Information about Turner Construction

'Turner Construction Company'
	Public Company
Founded	1902
Founder	Henry C. Turner
Headquarters	375 Hudson Street New York City
No. of locations	Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Dallas, Orlando
Key people	Peter J. Davoren (President & CEO) Nicholas Billotti (VP) John DiCiurcio (VP) Pat DiFilippo (VP) Kenneth Leach (CFO)
Area served	International
Industry	Civil engineering, Planning
Products	Preconstruction Consulting Logistics
Services	Consulting Structural analysis
Revenue	$8.5 billion (2006)
Net income	$44.9 million (2003)
Employees	5,800 (2006)
Parent	Hochtief
Divisions	Green Building Healthcare Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Sports Transportation Aviation
Subsidiaries	Turner International Industries Turner Universal Service Products Buildings, Inc. Tompkins Builders, Inc
Website	www.turnerconstruction.com

Turner Construction Company is one of the largest construction management companies in the United States with a construction volume of $8.5 billion in 2006. According to Engineering News-Record, October 2006, Turner ranks first or second in major segments of the building construction field.^[1]

Overview

Turner has 46 offices in the U.S., is active in 20 countries and averages 1,600 projects per year. Turner services include construction management, general contracting, consulting, construction procurement, insurance and risk management. According to Engineering News-Record’s 2006 Top 400 Contractors Sourcebook, Turner is the largest general builder in the U.S. in healthcare, education, correctional and commercial office facilities. Turner ranked second in the sports sector, and was a “Top 10” firm in multi-unit residential projects, airports, auto plants, entertainment, pharmaceutical, hotels, motels, convention centers, telecommunications, religious and cultural, government and light industrial processing facilities.^[2] Turner Construction is particularly active in the New York area, which produced revenues of approximately $1,730.0 million in 2006 and $1.490 million in 2005. Some of it’s New York projects include the New Yankee Stadium, Lincoln Center, InterActiveCorp and the New York Times. In Crain’s 2006 list of the top 25 construction companies in New York, Turner received the top position, followed by Skanska USA, Tishman Construction, and Structure Tone Inc.Crain’s top 25 list of construction companies 2006]/ref>

History

Henry Chandlee Turner (b.1871) created Turner Construction during 1902 with $25,000 in start-up capital in New York City on 11 Broadway. Turner's first job, a $687 project to build a concrete vault for Thrift Bank in Brooklyn. In 1903, a Scottish industrialist named Robert Gair involved in manufacturing paper products hired Turner Construction to build a plant in Brooklyn. The facility, finished in 1904, measured 180,000 sq-ft, making it the largest reinforced concrete building in the US. At the same time the company was developing plans for the Gair building, it began building staircases for the New York City subway system. The stairs were designed to be constructed with steel, but Turner thought concrete was a less expensive alternative. After examining public bidding records, Turner undercut competing offers and was awarded the chance to build several staircases in concrete. His alternative worked, leading to contracts for over 50 staircases and platforms for the Interborough Rapid Transit. Branch offices were established to help the company maintain its expanding geographic scope, beginning with an office in Philadelphia in 1907, Buffalo in 1908, followed by a Boston office in 1916. When the US entered World War I, Turner was among the country's most successful builders. The first 15 years of Turner's history saw it complete $35 million worth of work and constructed buildings for some the country's largest businesses, including Western Electric, Standard Oil, Kodak and Colgate.

From World War I to the Great Depression, the company's billings grew from under $12 million to nearly $44 million. Like most industries, construction suffered during the economic collapse and Turner's volume fell to $2.5 million by 1933. The company recovered and revenues increased to $12 million by 1937. The company's commercial construction was suspended during the war years, instead focusing on constructing military camps, factories, and government buildings. Henry Turner ended his reign as president in 1945. He relegated himself to chairman, making room for his brother, Archie Turner, as president. Archie Turner led the company through the war, but poor health limited his tenure. In October 1946, Henry Turner retired as chairman, handing the post to his ailing brother. For his replacement, Archie Turner selected Admiral Ben Moreell, the individual responsible for forming the Seabees. One month after his appointment, Archie Turner died of a heart attack. Four months later, Moreell resigned, and the void was filled by Henry Turner's son, Henry Chandlee (Chan) Turner, Jr.

Postwar Projects

Under Chan Turner the company grew as a result of numerous high-profile construction projects. After surpassing $100 million in revenues in 1951, Turner built the United Nations Secretariat building in New York in 1952 and the New York headquarters of Chase Manhattan Bank in 1956. During the 1960s, notable projects included the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the early 1960s and Madison Square Garden in 1967. A branch was opened in Cincinnati in 1954, followed by offices in Los Angeles in 1964, Cleveland and Columbus in 1966, and San Francisco in 1968. In 1969, Turner issued over-the-counter stock. In 1972, the company's stock began trading on the American Stock Exchange. The company adding offices in Detroit and Denver in 1973; Pittsburgh and Atlanta in 1976; Seattle in 1977; and Miami and Portland in 1979. Notable projects included the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Hospital in 1974 and the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in 1977, the year Turner eclipsed $1 billion in sales.

