The Shaw Group Branches Out: As his Stone & Webster deal pays off fast, James M. Bernhard Jr. wins a slew of contracts

James M. Bernhard Jr. is the smooth-talking multimillionaire chairman of what is probably the world's most sophisticated pipe fabricator, The Shaw Group. Bernhard, through a series of contracting acquisitions, has gone into competition against some of his customers. Last year, Shaw Group booked about 7,500 Mw as an engineer, procure and construct firm in the power market. And it again upset the established order by booking this work under targeted-price, cost-plus contracts where return is more modest but potentially disastrous liquidated damages are absent. More recently, Shaw Group continued its bargain-hunting approach to acquisitions, surprising quite a few people by bidding for The IT Group Inc. Such ambition has brought out all kinds of detractors.