Remembering Great Construction Brands
EDITOR's NOTE: I've added a list of some of the reader-suggested brands below. Maybe there should be a "Hall of Fame" for former construction brands!
Maybe it's a hazard of the job, of more than 20 years as a construction industry journalist. Maybe, as a result of the lingering downturn, my mind is becoming nostalgic for the "good old days." Or maybe I'm just getting old, my future senility slowly sneaking up on me as my brain kicks up remembrances of things past for no apparent reason, in a "totally random" way, as my kids might say.
For whatever reason, I awoke this morning thinking of one thing - "Rinker." You know, that former great construction brand, with the orange concrete mixers that seemed to be nearly everywhere in Florida not that long ago, a seemingly constant sign of progress and economic vitality.
I still remember, as a very young kid, probably six or so, riding back from a family vacation, and passing a Rinker plant on the way home. It was a sign we were getting close to home, and our vacation would be completely over. Notably, even in my six-or-so-year-old mind, it wasn't just some concrete plant; it was a "Rinker" plant. In short, I guess that kid knew "Rinker" better than he knew "concrete."
That's ancient history, of course. Cemex bought Rinker several years ago, and now the "Rinker" brand is pretty much gone. Still, the name "Rinker" continues on in close connection to Florida's construction industry in the form of the University of Florida's M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction, and its M.E. Rinker Hall, where classes are taught.
Today, Rinker is but one of many former great construction brands that have gone away, for one reason or another, in recent years. The most common cause is the merger or acquisition, but sometimes great brands fall by the wayside of their own causes.
Rather than try to name all of them myself, I thought it'd be fun to ask for your help. What notable industry brands do you remember? Use the Comment function below to name the firms you remember!
Here's a quick list of national and regional players, gone but not forgotten.
- Rinker - see above.
- PBS&J - recently acquired by W.S. Atkins.
- Centex/Centex-Rooney - Centex is still a national homebuilder, but our readers probably think first of the former Centex-Rooney brand, which was acquired by Balfour Beatty.
- Bucyrus - Mining equipment manufacturing brand is in the process of being retired by Caterpillar.
- Miller & Solomon - A well-regarded South Florida general contractor that went under several years ago due to ownership issues.
- Kraft Construction Co. - Naples, Fla.-based firm recently acquired by Manhattan Construction Co.
- Suitt Construction - South Carolina-based firm that was purchased by BE&K Building Group, which is now part of KBR.
- Beers Construction - Now Skanska USA Building. (I always loved that name.)
This list could surely be extended, so list the name brands you remember. And feel free to share your own memories related to these former icons of construction.
Readers Supply More Great Construction Brand Names:
- Morrison Knudsen - Idaho-based civil contractor that became Washington Group and eventually part of URS.
- Morse Diesel
- J.A. Jones
- Jim Walter Homes - Remember them? Certainly a different kind of company than the others listed, but then again, the builder of affordable, premanufactured homes was a different kind of company altogether. The St. Petersburg Times documented the company's history shortly after it shuttered operations for good in January 2009, after building more than 350,000 homes.
- McDevitt & Street - Bought by Bovis.
- Celotex
- Euclid - Heavy equipment manufacturer.
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Not a brand, but I do remember commercials like this one.<br/><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKBJ3nPH5jA" rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKBJ3nPH5jA</a>
July 27, 2011
Not a brand, but I do remember commercials like this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKBJ3nPH5jA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKBJ3nPH5jA
How about Celotex (owned by defunct Jim Walter Corp based in FL), Bird & Son shingles,& Flintkote (also shingles),
July 27, 2011
How about Celotex (owned by defunct Jim Walter Corp based in FL), Bird & Son shingles,& Flintkote (also shingles),
What a great piece, Scott. Add MorseDiesel and Tishman Construction, both purchased by larger conglomerates. MorseDiesel brand is gone. Tishman is still hanging in there, but it's pr...
July 27, 2011
What a great piece, Scott. Add MorseDiesel and Tishman Construction, both purchased by larger conglomerates. MorseDiesel brand is gone. Tishman is still hanging in there, but it's probably just a matter of time.
Peter
Peter
Morrison Knudsen (bought by Washington Group, then URS). We lived in Idaho and my Dad was a Cat Skinner for MK...back in the days when it was one of the "big three". Fluor, Bechtel an...
July 28, 2011
Morrison Knudsen (bought by Washington Group, then URS). We lived in Idaho and my Dad was a Cat Skinner for MK...back in the days when it was one of the "big three". Fluor, Bechtel and MK vying for 1st place. It was a family business back then...I worked for them for many years, my husband, and a brother-in-law. I remember the red meatball always meant that family was around...everyone took care of each other in MK, we were all family.
Oh yes, and wasn't MK part of the consortium that built the Hoover Dam? And the Bay Bridge and the Alaskan Pipeline? I remember them being HUGE!!! Such a sad thing to say goodbye to.
