Feature

3 EDCUtah Investors Rank Among the Nation's Top Commercial Construction Companies

Every year the Engineering News Record (ENR), a leading trade publication, ranks the top 400 U.S. commercial construction companies, and every year multiple Utah companies make the cut. In fact, for the past several years three EDCUtah investors have ranked within the top 200 of ENR's list. They are The Layton Companies, headquartered in Sandy; Jacobsen Construction Company and Big-D Construction, both of which are headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Cumulatively, these three Utah businesses account for 185 years of construction experience, employ approximately 2,000 people and gross approximately $2 billion in annual revenue.

"These are dominant construction companies that have done well in Utah and throughout the western U.S.," says EDCUtah CEO Jeff Edwards, "and the fact that they are all doing work in broader and broader areas is indicative of their strength nationally and their importance to Utah, where their revenues and profits are helping to build the state's economy."

David Layton, president and CEO of The Layton Companies, echoes Edwards' sentiments, saying: "Utah's largest construction companies have shown their capabilities by building locally and nationally. We do have the talent to compete with the biggest constructors in the country. Even though other national firms have constructed in Utah, everything that has been built here could have been done by Utah-based contractors."

Lonnie Bullard, chairman and CEO of Jacobsen Construction Company, adds that Utah's top commercial construction companies are such strong competitors that most of the local work is done by Utah companies rather than national firms. What's more, unlike similarly sized metropolitan areas, Salt Lake City is not saturated by national construction companies with local offices.

Rob Moore, president and COO of Big-D Construction, says it is very unusual to find three or four firms in the same market with the capabilities, knowledge and manpower we have here.

"We have had several very large national construction firms move to Utah when the market was very good, only to move back to their corporate headquarters after giving it a try here," he says. "It's also interesting to talk with national customers who are moving to Utah, thinking they need to bring their large contractors with them, only to find out we have talented firms right here in Utah to provide better overall project costs and very knowledgeable, skilled, professional services."

The Layton Companies

The Layton Companies, which ranks as the 193rd largest commercial contractor in the world, has been in business for 56 years and operates additional offices in Boise, Phoenix, and Koloa, Hawaii, as well as field offices at various job sites. Layton's niche construction markets include hospitality, health care, correctional facilities, education, sports and entertainment, commercial office buildings, distribution facilities and government. Current Utah construction projects include the Herriman High School, Montage Resort and Spa, Snow College Library, Uintah County Public Safety Complex, University of Utah Hospital Expansion.

Active construction projects outside of Utah include the Clark County Detention Facility in Las Vegas; the Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai; Four Seasons Vail, Colorado; Wyoming Medium Correctional Facility; Palmdale Hospital; Campbell County Recreation Center; Boise Air Traffic Control Tower; Loma Linda Medical Center; Waxie Sanitary Supply; and the Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility.

"As our business has grown we've increasingly expanded our presence outside of Utah. Ultimately, we build those local economies by hiring local construction workers and subcontractors, and those projects are supported by employees at our Utah headquarters, which sustains our Utah economy. It is a win, win scenario for our western region and national markets," says Layton. "We recognize the challenges of economic uncertainty, but our diversification both in the type of work we do and the geographic locations we serve will help us seek and find opportunities and weather the storm. We will continue to position ourselves for opportunities that are available," says Layton.

Jacobsen Construction Company

Jacobsen Construction Company is one of Utah's oldest commercial construction companies, having been in business for 87 years. While Jacobsen has a broad reach with projects throughout the western U.S., Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New York, its primary market is the Great Basin area from the eastern side of the Sierras to the western side of the Rocky Mountains. Moreover, Bullard says his company's primary strategy is to support Utah owners with construction needs outside of the state, rather than establishing offices in other states and then bidding on work there.

Niche work is also important to Jacobsen. When the company finished work on the Utah State Capitol renovation project, the team moved north to Boise to work on the Idaho State Capitol renovation. The company also does a lot of work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the Mexico City LDS Temple and Visitor Center renovation and the remodeling of the Rexburg Idaho LDS Temple construction.

Jacobsen's expertise and workload includes hospitality, medical and medical research, commercial, institutional, residential and manufacturing facilities. Bullard says his company is fortunate to have multiple construction projects that will extend through 2009 into 2010, which will help get the company through the current economic meltdown. One such project is the City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City, which will not be completed until 2011. Other projects underway include the LDS Church History Library and Workers Compensation Fund headquarters.

