C.R. Crawford Construction LLC

Cody Crawford is still amazed at how his business has grown since he partnered with Jason Keathley to launch their general contracting firm in 2006. Their venture generated a $6.7 million book of business that first year. “We never dreamed it would blossom as quickly as it did,” said Crawford, president of C.R. Crawford Construction LLC of Fayetteville.

The firm ranked No. 5 among Arkansas commercial contractors with revenue of $65 million in 2014. Last year, revenue hit $125 million.

Crawford oversees field operations, and Keathley is vice president of estimating. Scott Stokenbury, who joined the company in 2007 and became a partner in 2008, is vice president of business development.

Crawford names Mike Forbis, a respected Memphis contractor and a partner during the first few years, as a significant mentor in helping guide the company. “He was critical on the front end with the startup of the company,” Crawford said. “He gave us immediate credibility.”

The business began out of Crawford’s home with little more than a phone and a computer. Today, the company employs a staff of 61 as it heads toward its 10th anniversary on March 21.

Retail construction for clients such as Wal-Mart, Academy Sports and Harps Foods accounts for about a third of the company’s jobs. The balance of projects is scattered across the office, medical, education, financial and restaurant categories.

In the industrial sector, C.R. Crawford is overseeing construction of a hatchery, live operations office, protein recovery plant and trucking facility in Pocahontas. The work is part of a $200 million integrated poultry operation Peco Foods is developing in northeast Arkansas.

The success of the company is attributed to a foundation of hard work and customer satisfaction.