Selling to Construction & General Contractors
US construction put-in-place runs ~$2.0T annually (BEA). MRO consumables on active jobsites estimated $25-40B/year — chemistry, fasteners, hand tools, PPE, abrasives, lubricants. Specialty distributors (HD Supply White Cap, Beacon Roofing, Ferguson) capture the majority share with manufacturers selling direct on high-volume specialty lines.
30-90 days for jobsite trial-to-PO at the project level; 6-12 months for master agreement negotiation at corporate procurement; relationship cycle measured in projects (3-18 months each), not fiscal years
$1K-$10K initial jobsite trial; $25K-$250K per active project once approved; $250K-$5M annual at master agreement level for large GCs
Sub-segments inside Construction & General Contractors
General Contractors (Commercial / Institutional)
ENR Top 400 down to regional GCs. Top end: Turner, Skanska, Whiting-Turner, Mortenson, DPR, Hensel Phelps, Clark Construction, Suffolk — $1B-$15B revenue. Mid-market regional GCs: $50M-$500M revenue, 5-50 active projects.
GCs self-perform some scopes (concrete, carpentry, layout) and sub the rest. Buying happens at the project level — superintendent and PM control jobsite spend. Central procurement at large GCs sets master agreements but the super still controls jobsite consumables, tools, chemistry.
Specialty / Sub Contractors (MEP)
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, drywall, concrete subs. $5M-$500M revenue. Often family-owned regional businesses with 50-500 field employees.
MEP subs are the heaviest MRO consumers per project — lubricants, sealants, threadlockers, anti-seize, cleaners, PPE, hand tools, fasteners. Foreman and journeymen are end users. Owner often still active in the business.
Civil / Heavy / Highway Contractors
Granite, Kiewit, Flatiron, Lane, Tutor Perini, regional civil contractors. Bridges, highways, dams, water/wastewater, airports, rail. Heavily equipment-dependent.
Equipment yard is central. Diesel fuel, lubricants, hydraulic hose, cutting torches, welding, heavy PPE. DOT/Davis-Bacon exposure for federal-aid projects. Equipment manager is a real procurement role here.
Residential Builders (Production & Custom)
National production builders (Lennar, D.R. Horton, Pulte, Toll Brothers, NVR) build 5,000-80,000+ homes/year. Regional/custom builders 50-1,000 homes/year.
Production builders run a manufacturing-style operation — same plans, same materials, repeated 1,000 times. Purchasing is centralized at the division level. Custom builders are project-based with the owner-builder making most calls.
Equipment-Intensive Specialty Contractors
Paving, demolition, excavation, drilling, crane/rigging. $10M-$300M revenue. Heavy equipment fleets are the core asset.
These contractors live in the lubricant, hydraulic, and welding categories. Equipment uptime IS the business. Shop foreman and equipment manager are the primary buyers.
Service Contractors (Post-Build / Recurring)
MEP service divisions of GCs and standalone HVAC/plumbing/electrical service companies. Recurring service contracts on installed systems.
More like a property management buying motion — recurring routes, predictable consumables. Service manager and lead techs are the buyers. Less project-based pressure.
Key personas you'll meet
5 researched personas for Construction & General Contractors. Each one carries its own vocabulary, pain-point ranking, and discovery question bank — used to make every brief persona-specific.