Manganaro Midatlantic LLC: Dedicated to the Details

Manganaro Midatlantic LLC (Manganaro) is a specialty subcontractor based in Beltsville, Md. The firm performs concrete restoration and repair, drywall, acoustical ceiling installation and masonry projects for public, industrial, institutional and educational facilities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, concentrating heavily in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md., markets. Manganaro was founded in 1958 by three brothers in Boston, where the company’s original Northeast division remains based to service clients around New England, and over the past half-century the company has grown to a workforce of 800 skilled craftsmen that self-perform award-winning services.

John Livingston, the manager of business development at Manganaro, has been with the company for a decade, and he offers insight into the strengths that have established the company as a leader in its sector. “Our niche is in larger base buildings and complex projects,” he explains. Manganaro is an action-oriented operation, and the scope of the company’s projects has grown to include college facilities, government agency complexes, imperative infrastructure, as well as some of the most well-visited sports complexes in the region.

Manganaro has garnered such high-profile projects because its experienced team is dedicated to providing quality technical installations on challenging, time-constrained projects. Manganaro has been awarded several recognitions for innovative implementation and safety by regional and national organizations, including the Associated Builders and Contractors of Washington, the Washington Building Congress and the Brick Industry Association.

Superior Service

Manganaro has no trouble standing out from the competition. “We have the capabilities no other company has,” explains Livingston. “And we have a stable management team with the financial backing to secure quality and efficiency.” The company’s field managers average over 20 years experience in the business and work with skilled foremen and sub-foremen to ensure timelines are met with a quality final product. Manganaro’s project management teams review all facets of a development in progress in order to anticipate the needs of the client and project.

Manganaro maintains the expertise and manpower to provide a wide range of quality work to contractors seeking an experienced subcontractor for new construction. “In-house we do drywall, metal stud framing, insulation and ceilings,” Livingston explains. “We do interior and exterior masonry and spray and trowel applied air barriers.” The company occasionally subcontracts services, including sprayed insulation, stucco and plaster work, but its project managers assure that all trades involve conform to the same standard of excellence.

Manganaro’s attitude is to take what is learned from every experience and apply it to solving problems and responding to challenges. Building on its strengths, in 2009 the company added a restoration division focused on aesthetic and structural repairs to concrete and masonry. Manganaro’s restoration specialists step in to fix issues, and they are often called upon during a construction process to quickly compensate for defects that occur for a number of reasons. These expedited repairs save time and money for contractors and building owners.

Complex Projects

Manganaro’s portfolio is filled with complicated projects in various sectors and landmark structures. “We are currently performing some repair work on a Washington, D.C., Metro tunnel,” says Livingston. Manganaro is also working on the Union Station parking lot in D.C., as well as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s building in Northern Virginia.

Manganaro’s projects consistently run smoothly despite difficult time frames and challenging site conditions. “One of our most challenging projects was the A terminal at Baltimore Washington International Airport,” recalls Livingston. Manganaro collaborated with Hensel Phelps Construction Co. and the URS Corporation on the terminal. The hub remained operational for the duration of the projects, with air and land travelers consistently utilizing the terminal during construction. Security at the airport is high, and materials were subjected to inspections and delays when passing into the terminal. The vast ceiling utilized over 208 miles of metal framing and 1.125 million square feet of gypsum board.

Additionally, the company constructed several interior and exterior components of the Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Manganaro worked with the Whiting Turner Contracting Company and architects from Boggs & Partners on the building. The center and chapel features an ornamental dome inspired by Monticello, the home of former President Thomas Jefferson. Manganaro’s specialists performed framing and constructed partitions for the building’s interior and exterior including the dome. The company faced intense security conditions, challenges related to the volatile coastal climate, as well as complex materials handling logistics due to the building’s high ceilings. Despite the difficulty of the project, the center was completed on time and exceeded the expectations of the Naval Academy, the general contractor and the architect.

Many builders have struggled in a tight economy over the last few years; however, the management at Manganaro has maintained the company’s advantageous position in the industry through proactive initiatives, such as launching its restoration services and instituting an operational philosophy geared toward offering more services to contractors using less manpower.

“Our ‘One Voice/One Team’ strategy cross-trains our project managers to perform various functions in order to provide more of a one-stop shop service to our clients,” explains Livingston. “We are committed to speaking to our clients with ‘One Voice,’ and acting as ‘One Team’ no matter how many different trades we are performing on a project. This means the client has a single, accountable point of contact for everything that we do.” The philosophy, which emphasizes efficiency by dismantling divisional sections to coax the most effort from a tightly tailored crew, has already found success at several ongoing projects, including the new headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration in Silver Spring, Md.

The team at Manganaro understands that clients are not buying buildings; they are selling them. Quality in the completed building is important, but the process of completing the project is what matters most. Manganaro’s dedication to quality work ensures that the project owners hiring the firm achieve a building to which they can proudly attach their company name. It also insures that getting that project completed is accomplished in the most efficient way possible. Manganaro Midatlantic LLC includes some of the most experienced project managers and foremen in the industry, and the company brings a consistent level of leadership to projects that require a positive attitude, attention to detail and an ability to address any issues with little or no impact to the overall project schedule.