COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 23332

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

48companies1846–1999founding years45still active3no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedJarvis plc
1846
1867
TechnologyNobel patents dynamite.
FoundedGilbane, Inc.
1873
FoundedE.W. Howell Co., Inc.
1891
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedMcCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
1907
FoundedKraus-Anderson, Incorporated
1912
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedWalbridge Aldinger Co.
1916
FoundedDick Corporation
1922
FoundedFluor Corporation
1924
1931
EconomyThe Empire State Building rises in just over a year.
FoundedHensel Phelps Construction Company
1937
EconomyThe Golden Gate Bridge opens as the world's longest suspension span.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedJ.H. Findorff and Son, Inc.
1946
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedURS Corporation
1950
FoundedH.J. Russell & Company
1957
FoundedLend Lease Corporation Limited
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedThe Yates Companies, Inc.
1964
FoundedChugach Alaska Corporation
1971
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedAmerihost Properties, Inc.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedGeneral Growth Properties, Inc.
1986
FoundedMatrix Service Company
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Jarvis plc →
Active · founded 1846 · United Kingdom
CEO Paris Maoyedi has transformed Jarvis plc from a tiny, money-losing construction firm in the early 1990s to one of…
Kvaerner ASA →
Active · founded 1853 · England
Long known as the largest shipbuilder in Europe, Anglo-Norwegian Kvaerner ASA is redefining itself around three core…
Gilbane, Inc. →
Active · founded 1873
Gilbane, Inc., located in Providence, Rhode Island, is a privately owned company that has been in the same family for…
Hochtief AG →
Active · founded 1875 · Germany
Hochtief AG is the German market leader in the construction industry and is among the world's leading international…
Skanska AB →
Active · founded 1887 · Sweden
After helping to build Scandinavia, Skanska AB is ready to help build the rest of the world.
E.W. Howell Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1891
E.W.
Turner Construction Company →
Active · founded 1902
Turner Construction Company is one of the most prodigious builders in the world, credited with building in part or in…
Tarmac plc →
Active · founded 1903 · United Kingdom
Tarmac plc is one of the leading heavy building materials and construction services groups in Europe, with additional…
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1907
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Ellerbe Becket →
Active · founded 1909
Ellerbe Becket is one of the leading architecture and design firms in the United States.
Kraus-Anderson, Incorporated →
Active · founded 1912
Kraus-Anderson, Incorporated has been in the construction business for over a century.
PCL Construction Group Inc. →
Active · founded 1913 · Canada
PCL Construction Group Inc.
Day & Zimmermann, Inc. →
Active · founded 1916
Day & Zimmermann, Inc., a private, family-run company headquartered in Philadelphia, provides technical, engineering,…
Walbridge Aldinger Co. →
Active · founded 1916
Walbridge Aldinger Co.
George Wimpey plc →
Active · founded 1919 · United Kingdom
George Wimpey plc ranks among the world's oldest and largest private construction concerns, with operations in the…
Seddon Group Ltd. →
Active · founded 1920 · United Kingdom
Seddon Group Ltd.
Dick Corporation →
Active · founded 1922
Dick Corporation, based outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a major contractor, construction manager, and design…
Tokyu Corporation →
Active · founded 1922 · Japan
Tokyu Corporation operates railways, freight companies, bus companies, and a domestic airline in Japan.
Fluor Corporation →
Active · founded 1924
Mid-1980s:Fluor divests all of its oil properties, some gold operations, and all its offshore drilling facilities.
The Drees Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1928
The Drees Company, Inc.
Morrison Knudsen Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1932
Morrison Knudsen Corporation (MK) has long stood as one of the world's largest engineering and construction…
Hensel Phelps Construction Company →
Active · founded 1937
Hensel Phelps Construction Company operates as one of the largest private construction companies in the United States.
Mitsubishi Estate Company, Limited →
Active · founded 1937 · Japan
A unit of the Mitsubishi Group, Mitsubishi Estate Company, Limited (MEC) is one of the foremost real estate management,…
Balfour Beatty plc →
Active · founded 1945 · United Kingdom
Late 19th century:Callender's Cable and Construction Co.
J.H. Findorff and Son, Inc. →
Active · founded 1946
J.H.
Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1947 · Mexico
Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora, S.A.
URS Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1950
Ranked number one on ENR's list of the top U.S.
Opus Group →
Active · founded 1953
Opus Group ranks among the top ten U.S.
The Rouse Company →
Active · founded 1954
One of the largest publicly held real estate development and management firms in the United States, The Rouse Company…
H.J. Russell & Company →
Active · founded 1957 · United States
H.J.
KB Home →
Active · founded 1957
KB Home is the largest home builder in the United States, in terms of units built.
Heery International, Inc. →
Active · founded 1958
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2002, Heery International, Inc., is an architectural and engineering firm offering…
Lend Lease Corporation Limited →
Active · founded 1958 · Australia
Lend Lease Corporation Limited, one of Australia's top public companies, is a leading integrated global real estate…
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. →
Active · founded 1959
New Jersey-based Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.
The Yates Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
With its headquarters in Philadelphia, Mississippi, The Yates Companies, Inc.
Lincoln Property Company →
Active · founded 1965
Lincoln Property Company is one of the top developers of both office buildings and residential apartment complexes,…
Pyramid Companies →
Active · founded 1968
Pyramid Companies is the leading developer of shopping malls in the northeastern United States, concentrating on…
Chugach Alaska Corporation →
Active · founded 1971
Chugach Alaska Corporation (CAC) is one of the most successful of the 12 Alaska Native Regional Corporations that were…
Redrow Group plc →
Active · founded 1974 · United Kingdom
Flintshire-based Redrow Group plc is one of the United Kingdom's largest home builders and developers.
Bilfinger & Berger AG →
Active · founded 1975 · Germany
Bilfinger Berger AG operates as the second-largest general contractor in Germany, just behind competitor HOCHTIEF AG.
Amerihost Properties, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Amerihost Properties, Inc.--known for its fast-growing flagship chain AmeriHost Inns--owns and operates more than 90…
Chelsfield PLC →
Active · founded 1986 · United Kingdom
Chelsfield PLC is one of the United Kingdom's major property development groups.
General Growth Properties, Inc. →
Defunct · founded 1986
General Growth Properties, Inc.
Canary Wharf Group Plc →
Active · founded 1987 · United Kingdom
London landmark Canary Wharf has seen its share of ups and downs.
Wilson Bowden Plc →
Active · founded 1987 · United Kingdom
One of the United Kingdom's top home builders, Wilson Bowden Plc has targeted the upper end of the housing market,…
Matrix Service Company →
Active · founded 1989
Matrix Service Company offers construction services, and repair and maintenance services related to aboveground storage…
OAO Tatneft →
Active · founded 1994 · Russia
OAO Tatneft produces approximately 8 percent of all oil extracted in Russia, with an annual production of approximately…
Thyssen Krupp AG →
Active · founded 1999 · Germany
Thyssen Krupp AG was created in March 1999 from the merger of two of Germany's oldest industrial giants, Thyssen AG and…
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