Hawaii's largest general contractor, the 100-year-old Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co., is for sale and the owner, California-based Dillingham Construction Co., says it expects to complete a short list of qualified buyers by the end of March. Hawaiian Dredging
up for saleBy Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comThe company is expected to stay in business under new ownership and the jobs of its 500 employees are unlikely to be affected, said William Wilson, Hawaiian Dredging president and chief executive officer.
The company has done well in recent years and is profitable but Dillingham Construction is having some difficulties in its mainland operations and decided it could not give the Hawaii subsidiary the resources it needs, Wilson said.
"We think it's positive for Hawaiian Dredging," he said. "Because of the difficulties that Dillingham Construction has had with some of these other properties (outside Hawaii), a new owner will be better able to support us."
Hawaiian Dredging was founded in Honolulu in 1902 to build harbors serving the railway line built by Benjamin F. Dillingham. With the approval of King David Kalakaua, Dillingham completed the railway linking Honolulu to West Oahu in 1889. In 1961, the companies he founded, Oahu Railway & Land Co. and Hawaiian Dredging, merged with other Dillingham businesses, such as Hawaiian Bitumuls, to form Dillingham Corp. Dillingham Construction was its main subsidiary.
Dillingham moved its head office to Pleasanton, Calif., in the 1980s, taking the Dillingham name out of Hawaii, but Hawaiian Dredging remained behind as Hawaii's biggest construction firm, building hotels, shopping centers (including Ala Moana Center), residential developments and other projects in the islands. Last year, Dillingham sold 67-year-old Hawaiian Bitumuls to Grace Pacific Corp., making Hawaiian Dredging its only remaining isle business.
"The company has a long profitable history and with its strong position in the Hawaii market it will be a very desirable and strategic asset for a new owner," Wilson said.
Dillingham Construction is now wholly owned by its salaried employees. Japan's Shimizu Corp. had held a significant minority ownership with the employee group since 1987, but sold it to the employees two months ago.