Howard Sinclair Turner became president in 1965, and was chairman from 1970 to 1978, when he was succeeded by Walter B. Shaw. Shaw joined the company shortly before the war, was one of Admiral Moreell's Seabee officers in the Pacific and returned to Turner Construction after the war. In 1984, Shaw appointed Herbert Conant as president. In 1984, the Turner Corporation was formed as a holding company with Turner Construction, Turner International Industries and Turner Development Corporation, as subsidiaries. In this new guise, the company added to its physical presence, opening an office in Connecticut in 1980; three California offices in 1983, an office in Orlando in 1984 and offices in Phoenix and Nashville in 1986. A San Jose branch was opened in 1987, followed by Dallas in 1988, and offices in Arlington Heights and Kansas City in 1989. Among the projects completed during the 1980s were the Texas Commerce Tower, United Airlines Terminal 1 at O'Hare International Airport, and Los Angeles' First Interstate World Center. Despite significant expansion, the 1980s was a difficult period for the company. Conant and his successor, Al McNeill, named president in 1985 and chairman in 1988, encountered serious financial problems. Several foreign projects were partly responsible for the difficulties, but the majority of blame fell on failed efforts undertaken by Turner Development Corp., not Turner Construction. Financial problems persisted, even as Turner Construction performed record amounts of work. The holding company did not recover until Ellis T. Gravette took over in 1996.

Turner Construction in the 1990s and Present

Turner Construction erected several sports stadiums during the 1990s. The field was not new to the company: their first sports contract was construction of the promenade at Harvard Stadium in 1910, followed by a football stadium for the University of Pittsburgh in 1925. In 1995, the company completed construction of the Rose Garden Arena, Portland. In 1996, they built a 72,000-seat stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by completion of INVESCO Field at Mile High in 2001.

In August 1999, Hochtief AG of Germany purchased Turner Corporation for $370 million. By extension, Turner Construction, gained access to Hochtief’s operations in Australia, the United Kingdom and the heavy construction field. Earnings from construction contracts for 2002 were $224.6 million, an 8% increase over the prior year’s $207.2 million. Income from construction operations in 2002 also grew to record levels, to $78.7 million, a 15% increase. Net income in 2002 was $53.2 million. Also in 2002, Turner Construction expanded its presence in the Washington D.C. area by acquiring J.A. Jones-Tompkins Builders, Inc., the former subsidiary of J.A. Jones Construction Company. Tompkins Builders, Inc., a new entity, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Turner Construction.

By the end of 2003, earnings from construction contracts was $214.8 million. Income from construction operations was $58.1 million and net income decreased to $44.9 million. For 2003, Turner’s work-in-place for the healthcare sector was $747 million, a 49% increase over the $500 million reported for 2002, representing the largest increase in any of Turner’s market sectors. Turner’s work-in-place for the education sector was $947 million, an 18% increase over the $801 million reported for 2002. Modern Healthcare Magazine ranked Turner as the number one healthcare builder for 20 years, with healthcare sector sales of $1.2 billion in 2003.^[4] Turner Construction planned complete construction in late 2004 of the Taipei 101 Tower in Taiwan, a 1,667-foot building that was expected to be the tallest building in the world.

On February 13, 2007, Turner Construction was awarded two contracts totaling $317 million to provide construction management services for the University of Kentucky. The work includes construction of a $300 million, 1 million sq.-ft. patient care facility and a 1,600-space parking garage. Completion is scheduled for 2010.^[5] On July 25, 2007, Turner Construction was selected by the Marathon Development Group to serve as general contractor for the $180 million residential Granby Tower in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia.^[6]

Building Types

Turner operates a number of national segment groups, which focus on a particular building type. These include Green Building, Healthcare, Justice, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology, Public Assembly, Sports, Transportation and Aviation. Turner also offers several services. These services include Turner Logistics, supply chain management, and Turner Casualty & Surety (TCS), which provides proactive safety and loss control programs and an operationally integrated risk management approach. Turner City illustrates projects successfully completed each year. It has been produced by the company annually since 1910.

Major Projects

New York

• New Yankee Stadium: New York
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: 65th Street Redevelopment Project
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: New York
• Hearst Tower (New York City)
• Lincoln Financial Field: New York
• World Trade Center Clean-up: New York
• Madison Square Garden: New York, 1967
• JP MorganChase Building: New York
• Jazz at Lincoln Center: New York
• Citicorp Building: New York
• Pfizer Technical Development Facility: New York

Midwest

• Kansas Speedway : Kansas
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Cleveland, Ohio.
• United Airlines Terminal 1: Chicago, Illinois
• The Art Institute of Chicago
• Aon Center (Chicago)

Northeast

• National Constitution Center: Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Tokeneke School: Elementary school in Darien, Connecticut. Spring 2007.
• One Logan Square: High-rise building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1983.
• United States Patent and Trademark Office: Alexandria, Virginia.
• John Hopkins School of Medicine, Research Building: Baltimore, Maryland
• Granby Tower: Norfolk, Virgina, July 2007

West Coast

• Rose Garden Arena: Portland. Completed in 1995.
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Phase IV: Seattle, Washington.
• Seahawks Stadium: Football stadium in Seattle, Washington.
• 555 Mission Street: San Francisco, California. Project began in 2007.
• Rhone-Poulenc Rorer/Central Research Facility and World Headquarters
• Pat Lobb Toyota

International Projects

• Al Hamra Tower: Skyscraper under construction in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
• Burj Dubai: United Arab Emirates
• Federation Tower: Skyscraper complex currently under construction in Moscow, Russia.
• Taipei 101: Taiwan, 2004
• Tuntex Sky Tower: Skyscraper located in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Completed in 1996
• Al Faisaliah Centre: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 1997 to 2000.

Notes

References