Seven Utah contractors make Engineering News-Record rankings

SALT LAKE CITY — Seven Utah-based commercial contractors were among the top 400 builders nationally singled out for revenue-generating capacity in this year's Engineering News-Record rankings.

The seven, ranked based on their 2009 construction revenues as reported to the publication, are:

Okland Construction, the 56th-largest commercial contractor in the country and the largest in Utah

Layton Construction, No. 63 nationally

Big-D, No. 113

Jacobsen Construction, No. 124

Clyde Companies, No. 190

R&O Construction, No. 293

Wadman Corp., No. 365

The economic downturn, which has nearly devastated new residential construction, wasn't quite as rough on commercial builders, according to the survey, although total revenues for the seven Utah companies on the list were down by 21 percent from 2008, when they hit a record high of $3.75 billion, to $3.11 billion in 2009.

Some revenue reported was generated by projects in other states, not just Utah, the publication's senior editor, Gary J. Tulacz, said Thursday.

Signs that the recession is abating are "few and far between," Tulacz said, noting that large U.S. contractors are making the best of a kind of waiting game by doing what they can to increase their state and regional market shares in anticipation of a coming slow-but-sure rebound.

Only nine of the top 100 companies on the list last year that are in this year's rankings reported revenue increases; 88 reported lower revenues, and three didn't participate.

Tulacz noted that the Utah market is in better shape than many states because it has the additional revenue and job-generating projects that are locally oriented, such as City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City.

"Add the much-discussed National Security Agency Data Center project, and there is reason for optimism in the local commercial construction industry," he said.

e-mail: jthalman@desnews.com