Southeast's Top Specialty Contractors

With expansion into Georgia and the Carolinas, firms report nearly $4.5 billion in collective regional revenue

By Scott Judy

Southeast Construction presents its third annual ranking of "Top Specialty Contractors." It's a notable occasion, as this third list coincides with the magazine's expansion into Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, in addition to its original Florida territory.

As a result, this year's Top Specialty Contractors ranking has grown significantly. Last year, when the list was restricted to Florida firms, it reached a depth of 90. With specialty contracting companies from these three additional states, this year's ranking grew to include 150 firms.

Altogether, these 150 firms collectively reported approximately $4.5 billion in regional revenue for the 2002 calendar year. That roughly doubled last year's collective $2.2 billion for Florida state revenue in 2001.

Much of that growth can be attributed to the inclusion of firms from Georgia and the Carolinas. At the same time, though, the revenue totals for several Florida-based firms grew by the inclusion of additional revenue from their work in these three other states.

The format of our ranking remains the same, though. Our main ranking is again based on regional revenue totals, meaning the volume of work collected from projects located within the four states during 2002. Within this main, overall ranking, readers will find the most extensive information about the ranked firms, including the address for the companies' main office locations, telephone and fax numbers, the name of the firm's principal officer, a percentage breakdown of the company's activity by work category, and other information, such as the year founded and the number of employees.

We've also included some breakout rankings, where we list the top firms in 17 different specialty categories. These work categories include: mechanical, electrical, plumbing, concrete, utility, roofing, sheet metal, masonry, painting, fire prevention, telecommunications, wall/ceiling, excavation/foundation, steel erection, millwork, fabrication and flooring. The revenue figures reported in these breakout rankings reflect the amount of work the company generated in that particular category. As a result, companies may be listed in multiple work categories.

Due to the magazine's expansion, we also included breakout rankings based upon revenue generated from each of the four states.

Overall, 18 different firms find themselves at the top of at least one of our lists.
All figures listed in both the main ranking and the breakout listings are based upon surveys returned by the listed company. As with all of Southeast Construction's rankings, specialty contractors must submit a survey in order to be listed.

Important Notes

One of the most significant changes from last year's ranking is the disappearance of the top two firms - Encompass Services Corp. and Emcor Group.

Of course, the removal of Encompass from the list has a well-documented reason - the company's bankruptcy and insolvency since last year. It should be noted that a couple of the owners of the Florida companies that Encompass had purchased previously have recently bought back their old firms. Though some of these transactions did not occur until 2003, for the purposes of this ranking, Southeast Construction allowed the local companies - Tri-City Electrical Contractors, Altamonte Springs; and Mechanical Services of Central Florida, Orlando - to report their divisions' 2002 revenue under the re-formed firm's name.

On the other hand, Emcor Group is still going strong, with a reported $4 billion in total revenue for 2002. This year, though, Emcor's corporate offices decided to submit separate surveys for each of its companies operating in the four-state area. These companies - Poole and Kent South, Miami; Dynalectric Co.-Florida, Miami Lakes; Dynalectric Co.-Georgia, Norcross; and R.S. Harritan Co., Richmond, Va. - still operate with their individual name.

EMCOR Group does not seem to be headed in the same direction as Encompass. According to a May 2003 report by Standard & Poor's - a unit of McGraw-Hill Companies, which also publishes Southeast Construction - EMCOR "has substantial room under its bank covenants and very little debt outstanding."

Overall, of the 150 firms listed in this year's ranking, 41 are located in either Georgia, South Carolina or North Carolina. R.S. Harritan Co., an EMCOR company based in Virginia, is included based upon its revenue generated in North Carolina.

Florida firms also increased their presence overall. While 15 firms included in last year's ranking did not respond this year, 36 other Florida-based firms - in addition to the EMCOR and former Encompass companies - participated for the first time. Also, two firms ranked last year responded, but did not make the cut.

These new respondents certainly made an impact on this year's ranking. Of the top 10 firms, for example, four were new to the list, including the top-ranked firm, Miami-based MasTec. Poole and Kent South, an EMCOR company, was also listed for the first time, though it had been included last year under EMCOR's name. Tri-City Electrical Contractors - the #1 firm in Southeast Construction's inaugural Top Specialty Contractors ranking in 2001 - was back on the list, after emerging from the shadow of Encompass. This year Tri-City placed fourth. The other former Encompass division, Mechanical Services of Central Florida, placed 49th.

Top Specialty Contractors List