The Harper Co

What The Harper Co does

The Harper Company is a privately held, heavy-civil construction contractor founded in 1938 by William Leonard Harper, a University of Cincinnati civil engineering graduate, and headquartered in Hebron, Kentucky. The firm provides concrete paving, concrete pavement restoration, general contracting and construction management, design-build delivery, excavation, and utility construction services. Its core technical capabilities rest on multiple portable concrete batch plants supporting high-volume pours, an extensive owned-and-maintained fleet of modern construction equipment, an in-house AASHTO-accredited testing laboratory with mobile counterparts for remote projects, and the use of advanced hybrid concrete admixtures enabling overnight removal-and-replacement cycles. The company has constructed more than 20 million square yards of pavement in the past 30 years across major airports, state Departments of Transportation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and private commercial clients.

Revenue is generated project-by-project through competitive bidding on infrastructure contracts ranging from small weekend roadway restoration jobs to multi-year, multi-million-dollar runway replacement programs. Its primary customers are public-sector airport authorities (anchored by 113+ projects totaling over $740 million at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) between 1945 and 2025), state DOTs (notably Kentucky DOT), federal agencies, and selected private logistics clients such as DHL. Customer engagement is enterprise-field-sales driven, with projects secured through direct bids against technical and price criteria rather than recurring software-like contracts.

The company is independently owned with no disclosed parent, external institutional investors, or public listing. Ownership transitioned from the founder through a planned succession to Forrest W. Huff and D.J. Sparks; today, leadership is staffed by long-tenured professionals with a 17-year average office and supervisory tenure and 65% of staff with 15+ years of service. Geographic reach spans Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, South Carolina, Missouri, and Arkansas, an eastern-half-of-US footprint developed in the mid-2000s in response to an earlier economic downturn.

Name

The Harper Co

Legal name

The Harper Company

Website

https://harperco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Harper Company is a privately held, Hebron, Kentucky-based heavy-civil construction contractor founded in 1938 that delivers high-volume concrete paving, pavement restoration, design-build, excavation, and utility construction for U.S. airports, state Departments of Transportation, federal agencies, and select private logistics clients across the eastern United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heavy Civil Construction / Concrete Paving Services

NAICS

Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237990)

SIC

Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Works General Contracting (IMAFAAAG)

Keywords

• Concrete paving services
• Pavement restoration services
• Heavy civil construction
• Airport runway construction
• Design build contracting

Headquarters

HQ city

Hebron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Construction Project Contracts: One-time project-based revenue from concrete paving, restoration, and general contracting services. Projects range from multi-million dollar multi-year runway replacements to smaller weekend roadway restoration projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Harper Company is a heavy civil construction contractor providing high-volume concrete paving, concrete pavement restoration, general contracting and construction management, design-build delivery, excavation, utility construction, and in-house AASHTO-accredited quality control. Projects range from multi-million-dollar multi-year airport runway replacements to smaller weekend roadway restoration jobs for airport authorities, state DOTs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and private commercial clients.

Product overview

The Harper Company is a construction contractor providing specialized heavy civil construction services, primarily focused on airfield and highway infrastructure. The company operates as a unified service offering centered around concrete paving and restoration, supplemented by general contracting, design-build, excavation, and quality control services. The core service portfolio includes concrete paving (with over 20 million square yards constructed in 30 years), concrete pavement restoration, general contracting and construction management, design-build delivery, excavation and utilities, and an in-house quality control program with AASHTO-accredited laboratory. Equipment fleet management supports all service offerings with modern, technologically equipped machinery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Concrete Paving High-volume concrete paving service using multiple portable concrete batch plants to handle large-scale projects such as airport runways, taxiways, aprons, and highways. The company has constructed over 20 million square yards of pavement in the last 30 years.
• Concrete Paving Restoration Concrete pavement restoration services including full depth pavement removal and replacement, partial depth replacements, joint resealing, dowel bar retrofit, and diamond grinding to extend the service life of existing concrete pavements.
• General Contracting and Construction Management Construction management and general contracting services for large-scale heavy-highway projects, including grading, drainage, and utility installation, with delivery focused on projects coming in under budget and on schedule.
• Design Build Design-build delivery system in partnership with respected design firms that reduces project delivery time from conception to final acceptance, potentially shaving years off heavy civil project timelines.
• Excavation & Utilities Self-performed site work services including excavation, site grading, drainage, and utility installation for construction projects.
• Quality Control Program In-house quality control program featuring an AASHTO-accredited testing laboratory at the Hebron headquarters and fully functional mobile labs for remote projects, ensuring all work meets or exceeds FAA and project specifications.
• Equipment Fleet Management Owned and maintained fleet of construction equipment equipped with the latest technologies, managed by dedicated Class A Maintenance Operators and a staffed maintenance facility at headquarters to support timely repairs and routine maintenance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20+ million square yards of pavement constructed in the last 30 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Design Firms (Partnership for Design-Build Projects)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Harper Company partners with well-respected design firms to offer design-build delivery system, enabling expedited project completion from conception to final acceptance by potentially reducing delivery time by years.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sterling Infrastructure: Heavy civil infrastructure contractor with segments in transportation, water, and specialty services. Comparable in scope and customer base (DOTs, airports, federal agencies) though larger and publicly traded.
• Ames Construction: Privately held heavy civil and industrial contractor with strong airfield, highway, and mining infrastructure work. Closest privately held comparable in scale, customer mix, and geographic/specialty focus.
• Tutor Perini Corporation: Publicly traded civil construction company with significant transportation and infrastructure work including airports, highways, and mass transit. Comparable in core service mix and public-sector client base.
• Granite Construction: Publicly traded heavy civil contractor specializing in transportation, water resources, and specialty construction including airfield paving. The most directly comparable peer given overlapping service categories (highways, airports, concrete paving) and similar project mix.

Regional players

• Shelly & Sands: Ohio-based heavy highway and site development contractor with extensive ODOT (Ohio DOT) and airport work. Comparable in regional Midwest positioning, DOT/airport client base, and concrete paving specialty.
• L-M Concrete Paving: Midwest concrete paving contractor specializing in highways, airports, and heavy civil infrastructure. Closest regional competitor in concrete paving specialty and customer mix.
• Hi-Way Paving: Mid-Atlantic focused concrete and asphalt paving contractor with highway and airfield work. Comparable in core paving discipline and DOT/airport customer base, though Regionally concentrated in the eastern U.S.

Broad incumbents

• Kiewit Corporation: One of the largest privately held construction firms in North America with extensive heavy civil, transportation, and infrastructure capabilities. Overlaps with Harper on airfield and highway work but at a vastly larger scale.
• The Walsh Group: Privately held national contractor with heavy civil, building, and transportation divisions. Competes with Harper on airport runways and highway projects but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Primoris Services Corporation: Infrastructure construction firm with utility, civil, and energy services. Overlaps on heavy civil and infrastructure work but serves more diversified end markets including utilities and energy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/theharpercompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-harper-co.

Compliance1 record

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 The Harper Co