News & Insight

• Messer ranked 10th in Midwest

  Messer was recently ranked by Engineering News Record (ENR) Midwest as the 10th-largest general contractor in the Midwest. The ranking is based off of 2013 revenue for projects located in the Midwest. Messer recorded 561.35 million in revenue last year among its four Midwestern regions – Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis. The company ranked 11th on the 2013 version of the list. Several large projects contributed to the revenue mark, including three that were ranked by ENR Midwest this spring among 2013's top 50 construction project starts in the Midwest: No. 9: The Ohio State University's North Residential District Transformation project (Columbus, Ohio) – $370 million. No. 48: The Cincinnati Streetcar project (Cincinnati, Ohio) – $71 million. No. 50 (tie): NiSource/Columbia Gas Corporate Headquarters project (Columbus, Ohio) – $63 million.  

• Messer ranked 68th by ENR; 50 years of making the Top 400

  Messer Construction Co. was recently ranked by Engineering News-Record (ENR) as the 68th-largest general contractor in the United States, based on 2013 revenue. The company’s $831.7 million revenue mark, the largest in its 81-year history, was up from $792.4 million the previous year, when it ranked 70th. The ranking is part of ENR’s annual Top 400 Contractors list, which this year was published for the 50th-straight year. Messer is one of only 50 companies to have ranked in the top 400 in both 1964 and 2014. Furthermore, it is one of just 19 companies to have ranked in the top 100 on both lists. In 1964, ENR ranked family-owned Frank Messer & Sons, Inc. No. 84 on its list, with $30.8 million in new contracts. In 1990, the company’s employees purchased the Cincinnati contractor and changed its name to Messer Construction Co. Soon, the company would begin to expand its footprint by opening regional offices throughout the Midwest and South. Today, Messer has regional offices in nine cities and employs over 900 people. The company has appeared in the top 100 of ENR’s list in each of the last 12 years, and is considered among the country’s premier higher-education and health-care builders.  

• Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

  The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium recently opened its Heart of Africa exhibit – built by Messer – to much fanfare... yes, including an appearance by the estimable Betty White. But the buzz hasn’t subsided. Fun, interesting and mesmerizing, photos and videos of the exhibit continue to roll in amid the positive reviews. Thousands have already visited to check out the up-close, even hands-on experience with some of the most fascinating animals in the world. But don’t take our word for it. Check out what everyone is saying: ABC News: VIDEO: African safari is the latest attraction at the Columbus Zoo Yahoo.com/ABC's Good Morning America: PHOTOS: Go inside 'The Heart of Africa' The Columbus Dispatch: Joe Blundo commentary: New exhibit a must-see for zoo fans (VIDEO included) WBNS-10TV (Columbus, Ohio): Columbus Zoo opens 'Heart of Africa' region The Columbus Dispatch: Heart of Africa exhibit transports zoo visitors to Serengeti The Columbus Dispatch: Betty White, Jack Hanna welcome visitors to new Heart of Africa exhibit    

• IPD delivering effective results for Messer

  Messer has recently put to the test a project delivery method called Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), which uses heavy collaboration between owner, designers and builders to cut down on project costs while maximizing efficiency and quality. In its May issue, the Cincinnati Business Courier outlined Messer’s use of IPD and how its use has impacted two of the company’s large health care projects. Research has revealed fewer than 100 projects nationwide to use IPD since its inception 10 years ago. Messer first used the method on the Simon Family Tower project at Indiana University Health’s Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The method proved so effective that it was implemented at Messer’s current work at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Location T project, a $180-million, 425,000-square-foot addition to the hospital’s Avondale campus. Location T is slated for completion in the summer of 2015. Traditionally, an owner hires an architect and engineer to design a building, then brings in a general contractor, like Messer, for the construction portion of the project. The general contractor then uses a mixture of its own workers and subcontractors for the work. For the sake of further detail, the project’s initial designs, or “drawings,” are re-drawn by either Messer or a subcontractor. “Why is somebody redrawing something that was just drawn?” Messer Health Care Vice President Nick Apanius told the Cincinnati Business Courier. In IPD, owner, architects, engineers and builders are aligned into a single contract, meaning original designs are done with the input of each party involved, including the general contractor and key subcontractors. IPD requires a few unique elements. First, key participants who generally come into the picture later – namely the general contractor and key subcontractors – are now involved early in the process. This hashes out problems before they present themselves on site. For example, plumbing and electrical subcontractors can lay out and evaluate the location of their lines during the design stage, instead of when a potential conflict between the two locations arises during traditional coordination or even installation. Next is the joint sharing of risk and reward through a profit/incentive pool. Since all parties are aligned into a single contract, they manage the project jointly and all split the same profit. For example, a subcontractor’s work and input thus affects all parties involved, instead of only fitting into their contract with the general contractor. IPD is most often used on large-scale projects – generally more than $50 million. If a project’s size requires a significant use of a subcontractor’s time and resources, the extra planning time is a worthwhile investment. Because each contributor is giving their insight into the original drawings, Apanius said, everyone’s input will be included in the original drawing. “It allows construction to start sooner and run more efficiently,” he said.

