Few regional contractors have as rich a history in the Southwest as Sundt Construction. Founded in 1890, more than two decades before New Mexico and Arizona achieved status, the company has made a name for itself with projects as diverse as mines, university buildings and a remote complex that would house the Manhattan Project.
Although Sundt, based in Tempe, Ariz., has become a national company, ranking No. 51 on ENR’s most recent Top 400 Contractors list, its roots in the Southwest remain strong. These days, projects range from highway and municipal infrastructure to data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities that support the region’s growing semiconductor industry, sectors that have enjoyed a sustained resurgence of activity after the pandemic, Sundt officials say.
Apprentice pipe fitters are trained at the Sundt Center of Craft Excellence.
Photo courtesy of Sundt Construction
As a result, Sundt reported $965.42 million in Southwest regional revenue by 2023, a 6% increase over the previous year’s performance.
Being an experienced and well-established player in an active and diverse construction market benefits the balance sheet, even amid intense competition for these opportunities. Still, Sundt CEO Mike Hoover says the increasing emphasis from clients on the speed of construction work has placed new demands on all contractors.
“It’s a matter of putting a lot of work and having a lot of people on the project, which is very difficult when you consider the current labor shortage,” says Hoover. “In our proposals, we take care to outline our labor needs, fully aware of what we need to do to deliver projects to demanding clients.”
In Gilbert, Arizona, Sundt is working with PCL Construction on a $500 million rebuild and upgrade of the North Water Treatment Plant.
Photo courtesy of Sundt Construction
Hoover cites a recently completed project for a confidential client in New Mexico that required an accelerated seven-day-a-week effort to transform a factory into a modern manufacturing facility.
“It took a lot of skill and innovation to create cleanroom spaces in a building that was occupied by raccoons when we started,” he says.
Sundt CFO Keenan Driscoll adds that being a 100% employee-owned company creates a “stakeholder mentality” that inspires both office and retail workers to take on these kinds of challenges.
“The people at Sundt do whatever it takes to get the job done right and take great pride in the results.”
—Mike Hoover, CEO of Sundt Construction
“It’s a powerful cycle that keeps people focused on delivering more high-quality work,” says Driscoll. “This makes clients want us to do more work for them, which is important in an environment with high demand for services. We have a good reputation and we value that.”
Sundt continually reinforces this culture with the unofficial KAPBCS (Kick-Ass People Building Cool Shit) motto, which can be found on company T-shirts, trucks, helmet stickers, conference rooms and even recruitment materials .
“The people at Sundt do whatever it takes to get the job done right and take tremendous pride in the results,” says Hoover, who coined the term after becoming CEO in 2016 and demonstrated his commitment to ‘acronym tattooed on arm. “When thousands of people like this come together, united as employee owners around the same mission and purpose, they create an unbeatable culture.”
In Oro Valley, Arizona, Sundt’s concrete division is leading the delivery of the La Posada seniors project at Pusch Ridge, which is being constructed primarily as a cast-in-place structure.
Photo courtesy of Sundt Construction
Strategies to sustain growth
Sundt’s reputation for tackling complex projects is evidenced by the growing number of water and wastewater projects in its portfolio, a response to both the rapid population and economic expansion of the Southwest and the resulting strain on water resources that has been aggravated in recent years by drought and other factors. As a result, Sundt brings his construction expertise to help localities balance a range of sometimes conflicting needs and considerations.
“We want our artisans to see that they can have a career with us by developing their skills, facilitating movement between jobs and being employee owners.”
—Nicole Calamaio, director of human resources at Sundt Construction
For example, Sundt is among the contractors involved in the City of Phoenix’s Drought Pipe Project, a $300 million program of new pipes and pumping stations that aims to provide more than 400,000 residents of the communities in the north of the city alternative sources of drinking water during future shortages. on the Colorado River.
As with its other water infrastructure projects for the city, Sundt’s commitment to the collaborative aspects of construction manager risk project execution makes work more efficient and larger quality
“As an organization, they take it very seriously,” says Darlene Helm, Phoenix’s assistant director of water services. He adds that while alternative delivery has become routine in the state, Sundt continues to facilitate regular “conditions for success” discussions with project team members “to make sure we’re still directed and focused on the ultimate goal of a successful project.”
In nearby Gilbert, Arizona, Sundt has partnered with PCL Construction on a $500 million rebuild and upgrade of the North Water Treatment Plant, the largest clean water investment in history been The joint venture project with PCL Construction will increase production by approximately 25% to about 60 million gallons per day and provide more than 70% of the city’s water supply when completed in 2026.
Sundt CEO Mike Hoover speaks to employees during an event at the company’s new training center.
Photo courtesy of Sundt Construction
Although the new facility will allow the city of Gilbert to capture a larger volume of groundwater that previously could not be treated, Susanna Struble, the city’s engineer, recalls how supply chain issues and the escalation of basic products threatened to overflow the budget of the project.
“They came to the table during the preconstruction phase as active participants to make sure we were looking at every possible alternative to reduce costs as we went through the escalation over the last few years,” says Struble. And since the existing plant must remain operational throughout construction, he adds, “they’re working very hard to make sure we stage and assemble the project properly. They have the equipment, the resources and the people when we need them.”
Sundt opened its $10.7 million KAPBCS training center in Phoenix in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Sundt Construction
A fight for talent
In addition to helping customers prepare for their long-term needs, Sundt is charting its own future with a recently completed strategic plan aimed at guiding the company through 2035. While leaders de Sundt expect demand for construction services in the Southwest to remain high, particularly in the infrastructure development, higher education and power generation sectors; so will the competition for engineering and craft manpower.
Driscoll says that while artificial intelligence and other technologies can help bridge the gap to some extent through improvements in productivity and project organization, contractors can expect “a street fight for talent, with everyone trying to outdo the next one.”
Nicole Calamaio, director of human resources at Sundt, says the company is focusing on all aspects of the employment relationship, from accelerating the hiring of engineering students “the best of the best” in the internship program, to offering a wide range of craft training and apprenticeships. programs The company’s new 7,500-square-foot training facility in south Phoenix offers indoor and outdoor training lab spaces, hybrid classrooms and a 200-person auditorium with audio-visual and teleconferencing capabilities.
Sundt is currently leading a $36.7 million contract to provide infrastructure/site and highway development for the City of Mesa, Arizona.
Photo courtesy of Sundt Construction
“We want our artisans to see that they can have a career with us by developing their skills, facilitating movement between jobs and being employee owners,” he says. “The old mental adage of ‘you can find other workers tomorrow’ no longer applies.”
The same goes for extended travel, which Calamaio says was once accepted as part of the job.
“We have to be more flexible, because having someone away for long periods can be difficult to navigate, especially for two-income families,” she says. “We’ve already done a fair amount to support workers and their families, but we want to do more.”
For now, Hoover is optimistic about the company’s prospects in the Southwest through at least 2025.
“There’s a lot of opportunity,” he says. “The challenge will be to execute this work with discipline, because it is a difficult industry.”
