What David E Looper & Company does

David E Looper & Company (DELCO) is a privately-held, design-build general contractor founded in 1993 and headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, with a regional office in Charleston, South Carolina. The firm holds North Carolina General Contractor License 31511 and South Carolina General Contractor License 103382, and delivers construction services across at least eight vertical segments: healthcare, industrial and distribution, automotive, mixed-use and multi-family, academic and education, civic and community, retail and commercial, and religious/faith. The company operates on a design-build delivery model, providing single-point responsibility from project vision and pre-construction management through final build-out, with a portfolio spanning facility sizes from approximately 3,000 sq ft automotive service centers to 402,000 sq ft mixed-use developments.

The business generates revenue through project-based, custom-quoted contracts — primarily one-time fees for completed construction — with pricing determined by scope, square footage, materials, and project complexity rather than standardized tiers. Customers are enterprise and government entities (e.g., Veterans Administration, Corning Optical Communications, FedEx, Pepsi, Goodwill, Fresenius Kidney Care, Paramount Automotive Group, American Honda, Lenoir Rhyne University), with distribution handled through direct enterprise field sales and design-build client collaboration throughout the project lifecycle. Marketing is portfolio-driven via the corporate website and industry reputation.

The firm reports a 96% repeat-customer rate and an average employee tenure of 14 years, indicators of relationship durability in a services business. Operating geographies include North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, West Virginia, and Virginia. The company is family-owned, bootstrapped, with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, M&A activity, or institutional investors, and remains led by founder David E. Looper after more than three decades in operation.

Name

David E Looper & Company

Legal name

David E Looper & Company

Website

https://delcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

David E Looper & Company (DELCO) is a privately-held design-build general contractor founded in 1993, serving enterprise and government clients across the southeastern United States with construction services spanning healthcare, industrial, automotive, multi-family, academic, civic, retail, and religious sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hickory

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Construction Services: General contracting and construction management services for commercial, healthcare, industrial, automotive, multi-family, academic, and civic projects. Revenue generated through project-based contracts with one-time fees for completed projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

David E Looper & Company is a design-build construction firm that delivers projects from initial vision through completion, providing integrated design and construction services under a single point of responsibility. The company serves commercial, healthcare, industrial, automotive, multi-family, academic, civic, retail, and faith-based sectors through project-based general contracting and construction management engagements.

