As one of the oldest metropolises in the West, Denver continues to establish itself as an economic powerhouse. Its proximity to the country’s primary transportation systems continues to be one of its advantages. Another edge that the city enjoys is the long list of construction companies that have helped shape its infrastructure for decades. The best industrial contractors in Denver featured in this article are celebrated for their services to the city’s advanced and critical sectors. These firms have been commended for the technology-based, state-of-the-art, and complex structures found across the region. These firms are multi-awarded, repeatedly featured, and respected by the building and design industry’s biggest institutions.
The Weitz Company
4725 S Monaco Street, Suite #100, Denver, CO 80237
The Weitz Company has helped shape the country’s industrial and manufacturing sectors by delivering some of the most technologically advanced and modern facilities in the US. The firm built a 300,000-square-foot compound for the Pella Corporation that houses the window and door manufacturing company’s warehouse, office, and production facilities. Aside from the construction stage, the firm also led the project’s preconstruction process.
As one of the oldest and most established general contracting and engineering firms in the country, the 166-year old firm dominates the construction scene with its comprehensive and multi-awarded project list. Some of the company’s projects are recipients of notable accolades, including the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Eagle Award for Construction Excellence. The same organization also named the firm for its National Excellence in Construction Award. In recent years, the firm also earned the Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Midwest Region Best Project Award.
M. A. Mortenson Company
1621 18th Street, Suite #400, Denver, CO 80202
MA Mortenson Company led the construction efforts for Bronco Energy Storage in Denver, a facility that supports a 1 MW / 2MWh lithium-ion battery storage system, located at the PESCO North American Headquarters. Completed in 2017, this project was one of a series of construction projects for the same client and industry. This project is a first step for the future of Smart Cities and the firm is actively contributing to the development of equally advanced and technologically advanced general contracting work.
Since the firm’s inception almost seven decades ago, it has worked with some of the biggest names in the energy industry. The firm is also a leading general contractor that serves the aviation, manufacturing, and transportation sectors. Its multi-awarded practice and significant contributions to the country’s high-value facilities have helped it earn accolades from industry institutions. These awards include the 2019 Bentley Year in Infrastructure Award and the 2018 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel Award, to name a few.
Saunders Construction Company
86 Inverness Place North, Englewood, CO 80112
Saunders Construction Company was commissioned to build the Avery Brewing Company’s newest structure in Boulder. The goal of the project was to produce a new facility that can cater to the region’s growing demand for craft brews. Through a collaboration with Coburn Architects, the firm delivered a two-story brewery complex that accommodates eight fermenters, a grain tower, and a spent grain silo. Also included in the work are commercial units for a restaurant, a gift shop, and a tap room. The project also required the construction of a laboratory with a sensory deprivation tasting room.
The company has been providing a comprehensive range of services to the region’s highly demanding sectors. Founded 49 years ago, the firm’s portfolio is replete with high-value and technologically challenging projects. Some of these projects have been highlighted by ENR, The Construction Specifier, Denver Business Journal, and The Denver Post.
Brinkman Construction
2935 Larimer Street, Unit #300, Denver, CO 80205
Brinkman Construction led the renovation of Advanced Energy Industries’s engineering and production facilities. Covering an area of 92,000 square feet, the project involved the overhaul of the facility’s HVAC systems, lighting for the entire production and test areas, data wiring, as well as providing a high-voltage power source for the main operations area of the building. The company also served as a consultant for the client and provided safety and relevant facility recommendations based on the industry’s latest standards.
The firm’s client-focused approach to construction is one of the qualities that make it a preferred choice for the industrial, tech, and manufacturing sectors. A majority of its projects come from clients they’ve worked with before. Since the firm’s inception 16 years ago, its work for a variety of industries has been featured in high-profile publications, including the Denver Business Journal, The New York Times, ENR, and The Denver Post.
W.E. O’Neil Construction
229 Vallejo Street, Denver, CO 80223
W.E. O’Neil Construction partnered with Salas O’Brien to deliver the Bloom Energy Staples Center project. Located in Los Angeles, the project included the installation of a new, alternate energy source for the facility. In order to accommodate this new energy source, the firm had to construct a foundation that can support an elevated platform for the 500,000-watt fuel cell system. This project is just one of the key innovations that emphasized the city’s sustainability goals. In recent years, the facility won the Commercial Real Estate Awards and the Best Sustainable Project, Gold Award, given by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
As a nationally-ranked industry leader, the firm has helped shape urban and multi-residential environments across the region. Since its inception in 1925, it has maintained an award-winning portfolio with projects recognized by Building Design + Construction Magazine, Mile High CRE, and Landscape Contractors Association.
Jordy Construction
1212 S Broadway, Suite #100, Denver, CO 80210
Jordy Construction has been a leading provider of building, engineering, and post-construction services to a wide spectrum of sectors. Its scope includes the aerospace and defense industries. For almost four decades, the firm has been working with corporations to deliver aviation infrastructure, specialty laboratories, testing facilities, and corporate workspaces for the market. In order to cater to the varying demanding environments for these projects, the firm deploys trained and certified managers that are well-versed in the industry’s most stringent construction methods and standards.
