Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, Argan, Inc. (AGX) primarily engages in the designing and building of energy plants. They do this through their subsidiary, Gemma Power Systems. They construct traditional gas, biodiesel, and ethanol energy plants, and renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power. Trading on the American Stock Exchange, Argan is part of the Heavy Construction industry.
The company also owns Southern Maryland Cable, Inc. and Vitarich Laboratories, Inc. These two companies operate as wholly owned subsidiaries of Argan. Companies that provide products and services to growth industries are ones that Argan Inc. focuses on for partnerships. They seek collaborations with companies that can benefit either from their ability to finance their growth internally or through strategic acquisitions or via both of these methods.
Gemma Power Systems is a leading power plant designer and builder with expertise in engineering, design, procurement, and construction. Gemma Power Systems has their headquarters near Hartford, Connecticut. They provide a full range of developmental, consulting, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning and maintenance services.
Gemma has managed projects for over 70 facilities. These represent more than 9,000 MW of power-generating capacity. Gemma has overseen the completion of billions of dollars worth of public, industrial, and commercial projects as well.
Southern Maryland Cable Inc. provides inside-premise wiring services to the federal government. This includes work for military installations and government office sites requiring high-level security clearance. In addition, Southern Maryland provides underground and aerial construction services and splicing to major telecommunications and utilities customers.
Argan’s Vitarich Laboratories is a farm-to-market, vertically integrated private label manufacturer. They manufacture, package, and distribute premium nutraceutical products. These include nutritional, whole food dietary supplements, and other personal healthcare goods.
In July, Gemma Power Systems received a notice to proceed on a $210 million contract to build several power plants by 2011. Gemma will design and build eight simple cycle-peaking plants near Palm Springs, California. The company’s contract is with CPV Sentinel, which has a power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison.
Arthur Trudel, Chief Financial Officer of Argan Inc., said, “This is for periods when there’s a higher demand for power within that Southern California area, like periods of high heat. This is the beginning of the project, so there are limited items to work on until we go into full construction mode, like procuring equipment that’s necessary for the plant.”
Argan Inc. continues to work with energy and enthusiasm for their projects at hand. They take pride in the full range of services they offer when it comes to constructing energy plants. They seek to build facilities that provide for the energy needs of communities and the return on investment needs of their shareholders.
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