Emery Sapp & Sons

Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) was founded in 1972 by Billy Sapp, who named the company after his father. ESS began with one employee and a single piece of construction equipment.

Today, the company boasts a workforce of more than 1,600 and 30 offices, shops, plants and quarries throughout the Midwest. ESS has over 200 employees at its Springdale office, which opened in 2021. And all of those employees are also owners of the company.

“Employee ownership is the foundation on which ESS values, culture and projects are built,” said Paul Arnold, executive vice president, Arkansas office. “Being 100% employee-owned means everyone who works for the company is personally invested in its success and its future. When the profits of a business stay with the people who work hard to build it, a unique entrepreneurial spirit is unleashed. ESS employee-owners think like owners and deliver exceptional results for their dedicated clients and partners.”

ESS is a full-service, fully scaled heavy civil construction contractor. It specializes in grading and excavation, underground utilities, bridge construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and pavement preservation. Some of the company’s clients include departments of transportation, developers, general contractors, the federal government, municipalities and railways.

In 2023, company revenue topped $1 billion for the first time, reporting a 391% increase over a five-year span and an average increase of 140% every year.

The company was recently awarded milestone contracts such as the Highway 612 Springdale Bypass, the largest traditional bid-build project in Arkansas history; the Improve I-70 Warrenton to Wentzville design-build project, the single-largest project in Missouri Department of Transportation history; and the U.S. 69 Corridor Modernization and Expansion, the first-ever express lanes project in Kansas. ESS is involved in infrastructure improvements at Springdale, XNA, and Bentonville airports, as well as the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine dormitory.

“Through the next five to 10 years and beyond, ESS will focus on equal parts organic growth and mergers and acquisitions, and further diversification of geographic and vertical markets will always be part of the company’s core business model,” Arnold said. “There are ample opportunities for infrastructure projects in the public and private sectors in the upcoming years and into the future.”

ESS employees are involved in a host of local nonprofits and causes. The company also invests in attracting the next generation of skilled workers. Through the ESS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, students pursuing construction careers have obtained over 140 scholarships since 2019.

Editor’s note: This company is a finalist for the Northwest Arkansas Outstanding Business Awards — Large Business category. Winners will be announced at a luncheon on April 9.