It’s a faint rumble heard in the distance — a clap of thunder in the Plains. The 1998 Pipe Trades Giants, our annual listing of the 100 largest plumbing and piping contractors, reveals the year’s most obvious industry trend has penetrated the cream of the crop — companies buying other companies.
Our 1998 list has two consolidators — Group Maintenance America Corp. (No. 20) and American Residential Services (No. 33) — and four companies recently purchased by utilities. No. 17 Limbach Constructors Inc., No. 32 McClure Co., No. 43 Colonial Mechanical Corp. and No. 92 Northern Peabody Inc. have all been acquired by utility parent companies within the calendar year.