News & Insight

• Messer Announces Two Executive Promotions

  Messer Construction Co. is pleased to announce the promotion of Tim Steigerwald to president and Mark Luegering to senior vice president and chief operations officer. In his new role as president, Steigerwald assumes leadership of the construction company, including responsibility for overall company performance and strategic direction. As chief operations officer, Luegering is responsible for company-wide construction operations performance. Tom Keckeis retains the title of chief executive officer, a position he has held since 2010, and he will continue to lead Messer Inc., the parent company of Messer Construction Co., while supporting Steigerwald and Luegering during the transition. The promotion of the two senior executives is effective immediately and represents the next wave of leadership growth within the company. “When Messer became employee-owned in 1990, it changed the course of the company because we became focused on creating opportunities for professional growth. As we’ve expanded into new regions, grown our employee base and increased the number of customers we serve, opportunities for our people have followed. Tim and Mark are perfect examples of this in action,” said Tom Keckeis, chief executive officer, Messer Inc. and Messer Construction Co. “They share a passion for building our communities, mentoring and growing our employees, and providing exceptional service to our customers. They have been at the center of our company’s growth throughout their entire careers, and are well positioned to lead our company into the future.” Steigerwald began his career with Messer in 1984, working for the company first as a co-op for several years. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Purdue University, he joined Messer full time in 1988. Five years later he earned his M.B.A. from Xavier University. Over the next 30 years, he grew from a project engineer, to a site leader, to a senior project executive overseeing multiple jobsites, to a region leader in charge of the operational performance and profit and loss for an entire market. He helped grow Messer’s Columbus region, and in 2005 led the opening of Messer’s Indianapolis office. As the company grew, so too did the need for a dedicated leader to focus on improving the way the company developed, branded and communicated about its services. In 2010 he took on company-wide project development leadership for the company, which includes leadership of the business development, sales support, marketing and corporate communication, and cost planning and estimating departments, and healthcare division. He sits on the boards of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati and Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Cincinnati, and has served on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Columbus, Ohio, as well as Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati.    Luegering began his career with Messer in 1983 after co-oping for four years. He received a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and joined the company upon graduation. On his first assignment he served as a quality assurance engineer on a prominent project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mark quickly progressed through the ranks as a result of his operational excellence. Early in his career he was asked to move to Lexington and lead the opening of Messer’s first region office outside of Cincinnati. Later he helped lead and develop Messer’s presence in Louisville. After these successes, he returned to help lead the company’s largest region, Cincinnati. Over time, he was then charged with guiding and overseeing the project operations and performance of Messer’s northern region offices, which includes Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis. Mark led the company’s early adoption and implementation of lean processes, and has since championed newer efforts to improve the way the company manages construction projects and delivers quality. He has been at the forefront of the company’s effort to create career paths for superintendents and advance skill development for the company’s craftforce. He has also led the company’s innovation efforts in prefabrication and technology solutions to create safer, more efficient jobsites. Mark is a Leadership Cincinnati XXVIII and University of Cincinnati Executive Program graduate. His previous community service includes past board chair for the Allied Construction Industries, the Community ReSource Center, and the Spirit of Construction. Mark is a past board member of Kicks for Kids and the University of Cincinnati Engineering Alumni Association. He is currently on the board of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Community ReSource Center, and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation.   About Messer Construction Co. Messer Construction Co. is a construction manager and general contractor, providing leadership for complex, commercial construction projects in the health care, higher education, life sciences and industrial market segments. An employee-owned company, Messer’s transformational investment in its people, communities and innovative building solutions has enhanced the landscape of the nine regions throughout the Midwest and Southeast in which its employees live and work. A local builder with national resources and expertise, the company has delivered value for more than 85 years through quality construction and client experiences, taking care to both exceed customer expectations and build long-term relationships.

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  ABC of Ohio Valley Names Messer Safe Employer of the Year

