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Skanska history
Skanska company history timeline
By 1897, Skanska had begun to handle large-scale orders for its concrete fittings.
1897: Company receives first foreign contract.
1897 The first contract outside Sweden was for hollow concrete blocks for telephone cables in the UK.
Its first international order came in 1897 – for concrete blocks that carried telephone cables to Leeds, Liverpool and Bradford.
Skanska won the contract to produce the concrete pipes that provided the basis of Russia's modern sewer system and opened its first non-Scandinavian facility in St Petersburg in 1902.
1902: Company establishes production facility in St Petersburg.
Beers had been founded in Georgia by two Frenchmen in 1905 as Southern Ferro Concrete Company, specializing in fireproof construction projects using reinforced concrete.
1906 Founder R.F. Berg dies.
Founded in 1913, the company originally focused on the greater Philadelphia region, where it completed projects for such clients as Midvale Steel Company, Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Friends Hospital, and Friends Central School.
Among the company's most significant projects during this time was its construction of Sweden's first asphalt road, completed in 1927 in Borlänge in the country's central region.
1927: Company completes first asphalt-paved road in Sweden.
1952: Allbetong method of prefabricated construction is introduced.
1954 The Spinneriet district consisting of offices, stores and hotels in Malmo becomes the first of the Company’s investments in Commercial Property Development
1956 The first overseas construction project in modern times builds silos in Iraq.
1964 Sales exceed SEK 1 billion for the first time.
The company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange A-list in 1965.
1968 – Trafalgar House acquires Trollope and Colls.
During the next decades it entered South America, Africa and Asia, and in 1971 the United States market, where it today ranks among the largest in its sector.
1972 The Al Rasheed luxury hotel in Baghdad is built.
1974: Company completes first turnkey hotel project outside of Sweden.
1982 The Al Rasheed luxury hotel in Baghdad is built.
1982 – Skanska first acquisition in the US. Karl Koch Erecting, acquired to expand Skanska presence in the Northeast.
1984 – Skanska Cementgjuteriet changes its name to Skanska.
1989 The first company acquisition in the United States Slattery is followed by Karl Koch, Sordoni and others.
1990 – Skanska acquires Sordoni Construction Co. to expand Skanska presence in the Northeast.
1993 Commercial Property Development operations are launched in Poland and the Czech Republic.
1995: Company wins contract to build Öresund link between Denmark and Sweden.
1996 BoKlok is launched in cooperation with IKEA.
1997 – Skanska acquires Beacon Construction Company and expands operations into the Boston area.
1998 – Skanska acquires Bayshore Concrete Products, Inc. and expands operations into pre-cast and concreate production.
In 1999, Skanska, which trades on the Stockholm stock exchange, posted more than SKr 79 billion (US$9.28 billion) in revenues, with net income of SKr 4.3 billion (US$500 million). Skanska is led by President and CEO Claes Björk.
Skanska also has made a specialty of sorts in the construction of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure projects, such as the construction of a high-speed fiber optic network for RNC Corporation started in 1999.
In 1999, the company beefed up a number of its international operations, including in the United States, with the acquisitions of A.J. Etkin Construction Company, renamed Etkin Skanska, and the Gottleib Group.
In August 2000 it bought the construction division of Kvaerner.
Construction was completed and the link opened to traffic in 2000.
2000 The first global construction company to be environmentally certified to ISO 14000.
Revenue increases to SEK 165 billion and the number of employees to around 80,000 (2001).
2002 The Skanska Code of Conduct is introduced.
2002 – Skanska acquires E. L. Yeager Construction Co., Inc. and expands operations in the west – California.
2003 – Iconic London office building The Gherkin is completed
2004 The safety initiative Skanska Global Safety Week is introduced.
2004 – Skanska acquires BFW Construction and expands operations in the Midwest and Texas.
2004 – Skanska helps establish the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative.
In mid-2004, Skanska decided to divest its Asian investments and sold its Indian subsidiary to the Thailand based construction firm Italian Thai Development Company.