• Berea College

  In addition to recently winning two prestigious 2013 Build Kentucky Awards, including 2013 AGC of Kentucky Project of the Year, Berea College’s Deep Green Residence Hall – built by Messer – has earned the distinction from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as the highest-scoring, LEED-certified residence hall in the world. The building, which earned a score of 90 points, is one of only four residence halls in the world to earn Platinum Certification. The LEED certification denotes independent verification from the U.S. Green Building Council that a building is designed and constructed “using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health.” “This is an extraordinary achievement,” says Richard Dodd, Berea College capital projects manager, explaining that Deep Green was originally programmed to achieve 85 LEED points. “Through collaborative efforts we found synergies and cost efficiencies that allowed us to earn the additional five points for the highest LEED score in the world for a residence hall.” Considered the benchmark in green building design and construction, LEED provides a framework for identifying and implementing measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions and addresses all aspects of a building’s performance: from the application of materials to renewable energy, use of day-lighting and natural ventilation, landscaping, the indoor environment and more. In determining a building’s certification, LEED measures performance in several sustainability categories, including energy and atmosphere (energy consumption and monitoring and the use of renewable energy sources), water efficiency, materials and resources, innovation in design, and awareness and education. The facility’s high sustainability marks first earned it recognition in the form of a 2013 AGC of Kentucky Build Kentucky Award in the LEED category. It was then announced that Deep Green had won the 2013 Project of the Year, the AGC of Kentucky’s top honor. Messer received both awards during the AGC of Kentucky’s awards banquet on April 11, at the Lexington Convention Center. The company’s last Build Kentucky award came in 2012 for its Southland Christian Church – Richmond Road Campus project, which was honored in the Building category. About the Deep Green Residence Hall In 2012, Berea College chose Messer Construction Co. to build what it planned to be one of the world’s most sustainable residence halls. To achieve that ambitious vision, both the finished product – a 41,500-square-foot, 123-bed residence hall – and each stage in making it would need to live up to lofty standards for sustainability set by the Living Building Challenge (LBC) and the US Green Building Council. “Berea College is a longtime, respected partner of ours,” said Bob Williams, vice president at Messer. “When they came to us, their expectations were very clear. “To execute the project to their standards, our team needed to be mindful of every detail and reconsider the ‘norm’ from all possible angles.” Construction of the Deep Green Residence Hall did ultimately live up to, and in most cases exceed, those original goals for sustainability. Deep Green’s 90 LEED points make it the leanest residence hall in the world, according to the Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG), which tracks buildings’ levels of sustainability. Measured on a scale of 115 possible points, Deep Green is one of only four measured buildings to have achieved the highest classification for building sustainability, LEED Platinum certification (80-point requirement). No other LEED-certified residence hall has achieved more than 84 points. “It’s an honor to have this facility earn such high praise,” said David Lambert, Messer’s senior project manager for Deep Green. “Quite a bit of effort was poured in from all involved parties to make this project a trailblazer. We hope some of the methods and tactics we used here in Berea can serve as case studies for future projects.” In all, more than 89 percent of project waste was recycled, easily surpassing the original project goal of 75 percent. Numerous tactics were used to achieve this: excess brick, porcelain and ceramic tile were recycled into new bricks; excess drywall was used on farms to clean troughs and was later broken down for use as fertilizer on crop fields; and excess foundation foam was reused on site as insulation in the headers of load-bearing walls. In the end, 987,476 pounds of construction waste was diverted from landfills. With a need to pay close attention to material sourcing, Messer designated a full-time employee on site to handle only that issue throughout preconstruction and construction. Among the most significant challenges was adhering to LBC standards for petal recognition, which prohibit the presence of 14 “Red List” materials and chemicals in both construction and the final product. One such “Red List” example is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a common material used in areas like piping, roofing and wire-coating. PVC itself is not damaging to the environment, but environmentally harmful chemicals used in its manufacturing landed it on the list, excluding it from Deep Green’s jobsite. “Finding alternatives to usual routes was certainly a challenge,” Lambert said, “but credit goes to Berea College for staying true to their vision and offering our team full support throughout the project, no matter our need.” Despite the financial and logistical strains caused by the unique guidelines and requirements, the project was still completed on-time and within budget. “Timeline and budget were important to us because we, along with Berea College, wanted to show that this sort of approach is realistic,” Williams explained. “If this project was going to lead the way for the future of construction, it absolutely needed to suffice in those two areas.” To further cut down on the footprint of the project, Messer sourced 49 percent of construction materials from within 500 miles of the jobsite, easily topping the LEED standard of 20 percent. That mark was further lessened by the use of uncommon tactics, like using mules to transport wood or utilizing reclaimed wood from either deadfall or forest fires. “Sustainability was the name of the game throughout the entire project,” Lambert said. “Berea College was looking for this project to be used as an example for sustainability, so every move we made – anything from bringing in an off-site consultant to insulating the building – was done with an eye to sustainability and being lean.” That sustainability didn’t stop with construction practices, either. The completed building receives 15 percent of its energy from a 50 kilowatt solar array on the roof. Additionally, each bedroom has a lightweight 60-inch ceiling fan called a Haiku®. Manufactured by Big Ass Fans, Haiku® has proven 80 percent more efficient than conventional ceiling fans. Among Deep Green’s most impressive features is an automated energy-monitoring system called a Vital Signs Green Dashboard System, which monitors the building’s energy consumption in real time. This creates a sustainable, conscious residential environment and allows for residents and facility managers to adjust equipment function to see immediate results. Furthermore, Deep Green’s heating and cooling is run by a geothermal and reverse-cycle chiller system, which draws heat from the earth via water from 48 wells drilled below the building’s parking lot. That water is then pumped through a reverse-cycle chiller in the building’s basement, which uses it to heat and cool the building. During construction, the new residence hall was met with enthusiasm by students, who helped install things like rain gardens and planting beds, build furniture, and assist with accounting, photography and public relations. That interest turned into demand upon the project’s completion, as students are now selected to live in Deep Green via a campus-wide lottery.  

