Nabholz, McClinton-Anchor Top List of Largest Contractors

Nabholz Construction Corp. tops the list of commercial contractors in the region with $48 million in revenue in 1997.

Among the projects Nabholz completed last year were StaffMark’s new corporate headquarters in Fayetteville

Coming in second on the list is one of the region’s oldest and largest commercial contractors, APAC-Arkansas/McClinton-Anchor Division, with $37 million in revenues.

McClinton-Anchor, a prominent builder of highways in the region, also has a new chief. Lee S. DuChanois was recently named president of the division, replacing David McClinton, who has moved to the APAC side of the business.

Although it’s been a part of publicly held Ashland Oil Co. since the 1970s, McClinton-Anchor was founded decades ago by Clark McClinton. David McClinton, who ran the division in recent years, is his son. McClinton-Anchor, which does work in eight Arkansas counties, is one of 40 divisions of APAC, which is a subsidiary of Ashland.

In third place on the list of largest contractors was Oakridge Builders Inc. of Springdale with $17 million in revenues. That company’s projects include the new Archeological Survey building, currently under construction just off North Garland Avenue in Fayetteville.

Heckathorn Construction, in fourth place with $14.5 million in revenue, was the general contractor for several large projects in 1997, including the addition to United Methodist Church in Fayetteville.

Many of the contractors on the list have done projects for the University of Arkansas, where several large projects are currently under way. Heckathorn, for example, is the general contractor on the new Genesis Technology Incubator, which is nearing completion.

Baldwin & Shell is building the new Don Reynolds Center for Business Enterprise, which is adjacent to the UA’s College of Business Administration.

As for the largest commercial construction projects reported for the year, highway and airport projects top the list. The top two contracts involved work on the twin Bunyard Tunnels, a key portion of the new highway that will connect Alma and Fayetteville.

Third on the list is the $12.1 million terminal at the new Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. That contract was won by Aviation Constructors Inc. of Atlanta.

Other segments of the airport project also made the list. Gilbert Central Corp. of Omaha, Neb., won a $5.7 million contract to install utilities at the new facility while McClinton-Anchor built roadways and parking lots at a cost of $4.7 million.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the highway improvement project and the airport are also the two largest construction projects in the entire state.