A Salt Lake City construction giant with more than $3 billion in annual revenue has set up shop in Covington, opening its first Louisiana office at 1404 Greengate Drive on Thursday. Big-D Heavy Industrial, a division of Big-D Companies, says the new location will serve clients and projects stretching across Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida as the firm expands its heavy industrial footprint along the Gulf Coast.
Why Covington, Why Now
The move comes as Louisiana's construction economy is in the middle of a historic run. According to New Orleans CityBusiness, Big-D Companies now operates 19 offices nationwide, and the Covington operation will focus on business development and project execution in power generation, energy infrastructure and manufacturing. The company has not provided projected employment figures for the new office, but it expects the location to support workforce growth over time.
Louisiana's industrial pipeline helps explain the timing. Construction put-in-place spending in the state was projected to reach $37 billion in 2025, a 56.2% jump over the prior year, driven by a 117.9% surge in power sector construction and a 159.1% jump in manufacturing, as reported by ConstructConnect News. The state also recorded more than $61 billion in announced economic development investments and 9,300 direct new jobs in 2025, a single-year record led by energy, industrial manufacturing and AI infrastructure projects, according to Greater New Orleans, Inc.
A Gulf Coast Corridor Built for Growth
Bryan Allinson, president of Big-D Heavy Industrial, framed the expansion in terms of proximity to opportunity. “The Gulf Coast is one of the most important industrial corridors in the country,” Allinson said, according to the CityBusiness report. He added that the Covington office allows Big-D Heavy Industrial to be closer to clients, partners and project opportunities, positioning the division to support complex power, energy and industrial projects in the region.
St. Tammany Parish itself offers some built-in advantages for a firm looking to plant roots there. Commercial real estate rates in the parish average $22 per square foot, compared to a national average of nearly $27, backed by a local labor force of more than 132,000 workers, per the St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation. The parish has also been investing in infrastructure to support that growth: Louisiana Economic Development finalized a $2 million FastSites grant in September to expand the Gulf South Commerce Park near Covington, upgrading utility and road access for incoming industrial tenants.
A National Contractor With a History of Growth by Acquisition
Big-D is no stranger to breaking into new regional markets. The company ranked #44 nationwide on Engineering News-Record's 2026 Top 400 Contractors list with over $3.6 billion in reported contracting revenue, and placed #22 on ENR's Top 100 Construction Management-at-Risk Firms list. Founded in Utah in 1967 by Dee “Big Dee” Livingood, the company has grown from a local builder into a national network, according to Procore.
That growth has often come through acquiring established regional contractors rather than building from scratch, including Colorado-based CFC Construction in October 2022, Phoenix-based Johnson Carlier in October 2017, and Nevada-based Martin-Harris Construction in 2014. Whether Big-D will pursue a similar acquisition in the Gulf South or build out its Covington office through organic hiring remains an open question. Big-D Heavy Industrial took a comparable organic approach when it expanded into Tempe, Arizona in July 2024 to support power generation, mining and self-perform process mechanical construction, per AZ Big Media.
Company Leaders Point to Regional Momentum
Mike Fratianni, chief operating officer of Big-D Companies, said the Covington office expands the firm's reach in a region where industrial development continues to accelerate, according to the CityBusiness report. Big-D Companies, which employs nearly 2,000 people and works across commercial, industrial, multifamily and mission-critical sectors, said it expects the new office to generate additional employment opportunities and expand its relationships with local organizations and suppliers.
