Clayco CEO sees cautious clients, smarter investments

One in all Chicago’s largest building corporations stays assured within the knowledge heart and superior manufacturing venture pipeline, based on its CEO.

In Could, Clayco made a slate of key leadership promotions, together with Ryan McGuire as president of building and new nationwide roles for a number of division leaders, based on a launch. The strikes purpose to strengthen venture supply throughout key sectors together with life sciences, e-commerce and institutional work, based on the corporate.

In the meantime, Clayco continues to ramp up its knowledge heart building efforts with its new enterprise unit, Clayco Compute, stated CEO Anthony Johnson. The design-build agency generated $3.6 billion in 2024 from data center projects, accounting for half of the corporate’s complete income, based on Clayco.

Right here, Johnson talks with Development Dive about Clayco’s progress outlook for the second half of 2025, price pressures and general uncertainty within the building trade.

This interview has been edited for brevity and readability

CONSTRUCTION DIVE: What traits or market shifts are you most carefully watching within the second half of 2025, and the way is Clayco positioning itself to reply?

ANTHONY JOHNSON: Within the second half of 2025, we’re carefully watching persistent price volatility, excessive demand and continued constraints in lending.

These forces are making shoppers extra cautious, and rightfully so. Our focus is on serving to them perceive and handle their danger publicity early to allow them to safe financing and transfer ahead with confidence. We’re doubling down on collaboration through the planning and pricing phases, guaranteeing selections are data-driven, not reactive.

It’s about smarter investments, not simply quicker ones.

Which of Clayco’s sectors do you see driving probably the most progress?

Clayco continues to see sturdy exercise in knowledge facilities, synthetic intelligence-driven initiatives, superior manufacturing and life sciences.

The speedy acceleration of AI applied sciences and the rising demand for knowledge processing have fueled a surge in knowledge heart building, which led to the launch of our latest enterprise unit, Clayco Compute.

One other progress space for our firm presently is privately developed pupil housing at among the main college campuses all through the nation.  Our buyers proceed to be excited for this asset class in core markets.

We are also starting to see a resurgence of multifamily and mixed-use initiatives in choose city markets all through the nation.

Some companies are pulling again or consolidating because of financial uncertainty. What’s permitting Clayco to maintain scaling throughout sectors proper now?

We’re leaning into high-growth sectors with actual endurance, like knowledge facilities and superior tech. Our launch of Clayco Compute wasn’t only a new unit, it was a strategic wager on the way forward for infrastructure, and it’s paying off.

We are also investing closely in increasing our engineering, design, and self-perform mechanical and electrical capabilities, giving us extra management over vital methods and execution pace.

How are rising building prices, provide chain points and labor pressures shaping your strategy to building and procurement technique?

We’re experiencing impacts on a pair completely different fronts, which has positioned us to focus closely on provide chain and likewise venture underwriting.

On one hand, we now have corporations on the lookout for reshoring alternatives, shoppers seeking to proceed to increase their knowledge heart companies and home corporations seeking to proceed their expansions already underway. Then again, we even have these similar shoppers seeking to us to assist them navigate the present tariff constraints, potential price uncertainties and a difficult lending setting.

So, in essence, the identical firm will be each optimistic and progress centered, but additionally cautious and unsure about their funding on the similar time.  We’re working carefully with these shoppers to supply full transparency to our provide chain, assist them perceive alternates and contingency plans and, in doing so, de-risk their initiatives.

Are there every other traits you’re protecting shut tabs on?

The search for energy is main many customers to increasingly distant areas, which makes discovering expert labor a good larger problem.

This pattern, at the side of the drive for acceleration and pace to market, drives the necessity for additional innovation in venture execution.  Off and onsite modularization and prefabrication are examples of methods Clayco is implementing to handle these challenges.