| 6/1/2010

Engineering & Construction

Founded when the Graham family selected the firm to build Miami Lakes, Florida’s first planned community, Tampa-based PBSJ (Private No. 26) has grown into an engineering powerhouse that is among Florida’s biggest government contractors. The company has weathered a $36-million embezzlement scheme, a campaign finance scandal and most recently an investigation into whether the company’s international division violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Shareholders of the employee-owned company hope the tenure of new CEO Robert Paulsen will be less troubled. Paulsen was recently elected to the American Council of Engineering Companies Executive Committee.

WilsonMiller, under CEO Alan Reynolds, helped pioneer the state’s first Rural Land Stewardship Plan. [Photo: WilsonMiller]

» Since 1956, Naples-based WilsonMiller (not ranked) has been shaping communities in Florida and others parts of the Southeast through its professional planning, design and engineering services. The firm has worked on everything from the design of the recreational greenway known as Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail to the redesign of Tampa’s Channel District. Under CEO Alan Reynolds, a new addition to the Florida Council of 100, the firm helped pioneer Florida’s first Rural Land Stewardship Plan, a landmark growth management plan that allows landowners to voluntarily give up development rights in natural areas in exchange for credits that could be used to build on less sensitive land.

» Jacksonville’s Haskell Co. (Private No. 52) has completed more than 1,500 construction projects over the past 45 years, making it Florida’s largest privately held construction company. The design-build powerhouse was named one of the top green contractors in the nation by Engineering News-Record and has been recognized for its safety performance. President and CEO Steven T. Halverson chairs the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is a director for the Florida Council of 100 and sits on boards of directors of CSX, ACIG Insurance and PSS World Medical. — Amy Keller