Fluor Corporation

John Simon Fluor and his two older brothers start a saw and paper mill called Rudolph Fluor & Brother. The company's stock begins trading on the New York and Pacific exchanges. Company enters the mining and metals industry through the purchase of Utah Construction and Mining Company. Engineering and construction activities are consolidated into Fluor Engineers and Constructors, Inc. Mid-1980s:Fluor divests all of its oil properties, some gold operations, and all its offshore drilling facilities. Decreasing profits lead to restructuring efforts and a pullback from the expansion program launched three years earlier. McGraw steps down as CEO and is replaced by Philip Carroll, the first outsider named chairman in company history. Major restructuring divides the company into five semiautonomous business units: Fluor Daniel, Fluor Global Services, A.T. Massey Coal, Fluor Constructors International, and Fluor Signature Services; Fluor Daniel is organized into five units, 15 of its offices are closed, and its workforce is reduced by 5,000. Fluor Corporation is one of the world's largest engineering and construction companies. Fluor Daniel, the company's largest unit, provides design, engineering, procurement, construction, and other services for a broad range of industries. Fluor Global Services provides an array of services outside of those offered by Fluor Daniel, including construction and industrial equipment rental, sales, and service (through American Equipment Company); staffing services--temporary, contract, and direct hire; operations, maintenance, and consulting services; and services for the governmental and telecommunications sectors. Through the A.T. Massey Coal Company unit, Fluor also has considerable investments in the coal industry, producing steam coal for the electric generating industry and metallurgical coal for the steel industry. Fluor's story begins with a Swiss émigré who, upon arriving in the United States knew only one English word--'hello.' Born in 1867, John Simon Fluor was a carpenter who had gained engineering experience while serving in the Swiss army. Fluor left his native country in 1888 at the age of 21, joining his two older brothers who had settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The three pooled their money in 1890 to start a saw and paper mill called Rudolph Fluor & Brother. J. Simon Fluor's contribution was $100; he served as manager at the mill. In 1903 the company name changed to Fluor Brothers Construction Company, with J. Simon Fluor as president. Nine years later he traveled on his own to California and started a general construction business in Santa Ana under his own name. With innovative methods and precise work, Fluor built his venture's reputation quickly. The Southern California Gas Company asked him to build an office and numerous meter shops in 1915, and afterward Fluor received a contract for a compressor station from Industrial Fuel Supply Company. Fluor recognized that the emerging California petroleum industry held enormous potential, so in 1921 he began to tailor his engineering and construction work to meet the demands of the field. Fluor received a contract to erect a cooling tower in 1921. Believing that those in use at the time were inefficient and wasteful, he designed the 'Buddha tower,' a radical advancement which not only cooled water more efficiently but reduced water loss. The name came from the tower's resemblance to Buddhist shrines. Fluor soon began manufacturing the towers. The oil and gas companies quickly recognized the Buddha towers' merit, and used them at many installations. Fluor incorporated his business as Fluor Construction Company in 1924 with a capital investment of $100,000. He began manufacturing large engine mufflers, expanding the company from strictly engineering to engineering and construction. After outgrowing two different facilities, Fluor built new quarters in Los Angeles and consolidated all general offices in one building in 1927. In the