Product overview

David E Looper & Company is a single, unified design-build construction service rather than a platform with distinct modules. The company operates as a full-service general contractor offering end-to-end construction services including new construction, renovations, additions, and interior upfits across diverse market sectors. Their portfolio spans healthcare facilities (hospitals, clinics, dialysis centers, senior living), industrial/manufacturing facilities, automotive dealerships, multi-family residential developments, academic/educational buildings, retail and restaurant spaces, and places of worship. The company holds contractor licenses in North Carolina (GC License 31511) and South Carolina (GC License 103382), with offices in Hickory, NC and Charleston, SC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design-Build Construction Services Comprehensive design-build construction services providing single-point responsibility from concept through completion, serving healthcare, industrial, automotive, multi-family, academic, retail, restaurant, and faith-based sectors with offices in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of clients are repeat customers, indicating exceptional client satisfaction and retention
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American HondacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction of new Honda motorcycle dealership in Granite Falls, NC (22,600 sq ft) including showrooms for new and used vehicles, service areas, and support spaces. Multiple Honda-related projects demonstrate ongoing relationship.
• Paramount Automotive GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew construction of 70,000 sq ft car complex for four dealerships including Porsche, Cadillac, Volkswagen, Lincoln Mercury with service departments and corporate offices in Hickory, NC. Multiple Paramount locations constructed including Ferrari Greensboro, Porsche/Volvo/VW Hickory, and Kia Asheville.
• Veterans AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple VA facility constructions including Wake County VA Outpatient Clinic (240,000 sq ft in progress), Rock Hill VA Outpatient Clinic (26,548 sq ft in progress), Hickory VA (25,824 sq ft), representing significant government healthcare partnerships.
• Corning Optical CommunicationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign-build of 215,970 sq ft manufacturing facility in Catawba County including manufacture area, warehouse, office, support spaces, and cold dark shell. Major industrial manufacturing project.
• Shurtape TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Shurtape projects including Distribution Center Catawba (136,946 sq ft) and Administration Interior Renovations (24,630 sq ft). Ongoing relationship for industrial facility construction.
• ZF LemfordercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign-build of 155,000 sq ft pre-cast concrete manufacturing facility for automotive components with office support in major industrial project.
• PepsicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Pepsi beverage distribution facilities including Asheville distribution (138,981 sq ft) and Jackson County warehouse (66,686 sq ft). Significant beverage industry partnership.
• GoodwillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Goodwill retail store constructions across multiple states including Huntersville, Rock Hill, Florence SC, Ballantyne Charlotte, Georgetown SC, Rivers Avenue Charleston, Murrells Inlet, Lynchburg VA, and 160,000 sq ft Opportunity Campus. Ongoing retail development partnership.
• FedExcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFedEx Hickory distribution center (44,320 sq ft) with dock, warehouse, 40 doors, and 2017 expansion (20,440 sq ft). FedEx Ground Asheville (83,500 sq ft) fast-track design-build completed in nine months.
• UNC HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaldwell UNC Healthcare projects including behavioral health facility (18,684 sq ft) and ongoing healthcare system partnerships.
• Fresenius Kidney CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple dialysis facility constructions for Fresenius including Fuquay Varina NC, Tar River Louisburg NC, Watauga Boone NC, Regal Oaks Charlotte NC, and additional FMC locations across multiple states.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DPR Construction: National technical design-build general contractor serving healthcare, advanced technology, life sciences, and commercial markets. Comparable in design-build approach and complex project execution, with substantially greater scale and geographic reach.
• Gilbane Building Company: Family-owned national construction manager and design-build firm with deep healthcare, education, and civic portfolios. Comparable family-owned culture and healthcare/civic vertical focus, though broader geographic footprint.
• JE Dunn Construction: Large employee-owned general contractor with strong healthcare, higher education, and industrial practices across the Southeast and Midwest. Comparable in employee-owned structure and healthcare vertical emphasis, with greater scale and self-perform capabilities.
• McCarthy Building Companies: Large national employee-owned design-build general contractor with strong healthcare, industrial, and higher-education practices. Overlaps significantly on healthcare and industrial design-build delivery but operates at materially larger scale and broader geography.

Direct peers

• Holder Construction: Privately-held design-build firm specializing in large complex commercial, industrial, and mission-critical projects. Comparable in integrated design-build methodology and enterprise client orientation, though Holder operates at significantly larger project scale.
• Barton Malow Company: Employee-owned design-build general contractor serving healthcare, industrial, energy, and commercial markets across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable in family/founder-influenced ownership culture, design-build integration, and multi-sector portfolio.
• Choate Construction Company: Southeast US-based commercial design-build general contractor serving healthcare, industrial, office, and multifamily end markets. Closely comparable in regional footprint (Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida) and segment mix to David E. Looper & Company.
• Brasfield & Gorrie: Large privately-held Southeast design-build general contractor with deep healthcare, industrial, and commercial portfolios. Comparable in delivery model, regional density, and vertical diversification, though materially larger in scale.
• Robins & Morton: Privately-held general contractor headquartered in the Southeast with healthcare as a primary vertical and growing industrial/multifamily presence. Directly comparable in design-build delivery, regional concentration, and emphasis on repeat enterprise healthcare clients.
• Hoar Construction: Southeast-rooted privately-held design-build general contractor serving healthcare, commercial, multifamily, and industrial clients. Closely comparable in regional Southeastern density, family/employee ownership culture, and multi-sector project mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about David E Looper & Company