Throw a dart at a map of the world and chances are you’ll hit a Bill Harbert construction project. Bill L. Harbert International Construction has been involved in projects ranging from renovating embassies in the Mideast to laying pipelines across South American rivers.
Bill LeBold Harbert, founder of Bill L. Harbert International Construction, based in Birmingham, was born in the Mississippi Delta in Indianola, Mississippi, on July 21, 1923, the son of John Murdoch Harbert and Mae Hamilton Schooling Harbert. His father was an engineer who moved his family to the Hollywood area of Birmingham in 1927, only to lose the home shortly thereafter in the Depression.
Harbert attended public schools in Birmingham, and eventually enrolled at Auburn University. World War II cut short his first trip to The Plains, however, and at age 20, in 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Infantry, K Company. He served in Europe from 1943 until 1946 and earned a Bronze Star for heroic or meritorious service. When Harbert returned to Alabama, he re-enrolled at Auburn University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1948. A few years later, in 1966, he attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.
Bill Harbert got his start building swimming pools in Jasper. As a veteran, he was able to buy construction equipment at cheap prices and he obtained a contract to construct a series of swimming pools and other athletic facilities. And there was an added bonus. It was in Jasper that he met his wife, Joy Patrick, who died earlier this year. They were married in 1952 after seven years of dating. The couple has three children, Anne Harbert Moulton, Elizabeth
Harbert Cornay and Billy L. Harbert, Jr.
In 1949, he and his brother, John, formed Harbert Construction Corporation and Bill managed the company’s construction operations, both foreign and domestic. He served as executive vice president until 1979 and as president and chief executive officer of Harbert International, Inc., from 1979 until July 1990. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board from 1990 until December 1991, at which time he bought a majority of the international operations of Harbert International, Inc. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of Bill Harbert International Construction, Inc.
While the focus of Bill Harbert International Construction, Inc. is overseas work, the company has expanded in the past decade and is involved in several construction projects within the United States.
The overseas work has included such high-profile projects as a retail podium and parking structure for the Kuala Lumpur City Centre in Malaysia, the world’s tallest building, a $200 million-plus project. The firm has renovated embassies or consular offices in Hong Kong, New Delhi, Tanzania, and a number of former Soviet republics. The company has also been a leader in building and expanding water supply systems and water treatment systems in such countries as the Democratic Republic of Sudan, Puerto Rico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Panama. Harbert has also been involved in renovating and building multinational force and observer camps in the Sinai and in airbase construction in the Negev Desert. Closer to home, Bill Harbert International Construction projects include the new Hoover High School under construction off Valleydale Road in Shelby County, several military projects in the Southeast, the Alabama Institute for Manufacturing Excellence at The University of Alabama, and condominiums along the Gulf Coast. Bill Harbert has also devoted much time and resources to his industry and his community. He will take over as president of the International PipeLine Contractors Association next year, having served as director for several years and as 2nd vice president. He also has served as president and director of the PipeLine Contractors Association, U.S.A. He has been a member of the Construction Indus try Presidents Forum since 1992 and a trustee and co-chairman of the Laborers’
National Pension Fund since 1968.
His affiliations with community organizations include director of the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board; Newcomen Society of North America, Director, SouthTrust Corporation from 1979 until 1996, a director of the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Health Services Foundation, and a board member at AMI Brookwood Medical Center. He attends Canterbury United Methodist Church and is a member of Vestavia Country Club (President, 1976) and Riverchase Country Club (President, 1980). He served as director for the Birmingham Ballet and was on the board of the YMCA. He has been a member of the Birmingham Kiwanis Club since 1980 and is a member of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club.
He is currently on the Supporters Board of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. He and his wife Joy recently made a $1 million gift to UAB to establish the Joy and Bill Harbert Endowed Chair in Cancer Genetics. Mrs. Harbert, who graduated from The University of Alabama, served on the UAB School of Nursing Board of Visitors. Harbert also created the Mae Schooling Harbert Fund for Residents in Training to honor his mother.
Bill Harbert has never been one to seek the limelight, but he has left his mark around the world, and he has distinguished himself in business and public service. His intelligence and compassion for others are well known from the deserts of the Mideast to the boardrooms of Birmingham.
Harbert maintains a very active role in his company and heads for the office each morning he is in Birmingham. He plays tennis every afternoon he is in town and likes to fish when the opportunity arises.
