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The construction industry party, if not totally shut down in 2020, at least started to dim the lights.
But while not rocking wild gains of years past, the contracting sector in the region is gearing up for some revelry. As a group, the largest contracting companies in the region, per the Business Observer annual Top 50, totaled $6.08 billion in revenue in 2021. While that’s down -7% from $6.54 billion in 2019, it’s up 4.64% from $5.81 billion in 2020.
On an individual company basis, there was also something of a reversal of fortune: in 2020 half the companies on the Top 50 posted an annual decrease in revenue, while in 2021 that number fell from 25 to 13. Two companies were flat in revenue year-over-year, while the other 35 posted gains in 2021. And, notably, of the 35 that were up, 28 of those increased revenue at least 10%.
Digging down further into the Top 50, several big-gain contractors jumped into new territory, where the growth requires more personnel, project managers, gear and materials — all of which are seemingly in short supply. The biggest jump belongs to Tampa-based Franklin Development Corp. The 15-employee company, which specializes in restaurants, car washes, daycares, urgent care facilities and medical office buildings, grew from $11 million to $29 million, up 163.64%. Franklin’s biggest project in 2021 was a Ford’s Garage bar and restaurant, a 12,000-square-foot project in Winter Garden. It also recently built the new Tiki Docks Bar + Grill in Riverview, an $8 million, 18,000-square-foot elevated structure.
Other big gains are sprinkled across the Top 50. Tampa-based Florida Asphalt & Concrete rose 81.61% to $31.9 million and Bradenton-based TDS Construction, which focuses on retail projects, grew 89.16% to $78.5 million. Also, two of the bigger companies in the region got significantly bigger: Naples-based Connor & Gaskins Unlimited LLC, the No. 11 company on the list, grew 42.55% to $147 million while Clearwater-based Creative Contractors, No. 10 on the list, rose 29.17% to $155 million.
The Top 50 is, as in past years, top heavy, with the 10 largest companies generating some $4 billion in revenue in 2021. That’s about two-thirds of the entire list. Naples-based Manhattan Construction maintained its No. 1 spot, even with posting a decline in revenue for the second straight year. It fell 18.5% to $1.15 billion in 2021, after dropping 26.9% in 2020. Manhattan is also the only billon-dollar contractor on the list, with St. Petersburg-based Power Design, at $875 million, not far behind. The Top 50 now also includes 13 companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue, welcoming Sarasota-based Willis A. Smith Construction to the list.
The region's top 50 contractors by 2021 gross revenue:
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