July 28, 2011
Oh yes, and wasn't MK part of the consortium that built the Hoover Dam? And the Bay Bridge and the Alaskan Pipeline? I remember them being HUGE!!! Such a sad thing to say goodbye to.
Mcdevitt & Street and J. A. Jones back in the day built many of Atlanta's downtown hi-rises, PACE Construction worked in the suburbs, S. J. Groves built numerous high level interchanges...
July 28, 2011
Mcdevitt & Street and J. A. Jones back in the day built many of Atlanta's downtown hi-rises, PACE Construction worked in the suburbs, S. J. Groves built numerous high level interchanges as well....
Some of these are gone and some might have different incarnations today but whatever happened to the likes of Utah International, Guy F. Atkinson, Wismer Becker, Fischbach & Moore, L. K...
July 28, 2011
Some of these are gone and some might have different incarnations today but whatever happened to the likes of Utah International, Guy F. Atkinson, Wismer Becker, Fischbach & Moore, L. K. Comstock, Sam P. Wallace, and Commonwealth Electric? I, too, have fond memories of MK for which I worked for ten years many years ago and, along with friends from those days, we're still "family."
On the MK thing Grandpa was what he called "on the bum" before WWII in Idaho when he worked for a while for Knudsen who wanted Grandpa to stick around, Grandpa told him he was headed fo...
July 28, 2011
On the MK thing Grandpa was what he called "on the bum" before WWII in Idaho when he worked for a while for Knudsen who wanted Grandpa to stick around, Grandpa told him he was headed for Frisco and left, like he told it one of his dumber moves, Kundsen became MK.
Guy F. Atkinson is a subsidiary of Clark, but it's not gone! <a href="http://www.atkn.com/about.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.atkn.com/about.html</a><br/>
July 28, 2011
Guy F. Atkinson is a subsidiary of Clark, but it's not gone! http://www.atkn.com/about.html
Reader-suggested brands list accordingly updated! Sorry about that!
July 28, 2011
Reader-suggested brands list accordingly updated! Sorry about that!
How about Kaiser Engineers, and Raymond Pile
July 28, 2011
How about Kaiser Engineers, and Raymond Pile
Dravo, Fischbach, Lord Electric, Comstock, .......<br/>A little later JWP,
July 28, 2011
Dravo, Fischbach, Lord Electric, Comstock, .......
A little later JWP,
A little later JWP,
Not a construction firm, but a necessary component of all construction is the thousands of US blue print shops bought by American Reprographics Company (ARC), which is owned by a Chines...
July 29, 2011
Not a construction firm, but a necessary component of all construction is the thousands of US blue print shops bought by American Reprographics Company (ARC), which is owned by a Chinese conglomerate.
Same situation for Turner Construction. Still a brand name, but now a part of a larger Chinese company.
Same situation for Turner Construction. Still a brand name, but now a part of a larger Chinese company.
Raymond International, a top 10 company. Over 100 year old Company and a premier foundation Co, Gone due to greed and recession.
July 29, 2011
Raymond International, a top 10 company. Over 100 year old Company and a premier foundation Co, Gone due to greed and recession.
The reader comment above re: Turner Construction is not accurate. Turner Construction obviously remains a top construction brand, and it is not part of a Chinese conglomerate. It is par...
July 29, 2011
The reader comment above re: Turner Construction is not accurate. Turner Construction obviously remains a top construction brand, and it is not part of a Chinese conglomerate. It is part of Hochtief, Germany; recently ACS of Spain acquired controlling interest of Hochtief.
Ah down Memory Lane How about old sweat and worry (STONE&WEBSTER) now Shaw
July 29, 2011
Ah down Memory Lane How about old sweat and worry (STONE&WEBSTER) now Shaw
Morrison Knudsen was sold off by URS a few years ago and now is operating out of California, Nevada, Wyoming, Alaska, Texas and Colorado. Mostly doing mining work and federal government...
July 29, 2011
Morrison Knudsen was sold off by URS a few years ago and now is operating out of California, Nevada, Wyoming, Alaska, Texas and Colorado. Mostly doing mining work and federal government contracting.
Dillingham Construction, in business for over a century.
July 30, 2011
Dillingham Construction, in business for over a century.
Gustav Hirsch Organization
March 12, 2018
In1972 I was working as a labor and was loaned to Gustav Hirsch Organization a large national electrical contractor based in Columbus Ohio. I helped install yard lighting on a a job that they were the electrical contractor on . I understand that are out of business or nolonger doing business under that name. As elecrtrician now I would like to know what happened to them and how long long they lasted after 1972.
Thanks
Greg White
A few others
May 5, 2021
Sullivan, Long and Hagerty. Peter Kewitt & Sons. Brice Building. Herbert International. Steel City Crane. Warren Brothers. McDowell Materials. Burgess Mining and Construction. LeTourneau. Joy Manufacturing and Saltsman Bridge.
Still Around
October 9, 2021
Fischbach and Moore still operates in Boston. And Guy Atkinson is a part of my company, Clark Construction Group, and operates in WA and CA with an underground ground that operates nationally.
