2008 Economic Impact Awards Finalist, Contractors: Killian Group of Cos.

The Chateau on the Lake was the first time the company tackled a project of that size, says Prewitt, senior vice president of preconstruction services and a 25-year employee. The hotel by developer John Q. Hammons on Table Rock Lake in Branson offered The Killian Group the chance to prove its mettle 10 years ago and thus raise its credibility, he says.

“It’s just been a series of stepping stones through the years that has allowed us to go outside the area and take bigger and bigger projects,” Prewitt says.

Another stepping stone: Branson Landing in 2004, a $200 million job. Completed in two stages of $100 million each – with minority partner Turner Construction Co., one of the largest construction companies in the country – Branson Landing was a multibuilding project that has led to similar jobs, says Luther Salonen, chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance.

“That was our biggest project so far,” he says. “We knew it was a big project and it was really going to springboard us up … to the next level, but we probably didn’t realize how much.”

The Killian Group traces its roots to 1948 when Paul Killian started Killian Construction Co., which focused on the residential market. By 1985, KCC Contractor Inc. was formed and eventually became the portion of the company that handles out-of-state business, while Killian Construction works in Missouri.

In 1993, Bill Killian – Paul’s grandson – bought the company and converted it to a paper contractor, meaning all work is subcontracted.

“We don’t have anyone below assistant superintendent,” Salonen says. “We’re managing jobs outside of town, but we have the superintendent staff here.”

By 2005, Killian Group expanded to include Phoenix-based Killian Western and Killian Eastern in Indianapolis.

Working in 25 states, Killian Group does large and local projects.

A multifacility job in Glendale, Ariz., included a convention center, parking garage, media center and hotel, most of which had to be completed in eight to nine months in time for Super Bowl 2008, Salonen says.

And in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Killian is working on an $80 million project similar to Branson Landing with condos, retail, a hotel and a Debbie Reynolds museum.

Local projects include Hammons Field, the nearby Holiday Inn Express, the remodeled Oasis Hotel and Convention Center and the recently completed OakStar Bank on Battlefield Road.

“We do a lot of work for Prime Trucking,” Salonen says.

“We have built everything but two buildings at Southwest Baptist University up in Bolivar.?We built Drury School of Architecture. We’ve been awarded the arena at Drury,” he added.

Last fall, the company also moved into its new, 40,000-square-foot headquarters on East Kearney Street. The modern office building features high-tech gadgets and a helicopter landing pad as well as a 35-foot steel sculpture of the famous Charles Ebbets’ circa 1932 photo called Lunch Atop a Skyscraper.

As Killian Group moves forward, there’s talk of moving away from being a paper contractor only.

“We might get into performing our own work,” Salonen says. “We’re thinking about expanding into that and becoming a true general contractor.”

The Killian Group of Cos.

Address: 2664 E. Kearney St., Springfield, MO 65803

Web: www.killco.com

Employees: 93

2007 Revenues: $170 million (total), $32 million (local)

Information accurate at the time of the honor.