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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Founded in Yellowknife in 1974 with just a handful of employees, contracting firm Clark Builders is now on the horizon of possibly becoming a billion-dollar company, with the announcement of a major partnership with the biggest general builder in the United States.

The agreement, which gives New York-based Turner Construction Company a 51 per cent interest in Clark Builders, was announced last week.

Turner, known for the construction of several iconic American projects including the New York Yankees stadium, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington DC, and Birmingham, U.K.'s International Convention Centre, is a subsidiary of Hochtief, Germany's largest construction company, and boasts an annual construction volume of about $8 billion.

Clark Builders currently completes in excess of $500 million a year in construction volume - business that is expected to double within the next five years with Turner's partnership, said founder Andy Clark.

"Clark Builders opened their shop in early 1974 and we've never looked back," the Ottawa native said, recounting founding the business at 24, with just two to four employees and about $200,000 worth of work in its first year.

"We've just continued to grow our business and serve the market as best as we can."

The company has plans to expand into new markets and embark on new projects more rapidly, buttressed by the partnership.

"The bottom line is it's going to help us serve our customers better," Clark said, noting the company set out on a mission to find a partner that could help it take advantage of growth opportunities about a year ago.

"We are still Clark Builders, the only difference you'll notice is our name on more sites and larger projects in more Canadian markets," president and CEO of Clark Builders Paul Verhesen stated in a news release explaining the business decision.

"We approached Turner for this partnership because of our very similar culture and our shared interest with serving local markets," he continued.

"Maintaining the Clark brand, our culture and the ability to continue making business decisions locally while increasing our project capacity were the most important factors in our decision to partner with Turner."

The partnership will help both Clark Builders and Turner achieve their goals, Turner president and CEO Peter Davoren stated in the release.

"Turner's strategy to expand its operations in Canada and Clark Builders' plans to expand its share of the Canadian market make this partnership a very good fit," Davoren continued. "This partnership allows us both to achieve our goals faster than we could independently."

Clark Builders, which has been headquartered in Edmonton for several years, continues to see the Northern market as a growth opportunity, said Clark, who remains a managing partner in the company today.

Clark Builders employees will continue to hold the remaining 49 per cent interest in the company under the new agreement.

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