Utah Construction Company
| Company type | Public (until 1976) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Construction, Mining |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Founder | Edmund Orson Wattis Jr., Warren L. Wattis, William H. Wattis |
| Fate | Acquired by General Electric in 1976 |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | United States, Peru |
Key people | David Eccles (president until 1905), Marriner Eccles (president), Frank Crowe (chief engineer) |
| Products | Construction (railroads, dams, military infrastructure), Mining, Real estate development |
| Parent | General Electric (from 1976) |
The Utah Construction Company was established in 1900 by Edmund Orson Wattis Jr., Warren L. Wattis, and William H. Wattis.
History
Financial backing for the Wattis Brothers came from prominent figures such as David Eccles, Thomas Dee, Joseph Clark, and the James Pingree families. Initially, Dee held the position of president until 1905, after which Eccles took over. Later on, Eccles’s son, Marriner, assumed the presidency while also serving as chairman of the Federal Reserve. In the 1940s, Warren Wattis’s shares were purchased by shareholders and Val Browning. The company’s original capital of $8,000 expanded to $478 million by the time it was acquired by General Electric in 1976.
In 1904, Utah Construction secured a $60 million contract to build the demanding Feather River rail line for the Western Pacific Railroad, a project completed in 1909. This achievement established the company as a leader in tunneling, grading, and track construction throughout railroads in the Mountain West region. Foreseeing a decline in railroad demand, the Wattis Brothers strategically diversified their business interests.
By 1917, Utah Construction had obtained the $7 million contract for the O'Shaughnessy Dam in California's Sierra Nevada. The success of this project led to additional dam construction bids and a collaborative partnership with Morrison-Knudsen formed in 1922. Under the leadership of chief engineer Frank Crowe, this Morrison-Knudsen–Utah Construction alliance completed numerous dams across the western United States.
In 1931, the Wattis Brothers played a key role in establishing Six Companies to undertake construction of the Hoover Dam, which was then recognized as the largest government project in the United States. Between 1916 and 1969, Utah Construction was responsible for building a total of 58 dams.
Following the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Utah Construction led civilian contractors to rapidly complete the 1,500-mile Alaska Highway within just over seven months, creating a vital land connection between Alaska and the contiguous United States.
During the 1950s, Utah Construction expanded its operations into mining under the name Utah Construction & Mining Co., developing significant resources such as Peru’s Marcona iron mine, Wyoming’s Lucky Mc uranium mine, and coal and power facilities on Navajo lands in the Four Corners area.
The company also ventured into real estate development by acquiring Moraga Ranch located in California’s Bay Area for residential projects and undertaking reclamation of approximately 400 acres along San Francisco Bay shoreline in Alameda.
Throughout the 1960s, Utah Construction engaged in major military infrastructure projects including nationwide Minuteman Missile silo construction and development of Colorado Springs’ Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
In 1969, Utah Construction became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UC. Subsequently, it divested its construction division to Fluor Corporation. The firm was renamed Utah International in 1971 before merging with General Electric in 1976 through a $2.2 billion transaction—then considered the largest corporate merger ever completed. General Electric later sold Utah International to BHP in 1984.
Sources
- Sessions, Gene & Sterling. Utah International, A Biography of a Business.
External links
- Wattis brothers, Hoover Dam History
- Stewart Library Collection, Utah Construction
- A Guide to the Utah Construction Company Records, 2009-16. University of Nevada, Reno Special Collections
- BHP
- Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
- Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1900
- Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States
- General Electric
- 1900 establishments in Utah
- 1984 disestablishments in Utah
- American companies disestablished in 1984
- American companies established in 1900