Top Specialty Contractors

Welcome to Southwest Contractor's ranking of the top 150 specialty contractors, which offers an extensive review of the 2004 performance of specialty contractors with work based in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

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The top 150 specialty contractors reached a cumulative revenue total of $3.22 billion in 2004, the highest amount since Southwest Contractor began gathering data for this ranking. This marks a 22.2 percent increase over 2003 revenue, which is also the biggest year-to-year shift reported.

As if that wasn't dramatic enough, the top 10 specialty contractors alone performed $1.21 billion in work, up over 62 percent. This accounted for most of the jump in the overall numbers of the top 150, though the rest of the field also gained ground over last year, which indicates that while the biggest got bigger, they did not necessarily take away work from the medium- and small-sized companies.

Nevada saw the biggest jump in reported revenue, gaining 38 percent over 2003 revenue with over $1 billion in 2004. A look through Southwest Contractor's Top
Projects, published in June, will explain why - a dramatic increase in large-scale projects, from a plethora of residential towers to some of the most expensive gaming resorts ever constructed.

Arizona's subs topped the $2 billion mark for the first time, showing an increase of almost 20 percent over the previous year. New Mexico was the only state to show a decrease, with subs in the Land of Enchantment posting a not-so-enchanting decrease of 12 percent over 2003 revenue. However, this may be due to a lack of participation by the state's specialty contractors in this survey, rather than a reflection of any large-scale decline in the construction marketplace.

Steel erection and fabrication contractors reported the largest category gain, up 72 percent collectively. Concrete also showed an impressive 54 percent jump over the previous year. This was at least partially due to rising commodity costs, as well as an increase in high-rise and large-scale construction project starts. Individually, Schuff Steel was propelled upward from 18th place in 2003 to 3rd in 2004, while Suntec Concrete leapt from 25th to the ninth spot on our Top 150 chart.

Our second annual Top Specialty Contractor Safety Ranking, based on each company's experience modification rating (EMOD), appears on page 54. The amount that specialty contractors continue to strive for safety, despite their increasing workload and pace of construction, is a positive example for the entire construction industry to follow.

All rankings were compiled using surveys sent to 1,500 specialty contractors in the region. Only those who responded with their 2004 revenue were included in the ranking. 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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