Membership has its privileges -- a lower price is one of them. Through Lumbermens Merchandising Corporation (LMC) more than 350 stockholder lumber retailers throughout the US pool their buying resources to increase their purchasing power and get volume discounts from vendors. LMC's network of members includes about 1,200 building material dealer locations in 48 states and the Bahamas. The cooperative is the largest dealer-owned lumber building materials buying group in the US. It holds members to strict confidentiality, in part to safeguard vendor contracts. In addition to lumber and panel products, LMC also supplies its members with non-wood products, millwork, and hardware.

Charles Pankow Builders has some pretty concrete ideas on how to build high-rises. The design/build general contractor specializes in quake-resistant concrete frames for structures including department stores, hotels, condominiums, medical facilities, and office buildings. The firm is primarily active in California and Hawaii. Affiliate Pankow Special Projects focuses on small-scale projects including renovations, interior build-outs, and seismic upgrades. Unit Mid-State Precast provides structural and architectural precast concrete components for Pankow-managed projects. Employee-owned Charles Pankow Builders was founded in 1963 by the late Charles Pankow, who helped pioneer the design/build delivery system.

Tenon has neatly dovetailed its Kiwi and American operations in the pine-products business. The company (formerly Fletcher Challenge Forests) processes Radiata pine from New Zealand and makes such products as molding and millwork, primarily for the US market. Through subsidiaries, the group supplies finished moldings and boards to such customers as The Home Depot and Lowe's; it also provides appearance-grade lumber to other molding and millwork makers. Operating units include the Empire Company, Fletcher Wood Solutions, Ornamental Mouldings, and Southwest Mouldings. Rubicon Forests Limited controls more than 55% of Tenon.

A.P. Hubbard Lumber manufactures lumber and lumber products for the construction industry. Its offerings include air- and kiln-dried lumber made from cypress, hardwoods, softwoods, and eastern white pine, as well as engineered wood products such as glue-laminated timber, rim board, wood deckinh, sheathing, and framing lumber. The company distributes its products in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. A.P. Hubbard Lumber was founded in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1952.

Hunt Construction Group specializes in fields of dreams. A subsidiary of The Hunt Corporation, it is a leading builder of sports complexes, including the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the Great American Ballpark for The Cincinnati Reds, and Citi Field for the New York Mets. It has strategic alliances with other construction firms such as Bovis Lend Lease for sports projects. It also works on aviation facilities (a UPS service hub), high tech centers (IBM chip facility), office buildings, hospitals, hotels, industrial facilities, and universities. The company completes about $7 billion in work each year. It was founded in 1944 as Huber, Hunt & Nichols. It is under its third generation of Hunt leadership.

While Leonardo created masterpieces out of paint and canvas, Leopardo creates them from brick and mortar. One of the top contractors in Illinois, Leopardo Companies, which also has an office in South Carolina, provides an array of construction services from pre-construction and general contracting to construction management, design-build, green building, and real estate development. Projects include office buildings; health care facilities; senior housing; retail, office, and industrial space; airports; condos; and community projects, such as churches, libraries, and schools. It is also a top interiors contractor. CEO Jim Leopardo started the company in 1979.

AMEC's got the power -- gas, oil, and nuclear. The engineering giant provides design, consulting, and project management services for the natural resources (oil sands, oil and gas, and mining), nuclear, clean energy, water, and environmental sectors. The company is active in the UK and the Americas, as well as other international locations such as Australia and the Middle East. AMEC is responsible for maintaining large, complex facilities such as nuclear power stations and oil and gas production facilities. The company also offers environmental consulting. Top clients include BP, Exxon Mobil, INPEX, Sellafield, and the US Air Force.

American Pan & Engineering Co. has its hand firmly planted in concrete. The privately-held specialty contractor, which does business as APEC, offers concrete formwork for commercial buildings in the southeastern US. The firm is involved in such construction projects as condominiums, hotels, and hospitals (the latter brings in about half of its annual revenue), as well as parking decks, office buildings, and schools. It has done work on Florida Memorial Hospital; Rosen Hotels and Resorts' Shingle Creek resort and convention center in Orlando; and science and engineering buildings at Georgia Institute of Technology. Founded in 1995 by president BJ Jarun, APEC has offices in Florida, Georgia, and Texas.

Nuprecon. Considered one of the largest companies in its industry, Nuprecon specializes in demolition services, including total building and targeted demolition, and plant dismantlement. Nuprecon also offers environmental remediation and abatement, construction-related debris and hazardous waste recycling, and concrete sawing and drilling. Serving various industries, the company's projects have included factories, office and retail buildings, hotels, hospitals, and government buildings. Nuprecon, which is majority-owned by private equity firm Evergreen Pacific Partners, merged with competitor CST Environmental in 2008.

Urata & Sons is a solidly established provider of concrete contracting services including slab and curb and gutter work. The firm focuses on large scale tilt-up buildings, parking structures, schools, hospitals, public works projects, multi-family residences, and other commercial ventures, including malls, casinos and resorts, and industrial complexes. Most of its projects are in California and Nevada. Urata & Sons' customers include high-profile contractors DPR Construction, Turner Construction, and The Walsh Group. The company was started in 1974 by Sofio Urata and his sons, Charles and Frank, who began by paving residential patios and driveways.

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