Turner Awards More Than $1 Billion of Contracts To Minority and Women Owned Businesses In 2009

NEW YORK, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Turner Construction Company, the nation's leading general builder, announced today that during 2009 it awarded contracts in excess of  $1 billion to minority and women owned business enterprises (M/WBEs). This represents the fifth year in a row that the company has surpassed the milestone of awarding in excess of $1 billion of contracts to M/WBE firms.

Since 1979, Turner's total number of contracts with M/WBEs has surpassed 52,000 at a value in excess of $18 billion.

Turner has achieved these milestones through a proactive approach of reaching out to involve local firms in communities nationwide and through the firm's Turner School of Construction Management (TSCM) program. The TSCM training program serves to expand the skills of minority, women, disadvantaged and small-business enterprises and has been crucial in helping Turner achieve successful contracts with M/WBEs across the country.  Since its launch in 1969, there have been 32,000 graduates of the TSCM program.  

Examples of successful approaches of inclusion include in Chicago where Turner, as part of a joint venture, is managing the construction of the Exelon City Solar Project for the SunPower Corporation, a 10MWp solar plant located on 39 acres in the West Pullman area of Chicago. The Exelon/SunPower team is proudly embracing the spirit of business diversity and has so far awarded 54.7% of contracts to minority and women-owned business enterprises, far surpassing the City of Chicago's 24% required utilization rate.

In addition, Turner is currently managing the Key Bank Integrated Branch Strategy program, which includes the renovation of 500 branch banks and the construction of 150 new branch banks throughout the country. In a clear demonstration of a shared commitment to include the M/WBE community on the projects, Turner is averaging a rate of 41.4% M/WBE utilization on program, which is scheduled for completion by 2012. 

"Our long-standing record of achievement in expanding opportunities for minority and women-owned contractors across the country, especially in this challenging economy, is vital to the success of Turner and of our industry," says Hilton Smith, Turner senior vice president, community affairs.

About Turner

Turner is the leading general builder in the U.S., ranking first or second in the major segments of the building construction field.  During 2008, Turner completed $10.6 billion of construction. Turner is the only builder offering clients a nationwide network of offices across the U.S. Founded in 1902, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, a publicly traded company and one of the world's leading international construction service providers. For more information, visit Turner's website at www.turnerconstruction.com.

Turner is committed to supporting communities in areas where it does business and has a long-standing record of this support across the U.S.  In 1968, Turner was the first major builder to create a community affairs department.  Turner's involvement embraces hundreds of national volunteer programs, such as the ACE Mentor program, Habitat for Humanity and United Way, numerous local and national nonprofits and Youth Force 2020, a program instituted by Turner to support education and to guide youth toward careers in the construction industry.  

HOCHTIEF is one of the leading international providers of construction-related services. With more than 52,000 employees and a sales volume of EUR 16.45 billion in FY 2007, the company is represented in all the world's major markets. The Group's service offering in the fields of development, construction, services, concessions and operation covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, real estate and facilities. In the USA, the biggest construction market in the world, HOCHTIEF is the No. 1 general builder via its subsidiary Turner and, with Group company Flatiron, ranks among the most important players in the field of transportation infrastructure construction. With its subsidiary Leighton (HOCHTIEF share around 55 percent), the group is market leader in Australia. Further information is available at www.hochtief.com/press.

SOURCE Turner Construction Company