Columbia Pipe & Supply. Columbia is a leading distributor of industrial pipe, plumbing supplies, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) equipment. Based in Chicago, the company also has sales offices covering the rest of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and an agreement with Affiliated Distributors that expands its distribution network to a national level. The company's target markets are construction, maintenance and repair, and OEMs. CEO William Arenberg and family own the company, which was founded in 1935.

Aker Construction is part of the North American union construction and maintenance division of Norway-based Aker Solutions. Active in the US and Canada, the company provides heavy and civil construction and renovation services for power generation plants and other industrial projects. Aker Construction offers services such as prime contracting, electrical work, equipment setting, heavy mechanical contracting, steel erection, piping, and construction management. After Aker Solutions sold most of its process and construction operations (including non-union businesses) to Jacobs in 2011, its union construction division, including Aker Construction, was transferred to the newly formed Aker Contractors segment.

Drinking water protection is one of the areas of sage advice offered by The Cadmus Group. The environmental consulting firm (named after Cadmus, the Phoenician wise man who founded the city of Thebes) provides research and technical support services, primarily to government agencies (including the US Environmental Protection Agency). Other specialities include air quality, energy conservation, environmental risk assessment, and regulatory support, as well as marketing and public education related to environmental programs. Cadmus operates from half a dozen offices throughout the US. Chairman Gene Fax and Managing Director Ralph Jones founded the firm in 1983.

Persimmon is enjoying the fruits of its hard labor. One of the UK's largest homebuilders, the company designs and constructs homes, bungalows, and apartments; its Charles Church division builds larger luxury homes. Working with the UK government, Persimmon also undertakes social housing projects through its Westbury Partnerships business and its Space4 timber-frame housing operations. Persimmon's land bank is one of the largest in the country, with some 76,000 plots. The company constructs more than 15,000 homes annually, with an average selling price of around 185,000.

The family-owned company was founded in 1946. Ernst Enterprises knows the value of a solid foundation. Operating as Ernst Concrete, Ernst Enterprises, Inc. makes and distributes ready-mix concrete and related products in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Ernst Enterprises, Inc. also provides concrete pumping services for residential, industrial, commercial, and government clients. Ernst Enterprises makes standard concrete mixes as well as custom and specialty products at the approximately 30 plants it operates. Other products sold include trowels, marking implements, and other finishing tools; concrete nails, cures, and stains; and general construction supplies. The firm also sells used mixers to other concrete suppliers.

STV Group helps create the systems through which SUVs, LRVs, and 747s can travel. Its subsidiaries provide architectural, engineering, environmental, construction management, interior design, and planning services for infrastructure projects include airports, light-rail systems, ports, and railroads. Its security division, established in 2008, conducts threat assessments and mitigates safety strategies for facilities. The group serves public and private clients around the world, but primarily in the US. The employee-owned STV Group was founded in 1912 and taken private in 2001.

Barri Electric Company is an electric contracting firm that offers electrical construction, engineering, and related services in California. The company serves customers in the retail, food service, and medical industries, among others. Its clients include the San Francisco International Airport (runway lighting, traffic signals, high-voltage distribution), the College of San Mateo (office remodeling), and FedEx (distribution center). Barri Electric Company was founded by president Ernie Ulibarri.

Thomas Concrete Industries, Inc. is one Georgia's largest producers of ready-mix concrete. Its products are used for commercial and residential projects and include high-strength, colored, exposed aggregate, and architectural concrete. The company operates about 50 plants in its home state and in North and South Carolina; it also has a fleet of mixer trucks. Thomas Concrete Industries is owned by Thomas Concrete Group AB, a Swedish conglomerate which also includes Fardig Betong and Thomas Beton. For Thomas Concrete Industries, the strength is in the mix.

Clients who "nead" electrical and communications contracting and engineering services in the Northeast might turn to The Nead Organization. The company provides electrical and engineering services through its Nead Electric New York/New Jersey subsidiary. Voice, data, and imaging system telecommunications services are offered through the subsidiary's Nead Technologies unit. Projects have included office, commercial, and industrial work mainly in the New York/New Jersey area. The Nead Organization operates office and warehousing facilities in Carlstadt, New Jersey; it also has an office in New York City.

McVicker Associates knows the value of a good strong wall. McVicker Associates is a structural engineering services firm for commercial, industrial, residential, and educational structures. The firm's projects include storefronts, interiors, mezzanines, and tenant remodels of a wide range of other structures serving clients across the western United States. Its services include structural investigations and inspections for architectural, builder, and homeowner clients. Commercial clients have included Gap Inc. and Mervyn's stores. McVicker Associates was established in 1962.

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