Top Specialty Contractors for 2009

Despite a faltering economy and hot competition, specialty contractors are still holding on

Who ranks highest overall? Who climbed—or fell—farthest? Which specialty contractor leads in Illinois? Indiana? Missouri? Wisconsin? How about in paving? Or sheet metal work? Or telecommunications? Midwest Construction’s 2009 Top Specialty Contractor charts list them all.

By Mike Larson

Midwest Construction’s 2009 list of the top Midwestern specialty contractors, ranked by reported revenue from calendar year 2008, saw the top three leaders from last year’s list repeat in the same order.

In addition, nine of last year’s top 10 specialty contractors stayed in the top 10 again this year. The lone newcomer was concrete giant McHugh Construction, Chicago, which was overlooked on last year’s list.

All contractors on the list have offices in Illinois, Indiana, eastern Missouri, or Wisconsin and work principally in one or more construction specialties ranging from HVAC to electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, and over a dozen more.

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Repeating at number one was EMCOR, which is headquartered in Connecticut but has 12 subsidiaries in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Between HVAC, mechanical and electrical work, EMCOR reported regional revenue of $572.59 million, down $7.4 million from the year before.

Repeating at number two, Hill Mechanical Group, Franklin, Ill., reported $280.86 million in revenue—nearly $21 million more than the previous year. President Robert Krier says he expects the overall volume of work in the industry to drop in the coming year, but foresees a big jump in the industrial sector.

He also expects the ability to make full use of building information management (BIM) systems to become vital in the future. Says Krier, “Integrated project delivery using BIM will replace today’s design-bid-build process because BIM is more efficient. We’ve been using it since 2003, and now do almost everything in BIM.”

Repeating at number three is Sachs Electric Co., Fenton, Mo., which listed $247 million in revenue, up $29 million from last year. Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Patrick Kriegshauser foresees the future market being much more competitive, but with continued opportunities in large industrial work.

The lone newcomer in the top 10 is concrete specialty giant McHugh Concrete Construction, Chicago, at $212.26 million. Senior Vice President Dave Alexander says that 2008 was the company’s best year in its 111-year history. But like most everyone else in the industry, Alexander sees things becoming even more competitive.

“The backlog is dwindling faster than replacement projects are coming up,” Alexander says. “Public projects are still available, but contractors that previously hadn’t pursued them are now bidding on them. We now see 10 bidders for projects that used to attract no more than four.”

The charts on the following pages show the top specialty contractors overall, plus those who lead in each state and in each specialty.