ARCO/Murray

What ARCO/Murray does

ARCO/Murray is a privately held, 100% employee-owned (ESOP) design-build general contractor founded in 1992 by Dick Arnoldy and headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois (Chicago area). The firm delivers integrated design-build construction services — combining in-house architecture, engineering, MEP design, and construction execution under a single point of contact — for commercial and industrial projects across the United States and Canada. Its core technology stack centers on proprietary modeling, optimizing, and estimating tools; a national historical cost database; the ARCOSafe safety management system; and a real-time client portal with project dashboards.

The company serves six primary market segments: Industrial & Logistics (warehouse, distribution, cold storage, rail, truck terminals, IOS); Manufacturing & Processing (food & beverage, CEA, life sciences, industrial laundry); Commercial (self-storage, entertainment, automotive, aviation, healthcare, education, retail); Data Centers & Mission Critical; Energy, Infrastructure & Utilities; and Multifamily & Senior Living. Named enterprise clients span Fortune 500 operators (DHL, Hormel, Topgolf, CubeSmart, Golden State Foods) and growth-stage firms (Tovala, Prime Data Centers, XeteX, Orascopic).

ARCO/Murray makes money through project-based, design-build construction contracts with developers, owners, and corporate clients, typically structured as lump-sum or cost-plus multi-year engagements. Revenue is sourced through direct enterprise sales, regional office business development teams, and commercial real estate broker relationships, with 75% of revenue derived from repeat customers — a key retention signal. The firm operates 45+ offices across North America with 1,734 associates, is ENR-ranked #1 in Industrial Warehouse/Distribution construction and #7 among design-build firms, and has completed 6,000+ projects spanning 48 states. Reported annual revenue is $5 billion, with average project-manager compensation stated at 96% above industry benchmarks supporting a talent-led delivery model.

Name

ARCO/Murray

Legal name

ARCO/Murray

Website

https://arcomurray.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ARCO/Murray is a privately held, 100% employee-owned design-build general contractor delivering integrated architecture, engineering, and construction services for industrial, logistics, manufacturing, commercial, and data center clients across North America through 45+ offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Construction Services

NAICS

Nonresidential Building Construction (2362), Industrial Building Construction (23621), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction Program Management (Multi-site/Portfolio) (IMAFAAAF)

Keywords

• Design-build construction
• Commercial construction services
• Industrial warehouse construction
• General contracting services
• Construction project management

