Constructechs Hottest Companies: Heating Up During

Residential's Hottest Companies have what it takes to ignite your business.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. It might be a bit of a tired and old cliché, but it surely applies to residential construction during the past year.

Market slowdowns are nothing new to the homebuilding sector; construction is among the most cyclical of industries. What’s different this time around is that IT (information technology) will play a strong role in helping builders continue to increase profitability. These solutions are helping to lay the groundwork for builders to experience even stronger growth during the next upswing.

This “only the strong survive” mantra of the past year definitely applies to IT and automated home technology providers. While many vendors exist in the market, only a handful are continuing to rollout new and useful products while adding to their customer base in a time when builders typically pull back on technology spending.

Judging criteria for Constructech’s Hottest Companies entails our panel of technology editors evaluating the systems provided entails our panel of technology editors evaluating the systems provided by the vendors, revenue growth in the past year, and the value they provide to the construction industry. Vendors that meet a series of standards and even now during slowing market conditions are that much more notable in the eyes of the editors.

As you will see, those selected hot are providing you—the builder—with proven solutions built on solid technology. You will not see much bleeding-edge technology from this group, as they are committed, rather, to providing the residential community with the tools that supplement best business practices.

Indeed the seven companies selected as ‘Companies to Watch’ are also providing some very interesting technology solutions. These companies are providing technology that are constantly moving the marketplace forward, but are not necessarily delivering new cutting-edge solutions this year. Most are making nice product upgrades that are helping their customers move forward in the marketplace and are prodding new prospects to discover the benefits of technology in general.

The Companies to Watch list also includes some providers of proven automated home technology. While we certainly don’t doubt the technology or components they provide, the editors do believe these firms could do more in terms of educating builders on why they should be equipping their homes with automated home technology. The companies to watch are more than capable of providing viable technology for builders to provide to their homebuyers.

It is truly an exciting time to be involved with technology in the residential market. Investing in technology and automated home technology today means you are in the position to profit today and tomorrow. We hope our guidance adds a bit of assistance in your evaluation.

Hottest Companies:

Adobe Systems Inc.
San Jose, Calif.
www.adobe.com 
In addition to its intuitive PDF technology, Adobe Connect and Adobe 3D are paving the way towards a more collaborative project team.


Autodesk Inc.
San Rafael, Calif.
www.autodesk.com 
Leading provider of design technology that is experiencing strong growth with Buzzsaw and Revit product lines.


Builder1440
Baltimore, Md.
www.builder1440.com
Teamed with Bob Schultz to create sales assistance module that equips sales teams with easy-to-access plans for follow-through and appointment setting.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company. 


BuilderMT
Lakewood, Colo.
www.buildermt.com
Added 122 new customers and introduced five new products in the past year, including its highly intuitive Business Process Management application.


Construction Imaging Systems
Rocky Mount, N.C.
www.construction-imaging.com 
A pioneer in scalable document and content management technology that helps builders manage the myriad of data associated with projects.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company.


Corecon Technologies Inc.
Huntington Beach, Calif.
www.corecon.com 
Corecon Handheld for Palm, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems brings process management to the field.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company.


Data Builder Inc.
Des Moines, Iowa
www.databuilderinc.com 
Its technology addresses the challenge of centrally managing all project documentation in one secure location, helping builders avoid litigation issues.


HeadsUp Technologies
Overland Park, Kan.
www.headsuptech.com 
Uniquely integrates field reporting, CPM (critical path management) scheduling, and document management into a single Web-accessible database.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company.


LeisureTech Electronics
Sydney, Australia
www.a-bus.com 
Recently awarded U.S.-patent for its A-BUS technology while continuing to grow the company and product line.


McCormick Systems
Chandler, Ariz.
www.mccormicksys.com 
With rich history in the electrical contracting industry, its newly introduced ABS product line helps firms enter automated home technology fields.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company.


Procore Technologies
Santa Barbara, Calif.
www.procore.com 
Its Web-based project management technology brings the project team together on a multitude of tasks at a very low cost.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company.


Russound
Newmarket, N.H.
www.russound.com 
Its comprehensive line of audio and video products are widely regarding as among the most reliable in the industry.
Read more on what the editors have to say about this company.


Sage Software
Beaverton, Ore.
www.sagetimberlineoffice.com 
Sage continues to enhance the Master Builder product line, which it acquired last year, while releasing significant improvements to Sage Timberline Office product suite.


Companies to Watch:

AxisPointe
Lehi, Utah
www.axispointe.com
Provides three unique post construction services to help builders manage such tasks as home warranty and subcontractor certification.


CG Visions
Lafayette, Ind.
www.cgvisions.com
Consulting firm recently unveiled e-HomeInvision, which aims to help builders solve design and option management challenges.


Control4
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.control4.com
A company with proven wired and wireless automated home technology and an evolving message to builders.


e-Builder
Plantation, Fla.
www.e-builder.net
Its Web-based collaboration and project management tools are successful in the commercial construction segment.


Exceptional Innovation
Westerville, Ohio
www.exceptionalinnovation.com
Recently unveiled specific builder packages for its Life|ware automated home technology.


HomeFront
Calgary, Alta.
www.homefront-software.com
Realtime cost and pricing data is the name of its game, providing systems that collects business data and integrates it with accounting systems.


Quest Solutions
Sarasota, Fla.
www.questsolutions.com
Recent acquisition by Maxwell Systems could provide builders with a highly robust set of integrated estimating-accounting tools.


SmartLabs Technology
Irvine, Calif.
www.insteon.net
Developers of INSTEON wireless home control networking technology should benefit as builders investigate wireless automated home technology.