  The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of the Ohio Valley has named Messer Construction Co. in Dayton the Safe Employer of the Year at its 15th Annual Construction Safety Day awards luncheon.  Regional Safety Manager Mike King accepted the award on behalf of the company at the Dayton Convention Center ceremony on Wednesday, January 17, 2018. The Ohio Valley ABC also recognized Messer Carpenter Apprentice Jake Stanifer as Runner-Up for its Safe Employee of the Year award. “Our focus is to set a vision for our Zero Injury culture, both with our employees and our subcontractors, and drive it in everything we do so that it becomes second nature,” said Kevin Cozart, Messer Construction Co. vice president and Dayton leader. “It’s incredibly rewarding to be recognized for it by the Ohio Valley ABC.” Messer defines its Zero Injury culture as eliminating all injuries to people on or around its jobsites in greater Dayton. Leadership engagement, preplanning, training, and refining the internal communication plan in 2016 and 2017 created positive change in behavior by Messer employees and subcontractors. Results include: Project Risk Assessments and Site-Specific Safety Plans completed on 100% of Messer’s projects Job Safety Analysis (JSA) completed and reviewed for every Messer and subcontractor work activity An Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 0.58 in Ohio A reduction in Messer’s Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 26% in 2016 “These milestones demonstrate how strategy coupled with standard company practices (including our Drug­Free Workplace with pre-employment, random and cause-based testing) keep us driving toward Zero Injury,” said King. To ensure the longevity of the Zero Injury culture, Messer implemented Project Safety Management (PSM) to provide educational tools such as: OSHA 10-hour classes in new hire on boarding OSHA 30-hour training for all Craft leaders Computer-based training modules for individual growth Occupational Physicians to improve injured employee care Follow-up on near misses or violations Sharing best practices and lessons learned ###   About Messer Construction Co. A local builder with national resources, Messer Construction Co. specializes in managing, developing and performing complex commercial construction in the Dayton community in which they live and work, and delivering value to their clients through quality construction experiences. Established in Dayton in 1999 and employee-owned, Messer’s track record of success can be traced to past and present local architectural icons and institutions that foster healing, learning, service, and innovation.

• Why More Young People Need to Consider Careers in Construction

  A career in construction offers rich opportunities for advancement, a great work life, competitive wages, and invaluable skills.

• A Key Challenge for Minority-Owned Subcontractors? Misperceptions.

  Messer Construction Co. Director of Economic Inclusion Sonya Walton explores the hurdles facing minority-and women-owned businesses and what you can do to help.

• How Do We Prepare for Indy

  Messer Construction Co. Vice President and Indianapolis Region Leader Steven Bestard shares his perspective on where the industry is heading and what the region can do to prepare for the future.

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  Messer Linbeck team wins 2017 Alliant Build America Award for Cincinnati Children

  Cincinnati Children’s / UC Health Proton Therapy Center was named by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) as the best new construction project valued between $10 million and $99 million and built in the U.S. within the last year.

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  Messer Construction Co. Issues 2017 Community Report

  Messer is pleased to share our 2017 Community Report—an annual overview and update on our company’s collective promise to be an invested community partner.

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  Messer wins Build Ohio Award for Ohio State

  Messer was selected by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Ohio to receive its prestigious 2016 Build Ohio Award for the recently completed North Residential District at The Ohio State University. Over the course of 30 months, together with our partners at Ohio State, Messer led the design-build team in the transformation and creation of the university’s North Residential District in the heart of a busy and occupied campus, for what was the largest public education project of its kind, valued at $320 million. Award criteria for the esteemed Build Ohio Award is based on demonstrated excellence in project management, client service and innovation in construction techniques / materials, as well as the degree of difficulty in meeting the challenges of the project. Project background & details The Ohio State University stands as one of the nation’s largest universities with nearly 65,000 students on campus. In 2010, Ohio State set out to propel itself into the forefront of modern American universities by redefining the student experience on campus with the creation of its Second-Year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) – the largest and most visible aspect of this program was the transformation and creation of its North Residential District. Almost a city unto itself, the 27-acre North Residential District features 1.1 million square feet of new construction: eight new residence halls for more than 3,800 students, two dining halls and a fitness center. In addition, this project also involved phased demolition of 11 buildings and phased replacement of all site utilities, infrastructure, hardscape, and landscape. At its peak, the project involved more than 900 craft workers. Using integrated project delivery concepts, a studio space provided a collaborative environment for architects, engineers, owners, users, and key subcontractors. The design-build team structure itself was complex and involved three construction firms; three architecture firms; structural, electrical, electrical and mechanical engineering firms; and ten other design and engineering firms—all under Messer’s leadership and contract.

• Messer’s Mary Kilburn Leads Knoxville’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Event for Women in Construction

  Senior Project Accountant Mary Kilburn was recently featured in the Knoxville News Sentinel for her leadership role in Knoxville’s local chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). The organization is commemorating its 50th Anniversary in Knoxville, TN, and Kilburn is currently serving as the chair of the celebration event. Kilburn, who has been a member of NAWIC for more than a decade, stated, “We definitely want to bring the ladies who are in the construction industry together. Not just the people who are on a construction site -- the whole gamut of construction, architecture, engineering, banking, legal services -- any relation to construction." To read more, please visit Knoxville News Sentinel.

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