Throughout Sundt’s 120-year history, innovation has been the driving force that has kept us looking to the future and improving the way we do business. From building innovative projects to advancing techniques and technologies in the industry, innovation has always been an important part of what we do.
Sundt has been an innovator in meeting critical schedules, completing complex projects under extremely tight time parameters. For example, in 2000, Sundt’s crews mobilized within 24 hours of receiving a notice to proceed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct the Los Alamos Emergency Flood Control Structure in Los Alamos, N.M. The Los Alamos Research Laboratory, which was built by Sundt in the bottom of a remote canyon in the 1940s, had suddenly become vulnerable to flood damage because wildfires had swept through the area and denuded the surrounding hillsides. Due to the nature and immediacy of the project, Sundt built the 390-foot-wide, 66-foot-high roller compacted concrete structure in just 114 days, thanks to self-performing 90 percent of the work with its own crews.
Sundt became known as an innovator for forming and placing concrete in the 1970s and '80s. In 1975, Sundt built the Paradise Wing addition to the famous Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, whose design was inspired by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Using the architect’s original molds, Sundt prepared a duplicate set of fiberglass molds to mimic the masonry block finish of the original structure. The innovative process created a seamless transition from old to new and helped expedite the schedule.
At the same time, Sundt was becoming a leading contractor in the use of slipforming to construct concrete cores for high-rise buildings. One of the most recognizable examples of this type of construction is the Reunion Tower in Dallas, which is a defining feature of the city’s skyline. Sundt’s pioneering work in slipforming earned the company the 1974 Build America award for “New Approaches” from the Associated General Contractors of America.
Long before “sustainable construction” and “green building” were common buzzwords, Sundt was demonstrating environmental sensitivity. While building the posh Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz., in 1983, preserving the natural environment and native vegetation was an important priority. Construction was performed within a 15-foot preservation zone to maintain the precious Sonoran Desert vegetation and incorporate an 80-foot natural waterfall into the project. The company received numerous awards for excellence on this project including another prestigious Build America Award in 1985.
Even Sundt’s business practices have been innovative over the company’s history. Sundt was an early proponent of qualifications-based selection processes as opposed to the traditional design-bid-build approach. Sundt President and COO Dave Crawford was an active participant in pioneering legislation in the State of Arizona that allowed state agencies, school districts and other public entities the option to use alternative delivery methods. The “Arizona Experiment” was proven to be very successful, and was soon adopted in other states as well.
Sundt was also an early adopter of employee ownership. The company started a stock bonus trust for employees in 1972 and converted that trust to an Employee Stock Ownership Program in 1984. In 2000, the company became 100 percent employee-owned.
Sundt has always been a strong proponent of technology, and was an early implementer of computers in the 1960s. Technology has rapidly advanced over the years, from using lasers on scrapers to the sophisticated programs of today. Now, Sundt is at the forefront of a number of leading-edge construction technologies and practices, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Sustainable Construction, Remote Office Construction Kits (ROCK) and more. Sundt cares about innovation because our ultimate goal is to deliver the best possible product to our clients.