 The Wattis Brothers , heads of the Utah Construction Company , were interested in bidding on the project , but lacked the money for the performance bond . They lacked sufficient resources even in combination with their longtime partners , Morrison @-@ Knudsen , which employed the nation 's leading dam builder , Frank Crowe . They formed a joint venture to bid for the project with Pacific Bridge Company of Portland , Oregon ; Henry J. Kaiser & W. A. Bechtel Company of San Francisco ; MacDonald & Kahn Ltd. of Los Angeles ; and the J.F. Shea Company of Portland , Oregon . The joint venture was called Six Companies , Inc. as Bechtel and Kaiser were considered one company for purposes of 6 in the name . The name was descriptive and was an inside joke among the San Franciscans in the bid , where " Six Companies " was also a Chinese benevolent association in the city . There were three valid bids , and Six Companies ' bid of $ 48 @,@ 890 @,@ 955 was the lowest , within $ 24 @,@ 000 of the confidential government estimate of what the dam would cost to build , and five million dollars less than the next @-@ lowest bid . 
 The Wattis Brothers , heads of the Utah Construction Company , <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> interested in bidding on the project , but lacked the money for the performance bond . They<a href='been_done' title='2'><mark></mark></a> lacked sufficient resources even in combination with their longtime partners , Morrison @-@ Knudsen , which employed the nation <a href='null_genetive' title='3'><mark>'s</mark></a>leading dam builder , Frank Crowe . They formed a joint venture to bid for the project with Pacific Bridge Company of Portland , Oregon ; Henry J. Kaiser & W. A. Bechtel Company of San Francisco ; MacDonald & Kahn Ltd. of Los Angeles ; and the J.F. Shea Company of Portland , Oregon . The joint venture was called Six Companies , Inc. as Bechtel and Kaiser <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>were</mark></a> considered one company for purposes of 6 in the name . The name was descriptive and was an inside joke among the San Franciscans in the bid , where " Six Companies " was also a Chinese benevolent association in the city . <a href='dey_it' title='5'><mark>There</mark></a> <a href='uninflect' title='6'><mark>were</mark></a> three valid bids , and Six Companies <a href='null_genetive' title='7'><mark>'</mark></a>bid of $ 48 @,@ 890 @,@ 955 was the lowest , within $ 24 @,@ 000 of the confidential government estimate of what the dam would cost to build , and five million dollars less than the next @-@ lowest bid . 
Da Wattis Brothers , heads of the Utah Construction Company , was interested in bidding on the project , but lacked the money fir the performance bond . They done lacked sufficient resources even in combination w/ their longtime partners , Morrison @-@ Knudsen , which employed the nation  leading dam builder , Frank Crowe . They formed a joint venture to bid for the project wiwittacific Bridge Company of Portland , Oregon ; Henry J. Kaiser & wid. A. Bechtel Company of San Francisco ; MacDonald & Kahn Ltd. of Los Angeles ; and the J.fuc. Shea Company of Portland , Oregon . Tdajoint venture was called Six Companies , Inc. as Bechtel and Kaiser was considered one company fir purposes of 6 in the name . Thdaame was descriptive and was an inside joke among thedan Franciscans in the bid , where " Six Companies " was also a Chinese benevolent association in the city . It was three valid bids , and Six Companies  bid of $ 48 @,@ 890 @,@ 955 was the daest , within $ 24 @,@ 000 of the confidential government estimate of wht the ddawould cost to build , and five million dollars less than the neda@-@ lowest bid .