Construction Industry News

MOBILE, Ala. (Oct. 12, 2023) — Thompson Engineering, a multidisciplined engineering firm with offices in eight Southeastern states, announced Kendall Kilpatrick will be the company’s CEO effective Jan. 1, 2024. Kilpatrick succeeds John Baker, who will remain CEO and chairman of Thompson Holdings, the parent company of Thompson Engineering.

NASHVILLE, Ill. — On Thursday, Sept. 28, Montabert USA celebrated the launch of its new in-house repair and remanufacturing capabilities at the company’s North American Operations facility in Nashville, Illinois, about 50 miles east of St Louis. Attendees included all Montabert USA sales and service personnel, as well as representatives from Montabert’s home office in Saint Priest, France, and members of the industry trade press and local media.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct. 12, 2023) — Construction Business Owner (CBO), the leading business magazine for contractors, is pleased to announce the eight finalists of its Outstanding Women in Construction (OWIC) 2023 honor.

OWIC was designed to recognize industry-leading females and their skills, achievements and contributions to the construction industry. The eight finalists selected for OWIC 2023 are:

HAMILTON, N.J. (Oct. 6, 2023) — The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, improved 3% in September to 182.5 (2000=100) from the revised August reading of 178.0. Over the month, the commercial component of the DMI fell 1%, while the institutional component increased 9%.

FAIRFAX, Va. — Trench safety is the top priority of the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) and the American utility construction industry. Intense, realistic training for first responders is required to support successful trench rescues, and a new trench training site opened Oct.

WEST FARGO, N.D. (Oct. 4, 2023) — Doosan Bobcat Inc., a company within Doosan Group, has expanded its global branding strategy as it announces its RYAN turf renovation equipment will rebrand under the Bobcat trade dress in 2024. Bobcat, a global compact equipment, innovation and worksite solutions brand, invented the compact equipment industry when it introduced the first compact loader in 1958.

WASHINGTON (Oct. 3, 2023) — The construction industry had 350,000 job openings on the last day of August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 3,000 last month but are up by 5,000 from the same time last year.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University and Trimble are establishing the Trimble Technology Lab at Purdue, focused on teaching and research for construction management technology.

The lab is hosted by the School of Construction Management Technology within the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and will bring Trimble’s industry-leading construction technologies into a dedicated learning environment for Purdue students to learn and innovate. 

HAMILTON, N.J. (Sept. 20, 2023) — Total construction starts rose 6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.3 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential starts rose 40% thanks to a large pickup in manufacturing and transportation buildings. Residential and nonbuilding starts fell 1% and 14%, respectively.

CHICAGO (Sept.

PEOSTA, Iowa (Sept. 19, 2023) — Mi-T-M Corporation has announced Dave Thiesse as vice president of commercialization. Thiesse will oversee all commercialization activities at Mi-T-M including sales, sales support, product development and marketing.

Thiesse will be stepping in for former Vice President Dana Schrack, who recently retired after 33 years with Mi-T-M.

IRVING, Texas (Sept. 18, 2023) — The American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA) announced its Pipe School 2024 held Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 in Frisco, Texas, just outside of Dallas. Held at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center, the Pipe School will continue the Concrete Pipe Week 2023 theme of Engineered Strength. Proven Resilience. Undeniable Sustainability.

WASHINGTON (Sept. 12, 2023) — Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator declined to 9.2 months in August, down 0.1 month, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Aug. 21 to Sept. 6. The reading is 0.5 months above the August 2022 level.

View ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index tables for August.

HAMILTON, N.J. (Sept. 8, 2023) — The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, declined 6.5% in August to 178.0 (2000=100) from the revised July reading of 190.3. Over the month, the commercial component of the DMI fell 1.6%, while the institutional component fell 14.8%.

Vroozi, the intelligent procure-to-pay platform, has announced that Modern Niagara, a multi-trade contractor and building solutions company in Canada, will partner with Vroozi to simplify their procurement process while providing central procurement teams with complete control and visibility.

Sept. 7, 2023 — Mats Sköldberg has been appointed head of technology at Volvo CE. Most recently, he was head of technology for Volvo CE in China and has held a number of other senior technology roles in recent years.

Scott Young has been appointed Head of Sales Region North America. Most recently, Young was head of the Volvo CE Uptime Center of Expertise and has held a number of other roles in strategy, technology and other functions within Volvo CE.

Aug. 31, 2023 — Companies in North America sharply cut orders for robots in the second quarter, according to data compiled by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), an industry group.

The slowdown in orders began at the end of last year, as rising interest rates and sagging economic growth curbed appetites for new robots, the group said.

PASADENA, Calif. (Sept. 5, 2023) — Bluebeam, a developer of solutions and services for architecture, engineering and construction professionals worldwide and brand subsidiary of Nemetschek Group, has added two new talents into its executive suite.

NOVI, MICH. (Sept. 1, 2023) — Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. (HMM) Inc. has announced the appointment of Davey Jung to the position of president and CEO, and chairman of the board for HMM, effective Sept. 1, 2023. Jung succeeds Masamichi Mizukoshi, who retired from Hino. 

WASHINGTON (Aug. 29, 2023) — The construction industry had 363,000 job openings on the last day of July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.