Nabholz Construction Corp. Entering 65th Year

By several metrics, Nabholz Construction Corp. is one of the state’s largest commercial contractors.

That doesn’t mean it pursues only large projects.

According to one of its top executives, that is often a common misconception.

“In fact, we pursue even the smallest project,” said Greg Fogle, a 10-year Nabholz man who heads up the Conway-based company’s Rogers office as president of Midwest operations, which encompasses Rogers, Fort Smith, Kansas City, Kansas, and Springfield, Missouri. “Our smallest project so far [in 2014] has been $43 to repair a door. We perform countless projects every year that are between $1,000 and $10,000.”

Whether it’s a $43 door or a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Nabholz has built a reputation as one of the most respected names in the industry.

And, in 2014, the privately held company will celebrate its 65th year of doing business.

Though no formal plans have been announced, the company will likely mark its anniversary in the fall with a series of events at each of its locations, chief development officer Clay Gordon said.

Nabholz was founded in Conway in 1949 by Robert D. Nabholz, Sr.

In a promotional video produced by the company, Nabholz — who died in 2002 and was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame the next year — described the company’s origin as an accident.

He was in the process of building a small home for him and his new bride, but before its completion, he had the chance to sell it.

Nabholz further explained that he used the profit of the sale to start construction on another residence and soon after began building duplexes.

Residential projects, however, were not the reason for the company’s growth. The company’s diversity of services has expanded to include almost any kind of commercial project, and Nabholz — which has worked on projects in more than 40 states — now has 10 offices and more than 800 employees in five states.

The company completed more than 8,300 projects and had revenues of $389 million in fiscal year 2013, and about 38 percent of that amount, $150 million, was generated through the Rogers office.

It was the second-highest revenue total among the company’s 10 offices.

Nabholz has had a full-service office in Northwest Arkansas since February 1990 when it purchased a smaller, existing company here, Kan-Ark Industries of Rogers.

It was the firm’s first satellite office, and, with more than 200 employees today, it is the largest contractor in Northwest Arkansas.

Besides Crystal Bridges — the company partnered with The Linbeck Group of Houston to serve as construction manager on the project — the Nabholz office in Rogers has been involved with some of the area’s most notable projects.

As construction manager for the Fayetteville School District, Nabholz has been leading the $82-million transformation of Fayetteville High School, scheduled for completion in 2015.

The company will also build the Amazeum, a family interactive museum which is just beginning construction in Bentonville.

Besides traditional general contracting, Nabholz has electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians on staff in Rogers, many times eliminating the need to subcontract these services to other companies.

Industrial services, environmental services and excavation and utility work are also part of the firm’s wide range of construction-related services.

Nabholz is also annually ranked by Engineering Record News, a leading industry trade magazine, as one of the nation’s largest construction companies.

In 2013, out of the magazine’s top 400 companies, Nabholz was listed as No. 112.