Top 40 Demolition Contractors in the US

If Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine’s Top 40 Demolition Contractors in the U.S. list is any indication, the rich got richer in 2019—at least for many of the highest-revenue-producing contractors in the space.

This list, which is based off of demolition-related revenue, is compiled every other year through voluntary submissions from the country’s top contractors. This year’s list shows that business remained strong in 2019 thanks to a robust economy and healthy work backlogs.

NorthStar Group Services remained the top company on our list, growing its revenue from $461.98 million in 2017 to $575.70 million in 2019. Brandenburg, which occupied the No. 2 slot in 2017 and 2019, grew revenues from $208 million to $271 million over that two-year span. Penhall, which didn’t submit information for 2017, occupied the third spot on this year’s list with $245.5 million.

In all, the top 10 in this year’s iteration of the list combined to generate $1.7 billion in revenue, which was up from the $1.4 billion that the top 10 of 2017 accounted for.

It should be noted that greater contractor participation for this year’s list allowed us to expand the number of companies highlighted from the usual 20 up to 40. While this may make it a bit more difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the list from year to year, the increased number of participants allows for a better representation of the industry as a whole.

The 40 contractors on this year’s list, which span from coast to coast, generated a combined total of more than $2.5 billion in 2019.

And while COVID-19 realities may have dampened some opportunities in 2020, we’re hopeful there is a light at the end of the tunnel that can spark renewed opportunities in 2021 and beyond.

The author is the editor for Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine and can be contacted at aredling@gie.net.