In the wide-open landscapes of Arizona, where growth feels as inevitable as the desert sun, a new chapter in the PCL story is unfolding in metropolitan Phoenix. PCL has a well-established presence in the area, anchored by a civil office that has supported the region’s water and wastewater infrastructure for more than four decades.

Following the recent addition of a Phoenix Buildings office and the relocation of its Bakersfield, California-based operations into the same space, Heavy Industrial now adds its unique expertise to the mix. The timing aligns well, with all three offices gearing for growth as Arizona and the southern United States continue to see increased industrial, civil infrastructure and commercial development.

Phoenix sits at the center of one of the country’s most active industrial markets, positioning the region to support PCL’s digital-infrastructure work. With an abundance of available land, reliable power sources, and access to critical water resources, the area continues to attract large-scale data center and semiconductor manufacturing projects. As a result, demand is soaring for the necessary mission critical infrastructure to ensure their reliability for years to come.

Enter the team from PCL Industrial Services Inc, previously headquartered in Bakersfield, California, which has relocated much of its team to Arizona, bringing veteran expertise across industrial disciplines, including concrete foundations, structural steel, mechanical, piping, coatings, electrical and instrumentation. That willingness to relocate and grow alongside the business reflects PCL’s employee‑owned culture — where teams are personally invested in the long‑term success of the markets and communities they help build.

According to Ryan Sinclair, construction manager with PCL Industrial Services, the move to Arizona was a natural progression for the team’s flourishing talent and capacity for self-performing mechanical, piping and, especially, electrical work.

“In these emerging markets, you can see a shift in the construction toward an emphasis on self-perform,” he says. “Our self-perform electrical capacity has been one of the key components to our growth over the last ten years. It drove our largest projects in California, and it translates well to so many things that will be needed through the growth of data and AI, from water, wastewater and power distribution to semiconductor manufacturing and mining for critical minerals.”

As these supporting industries race to keep pace with rapid technological advancement, PCL Industrial Services’ move east reflects the need for construction partners to be equally responsive and adaptable to provide scalable solutions and collaborate closely with clients.

For Mark Pittser, director of business development, flexibility has been key to the team’s longstanding commitment to what he calls a service-provider mentality — one they’ve carried with them to Arizona.

“We’ve got plenty of experience as a general contractor, but we’re just as excited to serve as a specialized subcontractor, as well,” Pittser says. “To us, it’s always about building relationships and being ready to meet the client’s needs. No matter the scope or the location or how the partnership took shape, we’ve got the resources and relationships to mobilize.”

This mobility is bolstered by the strength of the PCL enterprise, which spans across the United States. The Arizona team is not working in isolation — they draw on deep local knowledge, trusted subcontractor relationships, and regional experience from neighboring markets like California, Texas, and as far as Florida and Minnesota.

As the construction landscape evolves, one thing remains clear: no single company builds the future alone. Success in these emerging markets will depend on strong partnerships, shared goals, and close collaboration — both within PCL and across the construction industry.

In high-growth industrial markets, collaboration isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s critical to the industry’s success. In Arizona and across the southern United States, PCL’s ability to work as one cohesive team — regardless of division or geography — has become a clear differentiator. It’s how the company continues to deliver complex projects at any scale, and how PCL helps clients bring bold ideas to life in some of the fastest-moving sectors in the country.

As part of PCL’s integrated presence in Phoenix, the Civil Infrastructure team has completed numerous large-scale projects over its 40-year history in the region. The two offices have collaborated repeatedly in the past, with Industrial Services contributing specialized expertise to water infrastructure projects in Arizona and across the country. Now, Sinclair says, their proximity will help strengthen this relationship as they join forces with the newly established Phoenix Buildings team to pursue and execute work and draw on the bench strength that PCL has become known for.

“We’re looking at a lot of vertical integration,” Sinclair says. “It’s why PCL has been successful in the past — we have experience not only as a large industrial contractor, but as an infrastructure and commercial buildings contractor, as well. In these new markets, and especially in mission-critical, vertical integration will be a huge key to our success and growth.”

But the collaborative mindset doesn’t stop there. As markets evolve, success will increasingly depend on strong partnerships that extend beyond company lines and are built on trust, transparency, and the willingness to build something bigger — together.

Joe Carrieri, president and general manager of PCL Industrial Services, says that his team is built on the wholesale belief that, in these fast-moving sectors, nobody succeeds alone.

“Our future is going to be very collaborative,” Carrieri says. “We can be stronger if we work together. We solve problems by bringing the right technical expertise to the table and working together to achieve a solution. If we can join forces with internal and external partners to accomplish larger, more complex projects than either of us could do individually, I think that’s powerful.”

Carrieri’s team is currently on site at the Gilbert North Water Treatment Plant, where they are working alongside PCL’s Civil Infrastructure team as a subcontractor in joint venture with fellow industrial electrical contractor Corbins to significantly boost the plant’s capacity to serve clean drinking water for the surrounding communities.

While much has changed for the Bakersfield team, Mark Pittser’s perspective on business development remains grounded in the same fundamentals. No matter where the team operates, leading with a collaborative mindset creates opportunities.

“Today’s clients are increasingly looking for contractors with a particular culture,” Pittser says. “One that commits strongly to safety, thinks closely about quality, and jumps at any opportunity to collaborate. It’s a mindset that commits to the growth not only of our people, but also the people with and for whom we build.”

Across Arizona, the broader Southwest and beyond, the future of heavy industrial construction will be driven by improving access to energy, access to water, and access to data. PCL is primed and ready to support all three, as markets work to deliver the power, water and mission-critical infrastructure required to support growing data center demand.

Demand for smart, scalable, and sustainable industrial construction is only accelerating. As a self-perform contractor with a deep bench of skilled and passionate collaborators, the Industrial team in Phoenix is well-positioned to drive this transformation. PCL is committed to working alongside partners and clients to build critical facilities and infrastructure that underpin tomorrow’s economy working together to build a sustainable energy and resource future.