Macro Enterprises Ltd.

Since 1977, Macro Enterprises Ltd. (Macro) has been providing specialty construction services in New York City, Long Island and the surrounding areas. Founded more than 35 years ago, Macro specializes in performing pile driving, drilling, shoring and underpinning work across the region. George Morris PE, current president of Macro, leads the growing business, along with his two sons, Scott Morris PE and Brian Morris PE, as well as partner Robert Feulner. With a team of approximately 30 employees, Macro is a competitive force in the heavy construction industry.

The business has kept up with technology and built up strong experience in the industry. Clients have come to rely on Macro for innovative solutions to uncommon challenges. The business is vertically integrated, offering a broad range of skills, as well as value in performance. “We are engineers and contractors performing design-build work,” George explains. “We strive to come up with engineered solutions that work economically and physically.”

Building value for customers

Macro operates from a single location in Massapequa, N.Y., and services clients throughout New York City, Long Island and also frequently travels into New Jersey and Connecticut for work. In recent years, the crew has provided a wide range of value-engineered solutions to diverse clients in the region. The company is consistently working with clients and strategic partners to provide lasting, innovative solutions that save money for these institutions in the short-run and over time.

“Recently, we redesigned the pile foundations for Brooklyn College,” says George. “Through value engineering, we were able to save the college more than $1 million on a $3 million job. The architect and engineer had designed drilled mini piles, which are expensive and time consuming to install. We were able to provide an acceptable redesign using augered cast in place piles that allowed for quicker installation, which saved the owners seven figures.”

One of the team’s most challenging projects to-date entailed the support of excavation work for St. Francis Hospital on Long Island. Land scarcity has become a serious challenge in the region, especially for hospitals that are constantly expanding.

“The hospital was running out of space,” George explains. “So they had to put the new parking garage underground. We performed a 55-foot support of excavation to allow for a five-story underground parking garage. There wasn’t much room, so they had to build it close to existing buildings and in this case, an existing church. We used an auger technique where we were able to install a shoring system without any pile driving impact noise or vibration. This kept the hospital operating as it needs to without disruption or negative effects on patients.”

Market potential

The team’s recent work on the Bay Park Sewer Treatment Plant may open more doors for the team in the future. “Our work at Bay Park involves doing pilings to support facilities,” George elaborates. “Bay Park Sewer Treatment Plant is in an operating treatment plant surrounded by a residential area. Engineers didn’t want any vibrations or noise from pile driving. We installed augured cast-in-place piles that screw into ground. There is a hollow stem that grout is injected through under pressure as the auger is being withdrawn, in such a way as to exert a positive upward pressure on the earth filled auger flights, as well as a lateral pressure on the soil surrounding the grout filled pile hole forming a high capacity pile. Pile driving noise and vibrations are eliminated.”

The sewer treatment plant is an ongoing project with several components. Several contractors will work on the plant in the coming years. Now that Macro has a foot in the door, George is optimistic that his team may be involved with more of the work there.

The company has built strong connections with strategic partners. The business relies on a network of suppliers to provide essential equipment and materials. “We work with suppliers who have a good reputation,” George notes. “We have narrowed it down to suppliers we know we can depend on. In turn, we know our general contractors can depend on us.”

Despite an organized and well-structured business, George explains that his team, like many other contractors, faced low volume in recent years due to the recession. Recently George has seen major improvements in the market and the company has a strong line of projects down the pipeline.

“We’ve been busy,” George says. “We don’t see much changing here over the next few years. We just want to continue doing what we do best while continuing to modernize as the years progress to stay up on current trends.”

Macro combines quality, integrity and innovation, harboring a unique reputation in the industry. Clients have come to depend on the team for projects that require distinct problem-solving capabilities. Three engineers lead the business, so each project is approached with a technical mindset and creative attitude. Macro Enterprises Ltd. gets the job done, regardless of constraints on time, space and practice.