc., a Norristown, Pa., facilities maintenance firm, from its Australian parent. AMEC’s proposed deal elevates MACTEC, now 85% owned by a private equity firm,
London-based engineering and project management firm AMEC said May 17 that it has agreed to buy MACTEC, the Atlanta area engineer and environmental services firm. for $280 million in cash. The proposed deal elevates MACTEC, now 85% owned by a private equity firm, into the global services market, while boosting AMEC’s presence in the U.S.Under the deal, set to close by the end of June, MACTEC and its 2,600 U.S. employees in 70 offices will become part of AMEC’s Earth & Environmental (E&E) unit, which specializes in environmental, remediation, water resources and infrastructure markets, among others.That unit, now based in
Australia is quickly becoming the destination of choice among large U.S. contractors. It has yielded some of the world’s largest projects, centered on the country’s natural resources. Photo: Coutesy Of Bechtel Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance For example, Bechtel is working on four liquefied natural-gas projects there, including Queens-land Curtis, Gladstone LNG and Australia Pacific, all located on Curtis Island off Australia’s east coast. The firm is also working on Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG project in northeast Australia. “All these are multibillion-dollar projects,” says Bill Dudley, Bechtel’s president. Fluor is working on the Gladstone project and, in
The data-center market, especially for web hosting, is one of the few truly hot markets in this recession. It also is one of the most secretive, mostly for security reasons and to keep competitors at bay. Thus, it is a little unusual for DPR Construction to be releasing the plans for two new Facebook data centers. Photo: Courtesy Of DPR Construction Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance On April 7, Facebook announced it would release details of its server configurations, including mechanical and electrical plans for its 147,000-sq-ft data center in Prineville, Ore., to the open-source community.
Primoris Services Corp. was created in 2006 with West Coast contractor ARB Inc. as its major subsidiary. Shortly thereafter, it went public. Photo: Courtesy Primoris Services Corp. Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance But Primoris really took off at the end of 2009. It acquired James Construction Group (JCG), Baton Rouge, La., from Angelo Iafrate Construction Co., Warren, Mich., for $135 million. Last November, it acquired Hillsboro, Ore.-based pipeline contractor Rockford Corp. for $82.6 million. With these acquisitions, Primoris is no longer primarily a West Coast firm; now, it is a $1-billion con-tractor whose reach stretches from
For the last three decades, cleaning up what others have left behind has been good business for Sevenson Environmental Services Inc., Niagara Falls, N.Y. But in 2010, the returns were especially rewarding, as the remediation contractor saw revenue jump 33%, vaulting it nearly 100 places up the Top 400. Photo: Courtesy Of Sevenson Environmental Services Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance CEO Michael A. Elia attributes the rise to federal stimulus funding for Superfund and other waste- cleanup projects. “The government wanted projects staffed at every level,” says Elia. The firm also has been an emergency responder
Caterpillar Inc. estimates $300 million in sales and $100 million in operating profit will slip away this year, mostly in the second quarter, due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Its Japan-based employees suffered no injuries and its plants in the region were not damaged, but the event has taken a toll on the firm's overall supply chain for construction machinery, with many industrial components and whole goods produced in Japan.
A congressional budget deal on April 8 averted a shutdown of federal agencies, but some of the pact's roughly $38 billion in spending cuts fall on construction programs. The Transportation Dept.'s $2.5 billion in 2011 high-speed passenger rail funding was zeroed out. Lawmakers also rescinded $400 million in unobligated high-speed rail funds from 2010. Federal Transit Administration capital grants were sliced by $680 million. Other cuts include $997 million from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aid for state revolving funds that finance sewage-treatment and drinking-water projects. Some reductions will not result in cuts in construction projects. For example, appropriators list a
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