Forty Under 40: Adam Kirkendall

Adam Kirkendall has started two successful businesses from the bottom up.

Originally from Tulsa, Okla., Kirkendall attended Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., graduating in 2007 with a marketing and management degree. He interned during school for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. After graduation, he stayed on, becoming a branch manager.

In 2009, Kirkendall moved back to Tulsa and started an independent FedEx contractor business, eventually owning the second-highest number of FedEx routes in the country. In 2017 he sold the routes and moved to Fayetteville to be near his future wife.

Seeing the growth in Northwest Arkansas, Kirkendall started a paving company, doing small concrete and asphalt jobs.

“About two months into it, I realized the market here was pushing us to do everything, by which I mean, site work stuff — everything from dirt work to utilities to asphalt and concrete,” he said.

A-CO Construction was born. The company had sales of $7 million in its first year, is on track for $12.5 million this year and next year is projected at about $20 million.

Because large companies like Walmart, J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods will all continue to build and provide an economic safety net, Kirkendall said the region will continue to be a strong construction market.

Kirkendall’s goal is to be one of the top new construction and site work firms in the area. His clients have included Roth Homes, Baumann & Crosno Construction, Plaza Tire, Washington Regional Medical Center, and, most recently, the Fayetteville National Cemetery.

Passionate about helping his employees develop, Kirkendall “loves watching people grow.” He also volunteers at Farmington High School for senior mock interviews, critiquing students to improve their interview skills.