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices40 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Design-Build Construction Services: ARCO/Murray generates revenue through providing integrated design-build construction services for commercial and industrial projects. Revenue is project-based, derived from construction contracts with developers, owners, and corporate clients across various industries including industrial, manufacturing, commercial, entertainment, and mission-critical facilities.
2. General Contracting: Traditional general contracting services for construction projects, including preconstruction, construction management, and project delivery. Revenue derived from lump-sum contracts or cost-plus arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ARCO/Murray is a design-build general contractor providing integrated architecture, engineering, preconstruction, and construction execution services for commercial, industrial, manufacturing, data center, mission-critical, and multifamily projects across North America. The firm operates under a single point of contact model that combines design and construction under one contract, committing to early budget certainty and managing project risk through completion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design-Build Construction Services Integrated design-build delivery combining architecture, engineering, MEP design, and construction execution under a single contract and point of contact for commercial, industrial, manufacturing, data center, and mission-critical projects across North America.
• General Contracting Traditional general contracting services for construction projects, including preconstruction, construction management, and project delivery, executed under lump-sum or cost-plus contract structures.
• Preconstruction Planning Disciplined preconstruction and planning services including detailed discovery, modeling, and preconstruction analysis that define scope early, evaluate options, and deliver early budget commitment and cost certainty before construction begins.
• Industrial & Logistics Construction Design-build delivery of industrial and logistics facilities including cold storage, industrial outdoor storage, rail facilities, truck terminals, and warehouse and distribution centers.
• Manufacturing & Processing Construction Design-build delivery of advanced production and processing facilities including controlled environment agriculture, food and beverage processing, industrial laundry, life sciences, and manufacturing with technical MEP and clean-room capabilities.
• Commercial Construction Design-build delivery of specialized commercial environments across automotive, aviation, education, healthcare, restaurant and hospitality, retail, self-storage, sports and entertainment, and traditional workplace sectors.
• Data Centers & Mission Critical Construction Design-build delivery of hyperscale data centers and mission-critical facilities requiring precision engineering, power and cooling redundancy, security, and rapid deployment.
• Energy, Infrastructure & Utilities Construction Design-build delivery of energy infrastructure and municipal/industrial water and wastewater treatment facilities supporting critical public and private utilities.
• Multifamily & Senior Living Construction Design-build delivery of multifamily residential and senior living communities with code compliance, resident safety, amenity integration, and cost-effective construction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Design-build delivery is 36% faster than traditional plan-spec construction
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Prime Data CenterscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 21 May 2026Prime Data Centers engaged ARCO as design-build contractor for a major hyperscale data center campus in Avondale, Arizona. The project includes three initial buildings totaling 144MW capacity on a 66.5-acre site with plans for five total hyperscale facilities. ARCO handles site development, underground coordination, substation coordination, and core and shell construction.
• Brennan Investment GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 April 2026Brennan Investment Group is the real estate developer and investment partner on the Tovala food processing facility project in Winfield, Illinois. ARCO/Murray serves as design-build contractor while Brennan provides development capital and manages the real estate investment. The partnership leverages Brennan's industrial property expertise across major metropolitan markets.
• Resource Innovation InstitutestrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026ARCO/Murray partnered with the Resource Innovation Institute to create a CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) credentialing curriculum for design and construction professionals. This partnership supports workforce development in the CEA industry by providing standardized training for designers, construction professionals, and building system technicians.
• The Ohio State UniversitystrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026Partnered with The Ohio State University and Resource Innovation Institute to launch the GrowBuild program, the first national professional development certificate program for CEA designers and construction professionals. OSU provides academic credentials and issues certificates for the program.
• Global NRG AdvisorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026ARCO/Murray has partnered with Global NRG Advisory on a landmark waste-to-energy facility project for the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency in Kingston, New York. ARCO serves as the design-build contractor while Global NRG Advisory leads the consortium for the renewable natural gas facility designed to divert 60-70% of waste from landfills.
• Kaya AIstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025ARCO Murray partnered with Kaya AI to develop AI-powered construction workflow tools. Kaya AI is building domain-trained AI knowledge workers for construction, including Amber (an AI knowledge worker) and a Mission-Critical Procurement Planner tool. ARCO Murray is collaborating on product development and providing construction-specific metadata and expertise to train the AI systems.
• YourSpace AmericacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorYourSpace America partnered with ARCO/Murray to develop Class A self-storage facilities across multiple markets. Projects include a 153,178 SF facility in Houston operated by CubeSmart, delivered 3 months ahead of schedule. YourSpace America develops and operates self-storage facilities while ARCO provides design-build construction services.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Turner Construction Company: Turner is one of the largest general contractors in the U.S., operating across commercial, healthcare, and industrial segments as a broad incumbent with design-build capabilities but a much wider portfolio than ARCO/Murray.
• Stantec (Construction Services): Stantec provides engineering, architecture, and construction management services with industrial and commercial exposure. It competes indirectly with ARCO/Murray's integrated design-build offerings, particularly on industrial and infrastructure projects.
• AECOM (Construction Services): AECOM's construction services business competes with ARCO/Murray on large industrial, data center, and infrastructure programs, but as part of a global engineering and design consultancy rather than a focused design-build GC.

Direct peers

• McCarthy Building Companies: McCarthy is a 100% employee-owned design-build general contractor serving commercial, industrial, and infrastructure markets. Its ESOP structure mirrors ARCO/Murray's ownership model, and its design-build delivery is comparable.
• Clayco: Clayco is a privately held design-build firm strong in industrial, manufacturing, and data center construction, with integrated architecture and engineering — a close comparable on hyperscale/mission-critical and industrial segments.
• The Walsh Group: The Walsh Group (Walsh Construction and Archer Western) is a large, family-owned design-build general contractor serving commercial, transportation, and industrial markets nationwide.
• Gray Construction: Gray is a design-build contractor with deep expertise in manufacturing, food/beverage, and distribution facilities — overlapping ARCO/Murray's Manufacturing & Processing and Industrial & Logistics segments.
• Haskell: Haskell is a privately held design-build firm specializing in industrial, manufacturing, and commercial facilities with integrated architecture/engineering/construction services — directly overlapping ARCO/Murray's core design-build delivery model.
• DPR Construction: DPR is one of the largest privately held design-build general contractors in the U.S., serving advanced technology, healthcare, and commercial markets with an integrated delivery model closely comparable to ARCO/Murray.

Emerging players

• Alston Construction: Alston Construction is a privately held design-build contractor focused on industrial, commercial, and healthcare facilities, providing a comparable delivery model though at smaller scale than ARCO/Murray.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCpa6G72MX66QPwsDstK6tLw
• Facebookfacebook.com/arcomurray
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arco-murray-national-construction-company
• Xx.com/ARCOMurray

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles28 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about ARCO/Murray