Construction Dive’s Friday Punch List is a series dedicated to sharing major building headlines that contractors may have missed from the week.
The construction headlines kept coming this week.
Amid the backdrop of earnings season, the Washington Commanders named a joint venture for its reportedly $3.8 billion stadium and Associated Builders and Contractors detailed the industry’s lowest project backlog since January.
Read on below for other news construction execs should know.
Cumming Group acquires NYC project management firm
Construction cost consultancy Cumming Group has snapped up a company in its backyard.
The firm has acquired TLM Group, a project management firm and owner’s representative, Cumming Group told Construction Dive. The terms of the deal between the companies, both based in New York City, were not disclosed.
TLM specializes in data center programs for financial institutions, hyperscalers and colocation providers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, per the announcement. It will join Cumming’s Advanced Technology division, which the company spun up in March to meet surging data center and high-tech facility demand.
“When we launched the Advanced Technologies division earlier this year, our vision was to build the industry's premier consultancy for the world's most complex technology and industrial projects,” Kevin Klein, executive vice president of advanced technologies at Cumming Group, told Construction Dive via email. “Welcoming TLM Group accelerates that vision by adding a highly respected team with deep experience managing data center construction programs from concept through completion.”
—Matthew Thibault
Stanley Black & Decker invests $1B for innovation, trades
Stanley Black & Decker is investing $1 billion to develop next-generation tools and increase training access to expand the skilled trades workforce, according to a Wednesday announcement.
The New Britain, Connecticut-based tool manufacturer plans to invest through 2028, with half of the $1 billion going toward research and development for the creation of next-gen tools for trade professionals. The other half will support capital expenditures and long-term investments to further strengthen U.S. manufacturing and new product development.
On top of that, Stanley Black & Decker has committed $60 million — $27 million of which has already been deployed through its DeWalt Grow the Trades initiative — through 2030. That effort aims to expand training programs and open new pathways to skilled trades jobs.
"By advancing technology, investing in U.S. manufacturing and expanding training to skilled trades Stanley Black & Decker is helping to build a stronger workforce and a more resilient future for communities across the nation," Chris Nelson, Stanley Black & Decker president and CEO, said in the release.
—Zachary Phillips
Jacobs adds Atlanta office, Georgia DOT contract
Jacobs is getting busier in Georgia.
The Dallas-based firm recently opened a new office at Promenade Tower in Midtown Atlanta after more than a year of planning and construction, according to a Monday announcement.
The office serves as a strategic hub for Jacobs’ projects in the region’s infrastructure, transportation, environmental and advanced facilities sectors. Elsewhere in the state, the Georgia DOT recently tapped Jacobs on a five-year engineering and design contract covering transportation infrastructure across 27 counties.
That work will support roadway and infrastructure improvements to enhance connectivity and support economic growth, according to an Aug. 3 news release.
“Communities across Georgia continue to grow, creating new demands on transportation networks,” said Tom Meinhart, Jacobs Americas executive vice president, in the release.
—Sebastian Obando
Tutor Perini, Granite project wins
Also this week, two major general contractors with different approaches to profitability announced awards.
Tutor Perini subsidiary Perini Management Services won a $42 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract for work at Tabuk Air Base in Saudi Arabia for the completion of a helicopter maintenance hangar, the firm announced Thursday. Domestically, Tutor Perini has pursued megaprojects, which its leadership has said is a driver of its profit margins.
Meanwhile, Granite Construction, which has instead targeted smaller, lower risk jobs, won a project that falls within that scope. The firm nabbed a $31 million early works package from energy storage firm Hydrostor for site infrastructure at the firm’s 89-acre Willow Rock Energy Storage Center in Kern County, California, according to a Wednesday announcement.
The project’s goal is an advanced compressed air energy storage facility, where excess energy from the power grid during lower-demand periods is used to store compressed air in underground caverns for release when electricity use is higher.
