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More than one-fifth of the 100 largest family-owned businesses in the U.S. are construction or construction-adjacent firms, according to Forbes.
The inaugural list, released in recognition of the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary this summer, includes major general contractors such as Reston, Virginia-based Bechtel and Falls Church, Virginia-based HITT Contracting. It also features Atlanta-based cement manufacturer Quikrete; Eighty Four, Pennsylvania-based building supply giant 84 Lumber; and Willow Grove, Pennsylvania-based utility and landscape contractor Asplundh Tree Expert.
Many of these 21 construction-related companies have long histories — Bechtel, for example, was founded in 1898, and HITT in 1937. Meanwhile, Atlanta-based Holder Construction is a relative youngster, founded in 1960.
They share the list with American business royalty, such as Walmart’s Walton family, the descendents of Henry Ford and the heirs of the Marriott fortune.
To identify what constitutes a family business, Forbes spoke with experts to determine criteria. Ultimately, it excluded businesses with living founders unless they co-founded the company with a parent; no companies run only by first-generation founders were included.
For private companies, most featured over 50% family ownership. Public companies needed to meet a threshold of 10% family ownership with members in C-suite roles.
Read below to see where construction and building industry-related firms ranked.
The largest family-owned construction-related firms
| Rank | Name | Revenue | Ownership Family | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Lennar | $34.2 billion | Miller | Miami, Florida |
| 20 | Bechtel | $23 billion | Bechtel | Reston, Virginia |
| 23 | ABC Supply | $20.2 billion | Hendricks | Beloit, Wisconsin |
| 39 | HITT Contracting | $13.1 billion | Hitt/Millar | Falls Church, Virginia |
| 43 | Quikrete | $12 billion | Winchester | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 44 | Westlake Chemical Corp. | $11.2 billion | Chao | Houston, Texas |
| 48 | Mortenson | $10.9 billion | Mortenson | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 49 | Standard Industries | $10.7 billion | Millstone-Winter-Heyman Families | New York City, New York |
| 56 | Southwire | $9.3 billion | Richards | Carrollton, Georgia |
| 61 | Gilbane | $8.7 billion | Gilbane | Providence, Rhode Island |
| 65 | Holder Construction | $8.5 billion | Holder | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 69 | JE Dunn Construction Group | $8 billion | Dunn | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 69 | Walsh Group | $8 billion | Walsh | Chicago, Illinois |
| 78 | Asplundh Tree Expert | $6.7 billion | Asplundh | Willow Grove, Pennsylvania |
| 82 | Walbridge | $6.2 billion | Rakolta | Detroit, Michigan |
| 82 | Zachry Group | $6.2 billion | Zachry | San Antonio, Texas |
| 86 | Kohler | $6 billion | Kohler | Kohler, Wisconsin |
| 89 | 84 Lumber | $5.9 billion | Hardy | Eighty Four, Pennsylvania |
| 93 | The Yates Companies | $5.6 billion | Yates | Philadelphia, Mississippi |
| 95 | Consolidated Electrical Distributors | $5.5 billion | Colburn | Irving, Texas |
| 98 | Crown Equipment | $5.3 billion | Dicke | New Bremen, Ohio |
SOURCE: Forbes