Industry publications like ENR, The Denver Post, Denver Business Journal, and Mile High CRE have covered the firm’s recent monumental projects. For over six decades, the firm’s multi-awarded construction has built on its reputation as a preferred general contractor for high-value projects.
Bryan Construction
5575 DTC Parkway, Suite #240, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Bryan Construction led the construction of the Pavestone facility, a manufacturing plant that produces the primary exterior paving materials for landscaping and hardscaping. The project covered an area of 48,000 square feet. Employing a pre-engineered metal building, the firm incorporated the structure into a precision foundation and installed anchor bolts to support the client’s German manufacturing equipment. For other lay-down portions and storage areas, the company made use of the client’s own durable and traffic-rated pavers.
Projects of the same quality and structural integrity can be found in the firm’s portfolio for the commercial, federal, and multifamily sectors. Since it first launched its services over 43 years ago, the firm’s projects have been constantly highlighted in renowned publications, including ENR, The Denver Post, and Colorado Springs Business Journal.
J.E. Dunn Construction Company
Colorado Center-Tower 3, 2000 S, Colorado Blvd. Suite #1000, Denver, CO 80222
J.E. Dunn Construction Company has built some of the most successful industrial projects of recent years. In 2019, the firm completed an advanced and highly technical upgrade for a fabrication facility. The aim of the project, which covered 65,000 of retrofit, was to introduce a new technology process to the client’s day-to-day operations. Some of the highlights of the process included an extensive construction of the facility’s mechanical and electrical support systems. Also included in the work was a 4,000-square-foot upgrade to the complex’s existing IT center. This data center was necessary to the success of the new technology process.
The firm’s portfolio is one of the most celebrated project lists in the design and construction community. Since its inception over 97 years ago, the firm has produced technologically advanced structures for a wide range of markets. Its best-known clients come from the aviation, healthcare, military, energy, utility, and industrial sectors.
dcb Construction Company, Inc.
909 East 62nd Avenue, Denver, CO 80216
Dcb Construction Company delivers high-performing structures for the manufacturing and industrial markets. In Colorado, for instance, the firm built and designed Cargill Incorporated’s steel processing and service center. The 66,000-square-foot facility is a state-of-the-art complex that houses heavy-duty equipment, including cranes and pit truck scales. The facility was built with an internal rail service and a building pad. This building pad was designed to move and transport substantial load across the facility.
Locally owned and operated, the firm has been working with the biggest industries in the region thanks to its design-build delivery method. During its six decades of existence the firm has consistently caught the attention of industry organizations, including the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association and the American Institute of Architects Colorado Chapter.
Howell Construction
8085 E Harvard Avenue, Denver, CO 80231
Howell Construction was selected to deliver the preconstruction and construction work for a double containment facility. Commissioned by analytical instrumentation development and manufacturing company, Agilent Technologies, the work involved the building and installation of its latest storage containment system. Aside from the site construction and concrete slab paving, the project also included electrical, plumbing, and mechanical components.
Advanced industries, healthcare, and general commercial sectors have relied on the firm’s technology-based construction practice for decades. The company established its presence in the industry 86 years ago and has been a lifelong member of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
Gilmore Construction Corporation
4949 Ironton Street, Denver, CO 80239
Gilmore Construction Corporation led the general contracting team for the rebuilding and expansion of United Airlines’s outdoor operations network and ramp information display system. The project was located at Denver International Airport’s Concourse B and involved an initial demolition and installation of cabling and network systems that covered 26 miles for the new outdoor digital display system. Understanding the importance of how the system helps pilots navigate and finalize their approach to different gates and jet bridges, the firm provided meticulous and detail-oriented attention to the cable’s fabrication and packing.
A long list of similarly critical work for the aviation industry is showcased in the firm’s portfolio. Since the company first opened its doors over 24 years ago, it has been celebrated for its contributions to the region’s wide spectrum of advanced markets. Denver Business Journal, Airport Technology, Construction Dive, and The Denver Post have all featured the firm’s projects.
Industrial Constructors/Managers, Inc. (ICM)
3700 E. 68th Ave, Commerce City, CO 80022
Founded in 1983, Industrial Constructors/Managers, Inc. (ICM) specializes in self-performing heavy industrial construction. The firm helps in maintaining, upgrading, and constructing projects—from modernizing Denver International Airport and Molson Coors’ Golden Brewery to building static detonation chambers to help eliminate chemical weapons at the Pueblo, Colorado Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP). ICM’s portfolio of projects has been recognized by some of the industry’s highest honors, including an AGC ACE Silver Award and an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Regional Best Project Award, as well as highlighted in renowned publications like ENR, Construction Dive, Rocky Mountain Construction, and Colorado Construction & Design.
ICM has done extensive work to support the expansion and modernization of concourses B and C at Denver International Airport. The company was responsible for updating the miscellaneous metals in both concourses—from stairs to escalators to pipe supports—and replacing the water chillers in the central utility plant, which was located 30 feet underground. The chillers, whose purpose is to feed conditioned water throughout the airport, were antiquated and more capacity was needed to support the airport’s expansion so ICM replaced them, while also fabricating and installing structural steel to support the new piping system.
