THE TIMES 100 : The Best Performing Companies in California : The Giants : Construction Giant Fluor Is Pitching Hard Overseas : The Irvine company has successfully reorganized and is looking for jobs in the environmental arena.

Les McCraw, Fluor Corp.’s chairman and chief executive, is doing his share to rack up frequent-flier miles as part of the Irvine company’s intense global marketing thrust.

“Nothing happens until you sell something,” said McCraw, who took over as chairman from David S. Tappan Jr. in January. “It is very important to stay close to our clients.”

Staying close to clients and potential clients means that Fluor executives can be found in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Europe and, most recently, war-ravaged Kuwait.

Changing world events and an upturn in its core energy-related construction businesses have thrust Fluor back into the spotlight--and onto The Times 100 list at No. 77.

“There is no doubt Fluor is back and back in a big way,” said Mark Altman, an engineering and construction industry analyst with Paine Webber in New York.

“They have completely restructured and reorganized their construction business to increase their diversity, and the strategy is paying off.” Altman and others said Fluor’s versatility has brought in some very big jobs in a weak economy, including a major overhaul of Aramco’s refineries in Saudi Arabia and a $500-million contract from Indonesia’s national oil company to expand an oil refinery.

About 30% of Fluor’s business is international. McCraw expects it to increase as more countries move to solve their energy and environmental problems.

Fluor, which employs 22,000 worldwide and works with an equal number on a contract basis, is returning to its former financial glory after a series of devastating financial setbacks. Hard hit in the early 1980s by a collapse in the domestic oil drilling market, Fluor made a major blunder by paying $2.2 billion for a mining company just before commodities prices plummeted.

Beginning in 1984, it launched a restructuring effort that included slashing the work force and selling its flagship Irvine headquarters, while remaining a tenant.

The new, leaner Fluor aggressively set out to bring in jobs from around the world.

“We want to do more things for more people in different industries,” said McCraw, who sees a lot of opportunities in the environmental arena.

“Most of the markets we see have environmental aspects to them,” he said. “It’s almost mind-boggling in its scope.”

He said Fluor engineers would like to design manufacturing plants with an eye toward reducing pollution at the source.

“The challenge is to come up with processes that don’t pollute,” said McCraw, who added that the company has the talent to design a new generation of paper-processing, pharmaceutical and automotive plants.

Although Fluor appears to have many solutions for rebuilding Kuwait’s shattered infrastructure, McCraw said, no deals have been signed.

“We are the kind of company that can help the Kuwaiti people solve their problems, and we are in discussions,” he said.

Meanwhile, the company is evaluating its involvement in the lead business based on current price fluctuations. In recent months, falling lead prices have hurt its bottom line.

First-quarter earnings fell 8.6% to $25.8 million on revenue of $1.8 billion, compared to year-ago earnings of $28.2 million on revenue of $1.9 billion.

At the end of the first quarter, the company reported a hefty $9.7-billion backlog and a cash and bond portfolio of $491 million. Long-term debt was reduced to $58 million, or about 6% of capitalization.

“We have made very good progress in the last four to five years,” McCraw said modestly. “But we want to be the clear leader in the industry.”