About Us

History

Arkel’s history began in 1954 when a young, ambitious Homer Knost moved to Louisianan to participate in the building of the post-war petro-chemical construction boom.

Starting at Dow Chemical, still one of the country’s largest chemical complexes, Homer Knost soon branched out to work in most of the chemical and refinery complexes on the Mississippi River system. From Louisiana it soon expanded to all facets of construction in industrial facilities across the United States.

As the company’s horizons expanded domestically, Homer Knost set his sights on overseas opportunities. From the early 1970s Arkel looked to the international arena for opportunities. Starting in the Sudan with one of the world’s largest sugar factories – Kenana – Arkel continued to seek international expansion. Almost forty years later, Arkel has worked on over forty countries with an enviable record of success.

Today Homer leads Arkel as its Chairman providing the company with his invaluable insight and spirit of entrepreneurship. His spirit of making the impossible – possible flows throughout the company. From his prior experiences the company continues to grow along the path he set forward.

Today, Arkel is a variety of companies operating in many different market segments. From large-scale domestic projects to logistically challenging projects on the Savannah's of Africa, Arkel continues to provide clients with the unique, valuable solutions. We do it with a pool of talented people committed to providing those customer driven solutions from the Euphrates to the Mississippi.

With + fifty years of service in over forty countries we embrace our history while seeking new challenges for the future.