Hardin Construction buys Mathews Construction

Hardin Construction buys Mathews Construction

Longtime Tampa-based contractor Mathews Construction is being absorbed by Atlanta-based Hardin Construction Co.

Under the deal, Hardin will acquire the 47-year-old Mathews Construction name, company resume and certain projects under construction. None of the financial terms were released.

“The merger offers Mathews the greater resources of a bigger company, David Oellerich, owner and president of Mathews Construction, said in a press release, “which is especially important in these tough times. It gives us the financial strength and personnel resources to chase some of the larger projects within our sphere.”

Mathews Construction employs 40 people. The company is currently working on a $20 million project to renovate and expand the baggage handling bays at Tampa International Airport. Mathews' portfolio of work also includes the Charlotte County Emergency Operations Center and the Tampa Bay Rays spring training facility.

Hardin's Tampa unit has 50 associates and has completed more than 125 projects totaling more than 15 million square feet, including the Hyatt Regency SunTrust Centre and Centro Ybor Plaza.

Hardin expects to initially bring 15 to 20 Mathews Construction employees over to its existing Tampa office. The company will reportedly also evaluate hiring several other past Mathews Construction personnel as they finish work on existing projects. Hardin will retain Mathews' separate Punta Gorda office.

“We will be moving some key guys into the Tampa office while the project staff stay on their projects,” says Page McKee, general manager of Hardin's Tampa business unit.

The purchase should give Hardin a more significant presence along Southwest Florida, according to McKee. The deal is also expected to help Hardin, which has locally almost exclusively developed large private projects, diversify itself while expand Mathews' work on public sector projects.

“They have been very successful with their public sector work,” McKee says. “Hopefully with our financial strength we will be able to look at doing even larger [public] projects.”