SAK Again Named to ENR's "Top Specialty Contractors" and
"Top 20 Firms in Utility" Lists
In the latest annual ENR survey of national specialty contractors, published October 2012, SAK Construction was named to two separate lists, ranking 8 on the "Top 20 Firms in Utility" and 153 (up from 214 last year) on the “Top 600 Specialty Contractors.”
Tom Kalishman, SAK chairman and chief executive officer, says: "This is SAK’s second year of participation in the survey, which is based on 2011 revenues. SAK’s national ranking reflects our continuing growth and expanding capabilities, with contracted projects in 34 states across the nation." SAK provides large diameter tunneling services and rehabilitates pipeline for drinking water mains, sanitary sewers and storm sewers.
Silhouetted against the dramatic Austin skyline, a crane positions a riser for installation
on the Austin Downtown Wastewater Tunnel project. (Photo courtesy City of Austin
Far beneath the surface of Austin’s popular Lady Bird Lake‒a handsome 416-acre water reservoir that provides recreational opportunities as well as flood control‒years of intense “dirty work” took place, largely unnoticed by local citizens, as crews labored to create a huge wastewater tunnel that ran as deep as 80 feet underground. As might be expected, the technological and safety challenges of excavating a 4-mile-long, downward-sloping tunnel along a path that runs parallel to a river and underneath a lake at three different locations were considerable. But the need for a true state-of-the-art, gravity-powered wastewater system to accommodate Austin’s growing population well into the future was apparent to City of Austin planners. To tackle the job, the city brought in the joint venture team of SAK/Quest, consisting of St. Louis area-based SAK Construction and Quest Civil Constructors Inc. of Phoenix, along with Parsons Engineering. The tunnel, which was recently completed, is expected to last with minimal maintenance for at least a century—twice as long as the antiquated system it replaced.
SAK tunnel engineer Brent Duncan, P.E., has been invited to speak on the MSD Lemay Tunnel project at the 2013 Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition to be held in Houston January 29-31. Duncan will discuss how SAK utilized TBM, mechanical and drill/blast methods to excavate this hard rock tunnel.
When unexpected ground conditions put a sudden halt to initial efforts to excavate a
16-foot-diameter tunnel leading away from the Lemay Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District reissued the project for bid to find a contractor equipped for the challenge. The project award went to SAK Construction.
The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs "who demonstrate excellence and
extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and
personal commitment to their businesses and communities."
St. Louis Business Journal: 'SAK Banks Big Business on Sewer Improvements'
An article on SAK Construction's dramatic growth and success was featured in the
St. Louis Business Journal February 24. SAK's revenue jumped from about $8 million in 2008, SAK's first full year of operation, to $107 million in 2011. The Business Journal article noted that SAK's growth occurred despite "a relatively stagnant market for sewer and pipeline rehabilitation services." SAK has clients in more than 26 states and nearly 300 employees. Continued expansion nationally and internationally is anticipated.
SAK Named to St. Louis Business Journal's Top 150 Privately Held Companies
SAK was prominently featured in articles in the Business Journal honoring the top privately held companies in the St. Louis region. The article's lead paragraph singled out SAK's remarkable growth as a symbol of the region's "rebounding" economy.
(Photo by Tim Parker)
SAK Celebrates Growth, Relocation to New Headquarters
SAK Construction, one of the fastest-growing privately held pipeline rehabilitation and tunneling contractors in the U.S., hosted a ribbon cutting and open house Dec. 9 to celebrate its new 110,000-square-foot multi-use headquarters in the St. Louis area. Joining SAK Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Kalishman (above photo,center) are representatives of the City of O'Fallon and the O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce.The building was formerly an automotive components storage facility. SAK converted the existing structure’s cavernous interior into efficient and attractive office, warehouse, manufacturing, equipment fabrication and repair areas. Among the functions of the new building are to provide an interior space for the storage, maintenance and repair of the firm’s massive tunneling equipment.
Gerald Addington has been named general manager of SAK's Central Rehabilitation Division. Addington has previously held several senior management positions in the water, underground pipeline and power industries, and brings to SAK more than 30 years of industry experience. He has managed business units, some of which exceeded $100 million in annual revenue, across the U.S. Cary Shaw joins SAK's business development and marketing team as business development leader for the firm's spiral wound PVC pipe renewal division. Shaw served more than 17 years in the construction industry as business development leader in the commercial/residential area and has developed several commercial and residential land tracts.