• Appalachian health care giant opens new facility

  A health care giant in eastern Kentucky cut the ribbon recently on its new 12-story medical office building and parking garage. After three years of construction by Messer, Pikeville Medical Center’s (PMC) new addition to its main campus in Pikeville, Ky., will begin taking patients today (April 14, 2014). Situated amid the Appalachian Mountains, roughly 40 miles from the Virginia border, Pikeville packs quite the health care punch. The small town of just under 7,000 people is synonymous with PMC, which is among Appalachia’s most trusted and recognizable names in health care. The new, 220,000-square-foot facility further enhances PMC’s capabilities and capacity, adding 198 exam rooms, 23 pre-op bays, 25 post-op bays, eight operating rooms, six endoscopy rooms, five sub-sterile/scrub rooms and a large sterile processing room. Additionally, the 10-story parking garage can hold 1,208 vehicles and includes an entrance to the medical facility on each level. At its opening on April 10, PMC President and CEO Walter E. May rang in the new facility by thanking a host of its contributors, including Messer. “I’ve been involved in I forget how many multi-million dollar building projects,” May said. “The last one I thought would be my last and that I would never undertake another, because it would almost put you in the grave. “But the difference (this time) was the construction company. It’s been a pleasure working with Messer Construction – the difference between daylight and dark.”  

