Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. It was established in 1887 as a concrete product manufacturer.
History Aktiebolaget Skånska Cementgjuteriet (Scanian Cement Casting Ltd) was established in Malmö, Sweden, in 1887 by Rudolf Fredrik Berg and started by manufacturing concrete products.Skanska: History It quickly diversified into a construction company and within ten years the company received its first international order. The company played an important role in building Sweden's infrastructure including its roads, power plants, offices and housing.
Growth in Sweden was followed by international expansion. In the mid-1950s Skånska Cementgjuteriet made a major move into international markets. During the next decades, it entered South America, Africa and Asia, and in 1971 the United States market, where it today ranks among the largest in its sector. The company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange A-list in 1965. In 1984, the name "Skanska," already in general use internationally, became the group's official name.
During the latter part of the 1990s, Skanska expanded substantially both organically and by acquisition. In August 2000, it bought the construction division of Kvaerner.Skanska buys Kvaerner arm for £180m The Telegraph, 30 August 2000
In mid-2004, Skanska decided to divest its Asian investments and sold its Indian subsidiary to the Thailand based construction firm Italian Thai Development Company.ITD Cementation India
In 2011, Skanska acquired Industrial Contractors, Inc of Evansville, Indiana, United States.
Operations Skanska divides its operations into four business streams:
Business stream Yearly revenue, 5-year average (2010 to 2014) Construction SEK 116,152 million Residential development SEK 8,721 million Commercial property development SEK 6,691 million Infrastructure development SEK 219 million
Construction is the largest business stream by revenue and number of employees. The operations of the other business streams involve investments in projects that are developed and later divested. With regard to infrastructure development, this often involves public–private partnerships (PPP). Geographically, the group operates based on local business units.
Skanska USA Skanska established its presence in the United States through acquisitions of established local companies. The legacy company names were initially cobranded (ex. Slattery-Skanska). In 2007, Skanska introduced a plan to integrate and rebrand the majority of the acquired entities under the Skanska USA banners. Entities were united by business sector, geographic region, and district. Three regions were formed: Northeast, Southeast, and Western. +RegionLegacy companySkanska Civil USA NortheastSlattery SkanskaGottlieb GroupUnderpinning & Foundation SkanskaKoch-Skanska ErectorsSkanska USA Civil SoutheastAtlantic SkanskaTidewater SkanskaBayshore Concrete ProductsSkanska USA Civil Western RegionYeager Skanska Company nameBusiness sectorYear acquiredRegionStatusUnderpinning & FoundationFoundations/Ground Improvement1973New YorkUnderpinning & Foundation Skanska, division of Skanska USA Civil Northeast IncKarl Koch ErectingSteel Erection1982NortheastSkanska-Koch. Slattery Contracting CompanyHeavy Civil 1989NortheastRebranded to Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc (2007)Sordini Construction Co.Building Construction1990NortheastBeers ConstructionBuilding Construction1994SoutheastRebranded to Skanska USA Building Inc Nielsons IncBuilding Construction1998Midwest, ColoradoRebranded to Skanska USA Building Inc Beacon Construction CompanyBuilding Construction1997NortheastRebranded to Skanska USA Building Inc Bayshore Concrete Products IncMaterials Fabricator1998SoutheastDivision of Skanska USA Civil SoutheastA.J. Etkin Construction CompanyBuilding Construction1998MichiganRebranded to Skanska USA Building Inc (2003)Tidewater Construction CorporationHeavy Civil 1998SoutheastRebranded to Skanska USA Civil Southeast IncGottlieb GroupHeavy Civil1999NortheastRebranded to Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc (2007)Barclay White Construction Management2000Northeast, Mid-AtlanticRebranded to Skanska USA Building Inc Baugh ConstructionBuilding Construction2000Pacific NorthwestSkanska USA West RegionE. L. Yeager Construction Co.Heavy Civil 2002CaliforniaRebranded to Skanska USA Civil Western Inc - California DistrictBFW ConstructionBuilding Construction2004Midwest, TexasRebranded to Skanska USA Building Inc (2004)
Environment
Skanska was the No. 1 "Green Builder" in the United States in 2007 and was ranked No. 3 "Green Contractor" in the United States 2008.Top Green Contractors ENR In 2011, Skanska was ranked the greenest company in the United Kingdom, despite belonging to an industry with a generally high environmental impact. In 2014, Skanska won the Financial Times and ArcelorMittal "Boldness in Business Award" in the category "corporate responsibility/environment."
The Financial Times described Skanska in 2014 as aiming to be the "greenest contractor in the world," while having 57,000 employees, 100,000 suppliers and 250,000 subcontractors, who deliver more than 10,000 projects annually. An official vision stated by Skanska is "the five zeros": zero loss-making projects, work site accidents, environmental incidents, ethical breaches and defects.
In the United Kingdom, Skanska has founded the "Supply Chain Sustainability School," an e-learning initiative, in order to educate construction suppliers on sustainability. As suppliers are frequently shared between construction companies, the school is managed in partnership with several competitors. In July 2013, Skanska withdrew from the United States Chamber of Commerce, in protest of the chamber's opposition to reformed LEED standards for sustainable buildings.