In a November 2011 article headlined "City Sets the Pace for Solving CSO Problems & Renovating Aged Pipeline," SAK President Jerry Shaw relates how Henderson, Ky., has led the way in solving issues related to its aging combined sewer system.
SAK Construction Named to ENR’s "Top 600 Specialty Contractors"
And "Top 20 Firms in Utility" Lists
In the latest annual ENR survey of national specialty contractors, published October 17, 2011, SAK Construction was named to two separate lists, ranking 7 on the "Top 20 Firms in Utility" and 214 on the “Top 600 Specialty Contractors.” Tom Kalishman, SAK chairman and chief executive officer, says: "This is SAK’s first year of participation in the survey, which is based on 2010 revenues. SAK’s national ranking reflects our rapid growth and expanding trenchless technology capabilities, with contracted projects in 26 states." SAK provides large diameter tunneling services and rehabilitates pipeline for drinking water mains, sanitary sewers and storm sewers.
SAK Construction has been awarded contracts from the City of Fresno, Calif.; the City of Las Vegas, Nev.; the Metropolitan Sewer District of St. Louis, Mo.; the Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board of the City of Montgomery, Ala.; the Knoxville, Tenn., Utilities Board; and Henderson (Ky.) Water Utility.
SAK Construction Website Honored with Award of Excellence
SAK Construction’s website at www.sakcon.com has been named an Award of Excellence winner in The Communicator Awards international competition for 2011. The award was presented in the Interactive Media category. SAK’s website development team includes Finkel & Binder Communications, Response Builders and Karpinski Design. More than 6,000 entries were submitted this year to the competition, which honors creative excellence in advertising, corporate communications and public relations.
Roger Archibald has joined SAK as chief financial officer. Archibald, whose most recent previous position was chief financial officer for C.L. Smith Co. in St. Louis, brings to SAK more than 30 years of experience in fiscal management, including acquisitions, external audits, and directing capital and productivity projects. At SAK, Archibald manages all aspects of the firm’s financial and administrative activities.
SAK Construction has added three new staff members to its business development and marketing team: Joe Lane and Matt Wassam in Colorado and Carrie Qualls at SAK's national headquarters in O'Fallon, Mo.
Choice Facility Partners, a Houston-based cooperative purchasing organization available to government entities nationwide, has tapped SAK as a contract partner. Choice Facility Partners streamlines the bidding and contracting processes for infrastructure projects for a variety of nonprofits, including cities, counties, school districts, colleges and universities. SAK was selected through a competitive bidding process as a contract partner in the master category of trenchless technology rehabilitation.
The City of Chattanooga, Tenn., has awarded a $3 million CIPP contract to SAK Construction for wastewater collection system rehabilitation and replacement on the Upper Amnicola and Tiftonia Interceptors in Hamilton County. SAK is a national pipeline rehabilitation and tunneling industries contractor headquartered in the St. Louis area.
SAK Construction has expanded its trenchless technology services to include rehabilitation of water distribution systems. This major growth in capabilities comes as a result of SAK’s recently concluded agreement with Canada-based Sanexen Environmental Services Inc. to operate as the exclusive licensee for installing Sanexen’s Aqua-Pipe product in 10 U.S. states—Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas--plus southern Illinois.
Charlie Kuhnmuench of SAK Construction Discusses Aqua-Pipe Clean Water Rehabilitation Opportunities (Trenchless Technology Television, January 2010)
The County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Calif., has awarded a contract to SAK Construction of CA LP for the Los Coyotes Water Reclamation Plant Interceptor Sewer Rehabilitation Phase II Project. SAK Construction submitted the low bid of $10.4 million to repair sewer pipe ranging from 54 to 78 inches in diameter for the 10,425 linear-foot project.
Jack L. Lynch has joined the management team at SAK Construction LLC as safety director. Lynch brings to SAK 17 years of experience in safety management in the pipeline rehabilitation industry.
Steve J. Hirtz has joined the management team at SAK Construction LLC as vice president of rehabilitation operations. Hirtz brings to SAK more than 25 years of experience in cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), tunneling and other trenchless technologies.
