Hensel Phelps history

Following his graduation from Colorado State University in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in construction management, Joseph Phelps spent four years as a naval reserve officer during the Korean War.

1955: Joseph Phelps, son of founder Hensel Phelps, joins the company.

Robert G. Tointon joined the firm in 1963 as a project engineer when the firm was just beginning to emerge as an important regional, general construction firm.

1967: The company opens its first branch office, in Burlingame, California.

In 1973, he bought a ranch in the Napa Valley and launched a second business in the wine industry.

The company also succeeded in restoring to life the once venerable Pickens-Bond Construction Company after acquiring it in 1987.

1989: Ownership of Hensel Phelps passes to twenty-five stockholders.

By 1990, Hensel Phelps had become the largest construction firm in Colorado and the thirty-fourth largest in the country.

In early 1991, the company could point to numerous and successful major construction projects, such as a 400-room luxury Sheraton Grand Hotel in La Jolla, California, a Ritz Carleton Hotel in San Diego, the Shamu Stadium at Sea World in Texas, and a terminal at San Antonio International Airport.

In 1992, the firm became an equity partner with Elitch Gardens in its planned new and relocated park in Denver.

1996: A Mid-Atlantic office opens in Chantilly, Virginia.

In 1999, Hensel Phelps was in its fourth generation of employee ownership with a net worth exceeding $78 million.

By 2000, Hensel Phelps was consistently ranked among the country's top ten domestic general contractors.

In 2001, for example, the company won a $125 million building contract from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport, a $285 million expansion contract for the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, and a Pentagon renovation contract worth $758 million.

Tuttle, Al, "Wedged in the Middle: One Distributor's Location at the Pentagon Is the Right Place at the Right Time," Industrial Distribution, October 2002.