• Three Messer projects among top 50 starts in Midwest

  Three Messer projects were recently named in Engineering News Review Midwest among the top 50 construction project starts in the Midwest. The rankings are based on project cost and include only projects which broke ground in 2013. The Ohio State University's North Residential District Transformation project, at $370 million, was rated No. 9 overall; the Cincinnati Streetcar project, at $71 million, was rated No. 48; and the NiSource/Columbia Gas Corporate Headquarters project (Columbus, Ohio), at $63 million, tied for No. 50. Messer Vice President Rob Verst, who leads the company's Columbus region: "We are proud to be leading two of the top projects in the Midwest. It has been a pleasure thus far to work with both Ohio State and NiSource/Columbia Gas, two outstanding partners. Central Ohio's presence on this list certainly speaks to its bright future, so we're honored and excited to be partnered with two of the region's cornerstones as it continues to grow." Messer Vice President Steve Eder, who leads the company's Cincinnati region: "We are proud to help lead the Cincinnati Streetcar project, which we feel will further enhance Cincinnati's vibrant downtown area and transform the future of our city. Increased notoriety for the Streetcar project, including landing on this list, is both fitting and reflective of its expected impact on Cincinnati's future. We at Messer are honored to play a role in such a significant endeavor for the city." Read more (via ENR Midwest): http://bit.ly/1k8z269

• 'Heart of Africa' to stretch typical zoo experience

  In anticipation of the opening of their new grand stage, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s ‘Heart of Africa’ exhibit, 11 giraffes have been training for their end of what figures to be a one-of-a-kind experience for patrons. Messer is leading construction of the new exhibit, expected to open this summer, which among its many unique features will allow patrons to feed the giraffes. Turns out, though, that giraffes are shy animals by nature, so getting them to open up to strangers is quite the… tall… task. “It takes time for them to get acclimated with people,” said Adam Felts, assistant curator at the Zoo. “They are very shy animals; they don’t necessarily like to be touched. So we spend a lot of time with our volunteers and our docents just standing up here feeding them.” While a few details, like feeding times and frequency, still need to be sorted out, it’s clear the exhibit will add to what is already considered one of the top zoos in the country. “Columbus has been asking, ‘Where are your giraffe and zebra?’ for the last eight years,” Felts said, “and (now) they’re here.” In addition to giraffes and zebras, ‘Heart of Africa’ will feature several other animals, including cheetahs, monkeys and lions. Fourteen new buildings, ranging from a café to animal-housing structures, are being erected for the exhibit. Covering more than 35 acres, one of the exhibit’s most unique aspects is the scope of its landscaping, as 5,456 plants and 583 trees (60 are “large trees”) are being added in addition to more than 1,500 pounds of grass seed and 13,000 bags of mulch.

