Hoar Construction honored as one of 50 best places to work

Hoar Construction LLC of Birmingham has been named one of the 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America. The company placed 5th on the 2008 list, up from No. 19 last year. The list was announced on June 23 before an audience of more than 15,000 at the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 60th Annual Conference & Exposition in Chicago.

This annual list, now in its fifth year, ranks the top 25 small and top 25 medium-sized companies in America that use smart people management strategies to develop successful organizations with highly productive and satisfied workforces.

The organizations, ranging in size from 50 to 999 employees, were announced by SHRM and selected and ranked by the Great Place to Work Institute (GPTW). The results were based on a randomly distributed employee opinion survey. Each company evaluated was given a score based on employees’ responses to a detailed questionnaire about the organizations’ workplace cultures.

“Small and medium-sized companies make up the majority of the American economy and workforce,” said SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger. “These winning organizations demonstrate that making effective use of their workforce is key to their success and their accomplishments deserve recognition.”

B.L. Harbert tops out University of Alabama Science & Engineering Complex

B.L. Harbert International LLC of Birmingham, Ala., has topped out ahead of schedule the Science & Engineering Complex located on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

A topping out ceremony for the approximately 300 on-site tradesmen was held June 10. As is customary in the construction industry, the final beam erected was signed by those present and the building was capped with an evergreen tree signifying the completion of the tallest portion of the structure.

The three-story, 235,000-sq-ft facility will contain extensive laboratory space for teaching and research, including a BSL-3 lab. The $64 million free-standing building will expand the existing Shelby Hall’s Science and Engineering facility.

The B. L. Harbert team includes Dwight Sammons, superintendent; Lee Moffett, senior project manager; and Marty Martin, project manager. Design consultants for the project are Davis Architects of Birmingham.

ASA Alabama names Prier Construction as General Contractor of the Year

American Subcontractors Association of Alabama has named Prier Construction Inc. of Birmingham as its 2008 General Contractor of the Year in Category I.

According to ASA Alabama, the award is determined by an annual vote of the organization’s membership and is awarded to “a general contractor whose business practices and personal contributions significantly contribute to the overall improvement of the construction industry in the state of Alabama.”

The group added that Prier Construction’s “relationship with the subcontractor community is being recognized with this award.”