C. A. Murren’s story shows the power of thinking big and having a clear and consistent vision.
Charles Murren began his civil engineering career in 1981 with Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc., one of the premier names in heavy civil contracting. It was a plum job but there was a major downside: The work too often took Charlie away from his young and growing family. So, he laid the groundwork for a future that would keep him close to home by starting a weekend side business.
The rest — shall we say — is history, and these are some of the milestones that took the business from small-scale concrete work to complex high-profile industrial construction.
DIVE DEEPER INTO C. A. MURREN & SONS’ ORIGIN STORY.
In this short video, Charlie III and IV share some of the defining moments and keen insights that shaped the company.
TIMELINE
1985
January 1
While working full-time for Kiewit as an engineer, Charles A. Murren starts a small weekend business cleaning out catch basins and storm drain lines and repairing curbs and gutters for subdivision developers.
June 27
Charlie negotiates a contract with Pulte Homes. With the aid of his wife, Lynda, he takes on the concrete work for driveways and walkways in a new 34-lot subdivision.
1987
January 27
The side business is successful enough to go from a sole proprietorship to a corporation and C.A. Murren Construction, Inc. is born.
February 27
C.A. Murren construction wins another contract with Pulte Homes to clear and grade 72 house lots. The project also includes forming and pouring house slabs, driveways, and walks; doing the final grade; and landscaping all yards.
April 27
C.A. Murren is awarded a contract with Tarheel Underground Utilities as a subcontractor to Southern Bell. The work entails removing 3 concrete communication vaults, located under roadways in Metro Atlanta, and replacing them with new cast-in-place vaults two to three times the size.
June 27
Charlie begins to run C.A. Murren Construction, Inc. full-time.
1990
June 27
C.A. Murren wins a contract with Joseph Alfandre & Company to retrofit 3 storm water management lakes and dams on a 300-acre site adjacent to the National Geographic Society’s world headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD.
1991
June 27
The company wins a contract to take over the construction of 12 bridges as part of the relocation of Route 32 in Odenton, MD.
1993
June 27
Charlie changes the company name to C. A. Murren & Sons, a strategic move that delivers a big payoff.
1995
June 27
C.A. Murren & Sons wins two contracts with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. The company constructs the 10,000-seat concrete stadium at the Olympic Horse Park, in Conyers — a project others declined because of the extremely aggressive schedule, which Murren beat by 10 days — and the velodrome track and stadium, composed of structural steel, in Stone Mountain Park.
2000
June 27
D. R. Horton hires C.A. Murren to engineer and construct all aspects of Leston Farms, a 650-acre mixed-use development in Birmingham, AL. Work includes 850,000 cubic yards of earthwork; over 10 miles of water, sewer, and storm lines; a pump station; lake, dam, and spillway construction; and street work, including curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and asphalt paving.
2005
June 27
C.A. Murren rolls out their initial safety program, spearheaded by long-term company leader, Bill Heck.
2006
June 27
The company negotiates and receives a contract at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC, to perform the sitework on the MOX facility.
2007
June 27
C.A. Murren is awarded a project at the Dulles Airport Fuel Settling Tank Farm, doing concrete and pipe work.
2008
June 27
The company negotiates a contract to build a new barge unloader and conveyor system in Baltimore Harbor at the Brandon Shores Power Plant.
2011
June 27
C.A. Murren negotiates and wins a contract at Plant Vogtle to install 32,000 linear feet of HDPE, drive 100,200 square-feet of steel sheet piling in sensitive wetland areas, and construct a wastewater discharge structure 80 feet into the Savannah River, working off barges. The company continues to work at Vogtle for the next 8 years.
2013
June 27
C.A. Murren negotiates a contract with Antero Resources to lay 17 miles of 24-inch HDPE to supply fracking water to 15 gas well pads in West Union, WV.
2015
June 27
The 30 Fundamentals, known as the Murren Way, are rolled out, sparking daily discussions and creating an intentional culture throughout the organization.
2016
June 27
Kinder Morgan awards C.A. Murren a contract to complete the demolition of 11 concrete structures, construct new concrete structures, and sheet pile coffer dams.
2017
June 27
The company negotiates and receives a contract from Atlanta Department of Aviation to perform the clearing, demolition, and grading of the HJAIA West Parking Deck.
2019
June 27
Hensel Phelps hires C.A. Murren to form and pour 5,000 cubic yards of structural concrete foundations, grade beams, and slab-on-grade for a multipurpose building and parking deck at a government facility in Alabama. The company later receives more contracts and completes all work in May of 2021.
June 29
The company negotiates a contract to perform a range of services for the Savannah Arena project in Savannah, GA. A key part of the project is installing 88 units of 29-foot long PCPS sheet piles and 170 units of 39-foot long PCPS sheet piles. This is the first time pre-cast concrete sheet piling is used for a bulkhead wall in the Southeast.
2020
June 27
C.A. Murren negotiates a contract with Energy Solutions to construct a heavy haul road for transportation of a decommissioned commercial nuclear reactor at Fort Calhoun in Nebraska. The team also pours concrete foundations for a temporary building to hold the reactor.
June 29
The company negotiates and receives a contract from Clark Construction to perform demolition, underground utilities, grading, permanent sheet pile wall, concrete flatwork, and paving for the Savannah International Convention Center Expansion.
2022
June 27
C.A. Murren begins full-service construction at a federal site in Florida, beginning with clearing, beginning with clearing and demolition, and evolving into grading, utility installation, and concrete pours. The company actively performs work on the site in 2025.
2023
June 27
The company negotiates and receives a contract from Mortensen Contracting to perform work on a federal site in Virginia. The project scope includes painstaking demolition of security fencing and asphalt.
2024
June 27
C.A. Murren receives the Billy Padgett Hard Hat Safety Award for the 5th year in a row.
2025
June 27
C.A. Murren is awarded a contract to perform critical infrastructure and foundation work at a federal facility in South Carolina.
A PREMIER CONTRACTOR THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC
Today, C. A. Murren employs 230 people and serves multiple markets, including industrial, commercial, power & energy, federal, healthcare, and mission critical. The company has also completed more than 500 projects across nine states.
C.A. Murren’s evolution from one man with a pickup truck to an industry leader is the result of Charlie Murren’s clear vision — one that has stayed focused on setting and achieving high standards for integrity, accountability, safety, and performance. And clients and employees alike can expect these standards to carry C. A. Murren well into the future.