Skanska was the first company in the industry to implement the ISO 14000 standards globally, with all its business units having been certified according to ISO 14001 since 2000, and it was the first Scandinavian company to have an independent global whistleblowing hotline.
Market
As of March 2015, Skanska was focused on the following selected markets: Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark in the Nordic region Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and the United Kingdom in the rest of Europe The United States and North America
Skanska is in the process of exiting its operations in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela. Skanska will cease to accept new projects in the Latin American market and will divest its operation and maintenance units there.
Region Number of employees Revenue (2014) The Nordic countries 17,000 SEK 64.0 billion The rest of Europe 17,000 SEK 35.0 billion North America 10,000 SEK 49.9 billion Latin America (being closed down) 14,000 No data available
Skanska is active in construction, commercial property development (office buildings, shopping centers and logistics properties) and infrastructure development (roads, hospitals and schools) in all of its three market regions. The company plans, develops and builds homes in the Nordic region and in the rest of Europe.
In 2013, Skanska was ranked the 9th largest contractor in the world, and in 2014, the 7th largest contractor in the United States.
During the rolling 12-month-period ending in September 2014, Skanska was the largest construction company by total revenue in the Nordic countries. The six largest ones were:
Company Country 12-month revenue Skanska Sweden SEK 145.0 billion NCC Sweden SEK 59.2 billion Peab Sweden SEK 44.2 billion Veidekke Norway SEK 25.4 billion Lemminkäinen Finland SEK 18.7 billion YIT Finland SEK 16.7 billion
Major projects
Europe Major projects have included the Øresund Bridge which forms part of the road and railway connection between Sweden and Denmark, completed in 2000, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London, completed in 2001, the Golden Jubilee wing at King's College Hospital, completed in 2002, 30 St Mary Axe in London, completed in 2004,The erotic gherkin is in a pickle The Telegraph, 23 November 2002 MoD Main Building completing refurbishment in 2004, the University Hospital Coventry, completed in 2006, the Mater Dei Hospital in Malta, completed in 2007,Times of Malta 30 July 2009 the Royal Derby Hospital, completed in 2010, Walsall Manor Hospital completed in 2010, the Heron Tower, completed in 2011,Skanska win Heron Tower contract Skyscrapernews, 31 October 2007 King's Mill Hospital in Ashfield, completed in 2011, Brent Civic Centre, completed in 2013, new facilities for the Royal London Hospital, completed in 2015 and the redevelopment of St Bartholomew's Hospital, completed in 2016.
Skanska is also involved in HS2 lots S1 and S2, working as part of a joint venture, due to complete in 2031.
United States Major projects in the United States include the MetLife Stadium (home to the Giants and the Jets NFL franchises), completed in 2010.Meadowlands Stadium In 2010, Skanska was awarded a $115 million (SEK840 million) contract by the Washington State Department of Transportation for construction of a new State Route 99 roadway in downtown Seattle, Washington, part of the project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Skanska has also developed several commercial and residential buildings in Seattle region, including the upcoming 2&U high-rise office building in downtown Seattle.
Other major projects include the renovation of, and addition to, the headquarters of the United Nations, completed in 2014,UN signs contract with Skanska Reuters, 27 July 2007 the restoration of the World Trade Center site including the removal of debris, the reconstruction of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson and New York City Subway tunnels, and the creation of a World Trade Center Transportation Hub, completed in 2015Calatrava's WTC Transportation Hub Soars – lowermanhattan.info (including the "Oculus" station entrance designed by Santiago Calatrava),Phoenix Constructors the Second Avenue Subway tunneling project completed in 2016New York Construction: Top Projects and Moynihan Train Hall completed in 2020.
Skanska was also part of a joint venture with Stacy and Witbeck on The Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project completed in 2022.
In June 2025, Skanska was awarded a $303 million contract from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to design and build a restructured Rourke Bridge over the Merrimack River.
Awards and recognition Skanska USA CEO and president, Richard Kennedy, was named in the Construction Dive Awards Executive of the Year in 2019. Skanska was also recognized for its membership in the Predictive Analytics Strategic Council, which Construction Dive named its 2019 Innovator of the Year.
Controversies
In 1996, Skanska was entrusted with the building of a "state-of-the-art" general hospital, Mater Dei Hospital, costing over €700,000,000 in Malta. Later, however, it was discovered that Skanska had used lower-quality cement of the kind that is generally used to build pavements. As a result, the hospital could not develop further floors or build a helipad on the roof. The company had limited liability within the contract.Balzan, Saviour (21 September 2015). Skanska snubs government over hospital damage claims. Malta Today. Retrieved 1 July 2016.Waiver exonerated Skanska and Maltese partners on Mater Dei.PM orders investigation into Mater Dei concrete.Read: Hospital inquiry report, Arup report on Emergency Department.ARUP report. Volume 2.Inquiry report.