2005 Zero visions are introduced for workplace accidents, ethical breaches, environmental incidents, defects and losses.
2005 – Skanska completes the first LEED® certified airport terminal in the United States: Boston Logan International Airport, Delta Air Lines Terminal A Redevelopment.
2006 – Skanska completes the world’s first LEED Gold certified hospital: Providence Newberg Medical Center in Portland, Oregon.
2007 – Skanska ranked #1 in Engineering News Record’s first ever Top Green Contractors.
2009 – Skanska’s New York headquarters becomes first LEED Platinum certified office in the Empire State Building.
2010 – Skanska awarded first Crossrail project at Royal Oak Portal.
2011 PPP project Autopista Central in Chile is sold – profit after tax SEK 4.5 billion.
2011 Commercial Property Development operations are launched in Bucharest, Romania.
In 2011, Skanska acquired Industrial Contractors, Inc of Evansville, Indiana, United States.
2012 Elizabeth River Tunnels project is the first PPP contract in the United States
2012 – Skanska celebrates its 125-year anniversary.
2013 – Skanska acquires Atkins Highways Services, which becomes part of Skanska UK.
2013 – The Bertschi Living Building Science Wing in Seattle, Washington becomes the world’s fourth Living Building Certified project.
2014 Entre Lindhagen, the new head office, is officially opened in Stockholm.
2014 An initiative to increase diversity and inclusion begins.
2014 – Skanska, along with The Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) group and the Incident and Injury Free (IIF) CEO Forum, leads an annual United States Industry Safety Week that involves over 50 national and global construction firms.
2015 – The redevelopment of our Bentley Works facilities in Doncaster is completed – the company's first UK Deep Green building with near zero impact on the environment.
2016 – Redevelopment of St Bartholomew’s hospital in central London completes – part of a 10-year construction project which also included The Royal London Hospital.
2017 – Gregor Craig appointed President and CEO of Skanska UK.
2017 – Our work for the new HS2 railway commences, the project will mean faster journeys for passengers between Birmingham and London and create additional capacity to reduce pressure on the network.
2019 – 51 Moorgate opens; our new office for Skanska in London.
2019 – Skanska launches tailor-made PPE for women, with input from their own female workforce, and makes it available throughout the industry.
2019 – Skanska named to Fortune’s “Change the World” list of companies pursuing socially or environmentally sustainable practices and initiatives.
2019 – Skanska announces revolutionary tool for calculating embodied carbon in building materials: the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3).
2019 – Skanska’s Bank of America Tower in Houston, Texas certified as the first LEED v4 Platinum Core & Shell certified project in the United States, and the largest such building in the world.
2019 – For the second year in a row, ranked #6 on Engineering News Record’s Top 100 Green Building Contractors List.
2020 – For second year in a row, Skanska named to Fortune’s “Change the World” list of companies pursuing socially or environmentally sustainable practices and initiatives.
2021 – Skanska sells its infrastructure services business in the UK to focus more on our core capabilities in the building, infrastructure and facilities management markets.
Skanska ranks #4 out of 300 on Forbes’ inaugural “World's Top Female-Friendly Companies 2021” list
Earth Week 2021: A look at some of our SIS team’s most sustainable projects
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| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turner Construction | 1902 | $14.4B | 10,000 | 1,360 |
| Gilbane Building Company | 1870 | $6.5B | 3,000 | 677 |
| Barton Malow | 1924 | $420.0M | 1,600 | 171 |
| Shawmut Design and Construction | 1982 | $82.0M | 1,075 | 46 |
| Berkel & Company Contractors | 1959 | $160.0M | 500 | 3 |
| Bo-Mac | 1966 | $28.0M | 151 | - |
| Baker Concrete Construction | 1968 | $771.2M | 2,000 | 262 |
| Boh Bros. Construction Co. | 1909 | $310.0M | 1,450 | - |
| Wilhelm Construction | 1923 | $665.0M | 1,000 | 43 |
| Mason Construction | 1939 | $68.9M | 200 | - |
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Skanska may also be known as or be related to Skanska, Skanska USA and Skanska USA Inc.