A few of Jacobsen's recent construction projects include the Intermountain Healthcare Riverton Hospital, Weber State University Student Union renovation, Brigham Young University Jesse M. Knight Building renovation, Grand Lodge at Empire Pass, Primary Children's Medical Center, , Weber State University new humanities building, Carbon County Exposition and Conference Center, Utah State University ADVS Teaching and Research Facility, Idaho State Capitol restoration and improvements, Brigham Young University Marriott Center upgrade and remodel, Four Gateway Office Building, Brigham Young University Tanner Building addition, and the LDS Church History Library.

Big-D Construction

Big-D Construction has been in business for 42 years and operates from offices in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Lindon, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Phoenix, Arizona and Pleasanton, California. For the past 10 years the company has ranked within the 150 largest commercial construction firms in the nation. Part of its strength comes from the niche construction markets it has developed in food plants and distribution centers, healthcare and medical facilities, hospitality projects and resorts and manufacturing facilities.

Constructing food and distribution centers is now one of Big-D's core markets. The company has built the largest mozzarella cheese plant in the world, the largest tortilla plant in the world and one of the largest raw milk plants in the world. Sysco Foods, a Houston-based food distribution company, has selected Big-D to be its design-build contractor on more than 15 projects.  Big-D is currently constructing a new, $60 million facility for Sysco in Houston. Moore says Big-D is one of the top 10 food and distribution contractors in the United States and has the experience and knowledge to design and build large, low temperature food and distribution centers.

While Big-D may be noted for its many projects on the Wasatch Front, such as the Salt Lake Library, the McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, the Bear River Valley Hospital in Tremonton, or the Utah Natural History Museum and other projects in downtown Salt Lake City, Moore attributes the company's growth to its strong customer base, both in Utah and throughout the western United States.

"The interesting indicator to our success is our customer base," says Moore. "Our customer relationships over the past 40 years have given us opportunities to grow from a fairly small firm to one of the largest in the nation."

Going Green

All three companies have taken an active role in LEED certification. Big-D recently announced that 22 of its employees had become accredited Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System professionals, bringing the company's total to 30 accredited professionals, which range from superintendents to vice presidents. What's more, Big-D is currently working on 11 projects that are on track for LEED Certification. Three of the projects are anticipated to be LEED Platinum, which is the highest LEED Certification achievable.

The Layton Companies and Jacobsen Construction Company are also moving forward with sustainable and green building projects. In 2000 Layton completed one of the first 13 LEED certified buildings in the country, the Utah Olympic Oval. The Layton Companies have 31 LEED Accredited professionals on staff.

Tough Economy

Despite their strengths, all three companies are feeling the effects of constricting pipelines throughout their markets. Bullard says certain parts of the commercial construction market have constricted very rapidly, such as the resorts market and privately financed commercial building projects.

"Commercial construction is always very competitive, but even more so today, and it probably will get worse," he adds. "I expect our volume may go down a bit in 2009 and 2010 because of the limited number of replacement projects in the pipeline and because the stimulus package will have less of an effect on vertical construction, but we are optimistic about getting through the current climate in very good shape."

Moore says the past three years provided his company with unprecedented growth -- over 20 percent per year -- with the majority of that work being in Utah. Nonetheless, he is mindful of the current economic situation.

"While our current projects will bridge us through 2009, the impact of 2010 is currently our focus. We are optimistic that our niche markets in food and distribution, healthcare, federal and state government projects will bridge the downturn," he says. "Keeping our talented employees will also be a major focus."

Layton notes that Utah's economy is recognized as among the best in the country, even in these difficult economic times.

"EDCUtah's client base shows that companies are still actively seeking opportunities here. When the economy gains some traction and we start to see some positive movement, Utah will continue to be in an enviable position," he says. "Despite the state of the economy nationwide, we are in as favorable position as any right here in Utah because of the efforts of our political leaders, economic development professionals and a dynamic business community that is forward thinking. Although Utah is facing economic challenges, we are still well positioned with a well educated labor force and a business infrastructure that will likely endure this recessionary cycle better than many places in the country."