Company plans new business unit dedicated to advanced technology construction.
Responding to rapid growth in the advanced tech sector, Chicago-based design-build firm Clayco is launching a new business unit, Clayco Compute, focused exclusively on the construction of advanced technology centers and offering end-to-end services, which company leaders say differentiates it from other builders in the marketplace.
"The launch of Clayco Compute is a significant step forward as we position ourselves to meet the surging demand in the data center and hyperscale market," said the company's founder and Executive Chairman Bob Clark in a statement.
The new business unit is intended to take advantage of growing demand for advanced data center and quantum computing construction projects, said the company, noting that the hyperscale data center market is projected to grow 10% to 20% annually through 2030 according to Colliers. Also, U.S. investments in the sector are expected to increase to $1 trillion over the next five years, according to Blackstone.
Clayco has completed or is currently undertaking more than $12.7 billion in advanced technology projects, with 57 active data center projects across the country. Anthony Johnson, who was recently named Clayco CEO, says plans for Clayco Compute have been in the works for a while.
"A lot of this is really responding to our customers' needs," he says. "They are looking for specialized delivery experts. This is very different from building a commercial office building. It needs specialization, mechanical and electrical experts."
Johnson says clients are also looking for expertise in real estate with respect to power sites and power availability.
The services offered by Clayco Compute will include land acquisition, advanced utility management, design, engineering, equipment procurement, off-site modular solutions, self-perform concrete, mechanical, electrical and construction services.
The company posted $3.6 billion in revenue from data center projects in 2024, accounting for more than half of total company revenue, and more than double the $1.5 billion it earned from the sector in 2023. Revenue from Clayco Compute is expected to reach over $4.5 billion in revenue by 2026, according to the company.
The new business unit will be led by Ryan McGuire, a 20-year industry veteran, who said in a statement that Clayco Compute will enable the company to offer solutions for an industry that is "evolving at a remarkable pace." To staff the new unit, Johnson says Clayco has already hired 30 new employees this month and will hire 30 more every month throughout 2025.
An example of how the needs of the advanced technology market is changing, even when construction is already underway, is evidenced by Microsoft's recent decision to pause construction of a $3.3-billion data center being built in Mount Pleasant, Wis., in order to potentially incorporate designs needed due to changes in technology.
Johnson says such pauses are to be expected.
"We are involved in dynamic work -- be it data centers, advanced manufacturing, or technology-related projects," he says. "For every one of those jobs, there are new tools, new information, new technology going into these projects. And that information is never fully known until those projects are started up. So our organization is structured to be able to be flexible, to accommodate the changes and additional information that happens during design and construction of these facilities."
As ENR reported previously, Clayco is the general contractor for the initial phase of construction of a multi-billion dollar, 440-acre quantum computing campus, on Chicago's southeast side.