PCL Construction Services: North American company here to stay.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

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When PCL Construction Services entered the Alaska market in 2005 after winning the contract for seismic and security retrofitting of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (TSAIA), it was not the first time the company had contributed to one of the state's most important construction transportation projects. Just 48 years earlier in 1957, PCL--then known as Poole Construction Limited--was contracted to carry out the first paving of the Canadian section of the Alcan Highway.

Although a lot has changed since then, today PCL is regarded as one of the largest and most experienced construction firms in North America, this year ranking number 31 on Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For." As PCL develops relationships with the state's community of vendors, and commits resources to making a long-term investment, one thing remains the same, PCL executives say: the company "aspires to be the most respected builder, renowned for excellence, leadership and unsurpassed value."

Ernest Poole originally founded the PCL family of companies in 1906. His first job was to build a large farmhouse in Stoughton, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, became the site of the corporate office in 1932. In 1977, the employees purchased the company from majority shareholders John and George Poole, sons of the founder, and today the business remains 100 percent employee owned. The name of the company changed to PCL Construction Ltd. in 1979.

IMPRESSIVE PROJECT LIST

Today, PCL has evolved from four-room brick schoolhouses, banks and town halls to building almost any structure imaginable across North America, ranging from general and specialized building, to industrial, highway, marine and heavy civil construction. Some of the firm's more familiar projects are Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., and any Alaskan who has managed to get through the construction surrounding the Seattle airport in the past five years will be familiar with the Central Link Light Rail system, for which PCL completed more than five miles of elevated track and the SeaTac Rail Station. For non-standard building challenges, PCL has a Special Projects Division.

In addition, PCL Construction Group operates through a number of subsidiary companies in different construction sectors and geographic areas across North America with full-service District offices in 25 locations, including Florida, Minnesota...