John Portman & Associates (Portman) casts a long shadow, and some of its buildings do, too. The company is the architectural arm of major private developer Portman Holdings; Portman specializes in the construction of such commercial and public projects as hotels, office buildings, mixed-use properties, and universities. Clients include Bank of China, City of Atlanta, and Daewoo. Support services include master planning, programming, and structural engineering. The company is active throughout the US and in China; it has also undertaken projects in other parts of Asia and in Europe and Africa. Portman was founded by John Portman in 1953. He and his family continue to lead the company.

Thomas Armstrong has muscled its way into being one of the leading aggregates producers in the UK. Thomas Armstrong Holdings Ltd. also makes custom joinery, concrete blocks, and prestressed concrete (flooring, stairs, and panels) and operates a general construction business (residential, commercial, and industrial) and a timber division. Thomas Armstrong, a joiner, cabinetmaker, and wheelwright, founded the business in 1830. A century later the firm converted to a limited company. It has grown through acquisitions of companies such as ACP (Concrete) Ltd., William Rainford Holdings, Barnett's, Robinson's Concrete, and Tayban Developments. Thomas Armstrong has about 15 locations across the UK.

Steeplejack isn't afraid of heights. Traditionally a scaffolding contractor, the company also offers asbestos abatement, insulation, general plant-maintenance services, and project management to industrial customers. Its customers hail primarily from the oil and gas, pulp and paper, power generation, mining, and chemical industries. Steeplejack operates predominantly in Western Canada through eight branch locations. Vancouver-based affiliate Westcor offers fireproofing and environmental services. Steeplejack is part of Texas-based The Brock Group.

WR Refrigeration is a part of the refrigeration services division of Finland's Huurre Group. The company provides installation, reactive service, maintenance, and other connected services in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sectors in the UK. The unit primarily serves clients in various segments of the food industry such as the dairy and convenience food sectors, as well as hospitals and laboratories. It operates a network of some 30 branches throughout the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland. The company traces its roots to the 1903 founding of T.H. Wathes & Co.

Holcim (Australia) produces aggregate, cement, asphalt, and concrete block and pipe. The company operates more than 240 concrete plants and about 80 hard rock, sand, and gravel quarries in Australia. Its Humes division manufactures steel-reinforced concrete pipes and other precast concrete products. Mexican cement giant CEMEX acquired Rinker Group in 2007 for more than $16 million and renamed it CEMEX Australia. The hefty price tag sent CEMEX into massive debt, though, and the parent began selling off assets. In 2009 CEMEX sold the unit to rival Holcim, which has targeted Australia as a growth market.

Industrial Molding Corporation shapes its own future by providing precision injected-plastic moldings, as well as insert molding, automation engineering, assembly, decorating, and logistics. Customers include manufacturers in the automotive, medical/dental, bearing, electronic, recreational, fiber optic, and consumer goods industries. The company operates a 150,000-sq.-ft. injection molding manufacturing plant, and more than 80 plastic injection molding machines. Industrial Molding is a subsidiary of NN, Inc., a producer and supplier of high-quality, precision steel balls and rollers to bearing manufacturers worldwide.

Fred Weber weaves a web of heavy and highway construction services, including site work, bridge building, paving, sewers, and grading. Its history includes work on a section of Route 66 noted for having the largest vertical rock cut ever completed in Missouri. Fred Weber's construction materials segment (asphalt, crushed stone, sand, landfill, and compost) includes subsidiaries Quality Sand, Bluff City Minerals, Iron Mountain Trap Rock, and EZ Street Cold Asphalt. It operates quarries, sand plants, and asphalt plants. The company was founded by Fred Weber Sr. in the 1920s. Employees purchased the company from the Weber family in 1980.

Formed by Charles Shelly in 1938, the company was acquired in 2000 for $362 million by Oldcastle Materials, a unit of Ireland-based CRH. The acquisition helped boost Shelly's growth and now it produces nearly 9 million tons of asphalt each year. The Shelly Company has only scratched the surface of the road paving business. The company, which produces aggregates and asphalt for road surfacing, operates several aggregate facilities and asphalt plants in Ohio. Operations include quarries, sand and gravel pits, fixed and portable asphalt plants, and bitumen terminals. The Shelly Company is also a paving and road construction contractor. Other divisions manufacture cement and and ready mix concrete.

Taylor Morrison, Inc. company, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based Taylor Wimpey, builds mid- to high-end homes and condominiums. Home prices range from the $100,000s to over $1 million. The company offers custom home designing options through its Design Studio and financing through Taylor Morrison Home Funding. The home builder has more than 280 communities under construction in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Texas. It also operates under the Monarch brand in Canada. Taylor Morrison first began building in North America in 1936.

Downer EDI works to keep things working. The company provides engineering and infrastructure management for public and private entities throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Pacific. The company strives to be a "one-stop" provider for engineering services that include design, project and facilities management, operations, consulting, and maintenance. The company is organized along five divisions representing its primary activities: infrastructure services through Downer EDI Works, Downer EDI Engineering, Downer EDI Mining, Consulting Services, and Downer EDI Rail. Although the company's footprint covers the Asia/Pacific region, Downer EDI's Australian operations account for about 70% of its revenue.

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