• Nashville renovation project nets Build Tennessee Award

  Messer Construction Co. has won the 2014 AGC Build Tennessee Award, in the $10-plus million renovation category, for its Madison Police Precinct and Crime Lab renovation project in northeast Nashville. Messer received its award during the AGC of Tennessee’s awards banquet on Feb. 27, at Music City Center. It is the company’s first Build Tennessee award. In 2013, Messer was honored by the AGC of Tennessee with Awards of Merit, for construction management of the West Police Precinct and Middle Tennessee State University Student Union. “It’s an honor to have this complex project recognized among the best in the state,” said Allen Begley, senior vice president at Messer. “This award is a representation of the hard work of our project team and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (‘Metro’).” Messer headed the $29.5 million renovation, which transformed an abandoned, 42,000-square-foot truck manufacturing warehouse into an 84,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art crime lab and police precinct. The facility opened on Jan. 14 and is currently the only police precinct in Tennessee with its own crime lab. The building also achieved a prestigious LEED Silver certification, which recognizes its reduced environmental footprint, due to its use of green elements – LED lighting, wireless lighting controls and bio-safety cabinets, among others – and exceptional recycling practices during construction – more than 180 tons of metal were recycled. Charlie Ingram, project manager for Metro, said Messer’s work will benefit the building’s quality and longevity. “It was clear Messer was concerned with not only providing a high-quality building,” he said, “but with providing a high-quality building that will last for decades.” The challenge, though, reached deeper than the inevitable, complex logistical and quality issues, as a rising crime rate in Nashville’s northern neighborhoods called for additional law enforcement resources in the area. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said he considers the combined police precinct and crime lab a significant step in fighting crime. “Having our own crime lab is a game-changer for public safety in our city,” Dean said. “This state-of-the-art facility will greatly enhance our investigative capabilities.” Dean added to that sentiment in December after touring the facility for the first time, saying to the media, “I couldn’t be more thrilled about what I saw today.” Because of the spike in crime, though, additional law enforcement support in the area could not wait for the project’s completion. As a result, Messer was called upon to renovate the basement of a neighboring building for use as a temporary precinct during construction. The temporary precinct, however, was a public building, raising obvious logistical and safety issues for its 100-plus police officers. Therefore, throughout the construction process, Messer helped provide secure police parking and manage a safe public entry at the temporary site, resulting in zero recordable accidents or public incidents during the course of the project. The process of transforming the warehouse into a state-of-the-art precinct and crime lab, though, was a complex and thorough endeavor, in and of itself. First, Messer carefully stripped down the building to only its structural steel. While many renovations involve demolition aspects, this included a meticulous, screw-by-screw disassembling of the building. A second floor was then added, doubling the building’s square footage, and from there the facility was very carefully brought together. But logistical concerns often complicated the project, as the facility’s large, complex and extremely sensitive equipment required careful planning to effectively put into place. At times, entire rooms had to be built around intact equipment, because of its size. To aid in this often-complex planning and execution, Messer employed a host of lean construction practices, including high-tech, innovative construction tools like LATISTA, laser scanning and Building Information Modeling (BIM). The result was a unique, multifaceted renovation project that was delivered on-time and within budget. “Once again, working with Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County proved to  be an outstanding experience,” Begley said of the project. “This award is a testament to their commitment to making Nashville a regional and national leader in sustainability and environmental quality, and we at Messer are very proud to be a part of the transformations taking place with their police precincts and fire stations.” With a new facility in place, Nashville law enforcement is now able to devote even more resources to furthering the safety of the city. “…This renovation has transformed the way Nashville and Davidson County investigate crime in our neighborhoods,” Ingram noted. “I am grateful for the expertise provided by the entire Messer team.”

• OSU first, Scioto Greenways eighth in central Ohio’s largest public projects

  Two Messer projects were recently named among central Ohio’s 25 largest public construction projects for 2014, according to a list published by Columbus Business First. The Ohio State University’s North Residential District Transformation (NRDT), managed by Messer, was rated the largest in the region at $370 million. Messer is also managing the No. 8-rated project on the list, Scioto Greenways, which has a cost of $31 million. “We’re very pleased to be leading two of the top ten public projects in central Ohio, including the largest one in the region.” said Messer Vice President Rob Verst, who leads the company’s Columbus region. “We’ve continued to stick to our strategic plan for growth in the area, and it’s resulted this year in significant projects with two outstanding clients, among others. “We’re very excited to be building two major pieces of central Ohio’s future.” Despite managing other large projects in the region – public and private – Verst says Messer’s capacity remains very open. “We’re very excited that, even with this substantial growth, our regional capacity remains such where we’re very much able to take on new opportunities,” he said. “This allows for a healthy amount of continued growth, all while keeping alive our investment in the future of central Ohio.” Read more (via Columbus Business First): http://bit.ly/1hpwzAg

• Messer to build humanities building at Volunteer State

  Messer Construction Co. has been named the construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) for a new $29.2 million humanities building on the campus of Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn., just outside of Nashville. According to Eric Melcher, a spokesman for Volunteer State, the three-floor, 74,000-square-foot facility will be the largest on campus, housing 44 classrooms and labs, 56 offices, an art gallery, computer lab, recording studio, music practice area and a “flexible instructional space” for “theater, music, or a variety of things.” The building will be capable of accommodating up to 1,484 people. Construction is slated to begin in late summer or early fall.