2004 Top Specialty Contractors
By Scott Blair

Welcome to Southwest Contractor's ranking of the top 150 specialty contractors, based on 2003 revenue. This year's list shows the top specialty contractors making up most of the ground they lost in 2002, as overall numbers sprang back to their pre- Sept. 11, 2001 levels.

The total revenue of the top 150 reached more than $2.63 billion, a gain of 5.2 percent over the previous year. All three states also showed gains, with Nevada contractors leading the way with an 11 percent jump over their 2002 numbers.

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New Mexico was up just 4.4 percent, but any increase in revenue is welcome over last year, when the state's specialty construction revenue suffered a precipitous drop. 2004 looks even more hopeful, as projections are up 25 percent from last year for commercial construction in the Albuquerque metropolitan area, according to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge Analytics.

The survey results indicate that construction revenue for 2003 was more evenly spread among the large and midsized companies, rather than being controlled by one or two large companies. Previously, the top 10 companies brought in nearly one-third of all specialty construction revenue, while in 2003 that number dropped to 28 percent.
Revenue for the top 25 subcontractors in each state also dropped in 2003, even while the total revenue for each state went up. These numbers indicate that the construction market is expanding, and midsized companies are getting a significant share of this new work.

Of all the areas of specialty, mechanical and plumbing showed the greatest jump in revenue, with a 31 percent gain over 2002. Several mechanical contractors made tremendous gains in revenue in 2003, lead by University Mechanical which more than doubled its revenue and sailed from 56th to 23rd place overall.

"Our success was based on our ability to change with the marketplace," said Rob Smalley, manager of pre-construction services. "We recognized the growth opportunities within the biotechnology, healthcare, water and wastewater market segments. Our industry was also evolving toward greater usage of alternate delivery methods which require that contractors provide full pre-construction assistance."

Steel erection and fabricating contractors even managed to show a slight gain over last year, despite the challenges they facedover rapidly increasing commodity prices.
However, perhaps as a symptom of this, several of the largest steel contractors chose not to disclose their revenue this year.

It is our pleasure to present a new feature in this year's ranking. Usually, our revenue-based numbers indicate quantity and not quality, since quality is subjective and difficult to ascertain . However, this year we have added a ranking of the top safety ratings, as expressed through each company's Experience Modification Rating (EMOD). This number is computed by each company's insurance provider using the contractor's accident rate per man-hour and many other factors. The smaller the number, the safer the company is projected to be.

The rankings of safest contractors on page 46 show how important safety is to the industry. In fact, several companies had nearly perfect scores, including Performance Contracting, Terrain Systems, Corbins Electric and Summa Mechanical.

All rankings were compiled through surveys sent to 1,500 of the largest specialty contractors in the region. Only those who responded with their 2003 revenue were included in the ranking. Space only allowed us to report on the top 150 this year, but we appreciate the participation of all reporting companies. Every effort was taken to contact each company at least once regarding the survey, but we regret any oversights. Please contact Scott Blair at 602-631-3080 to be included in next year's ranking.

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