Marshall Design-Build LLC

Founded in 1976, Marshall Design-Build LLC provides quality design-build construction, as well as competitive bid and construction management to the Montgomery, Alabama, area. With projects in a variety of sectors, Marshall Design-Build sets itself apart through its balance in a difficult market and its dedication to providing quality services to its clients.

Mitchell Marshall started Marshall Design-Build in 1976. With his brother, Warren Marshall, eventually joining him in the business as an equal partner, the company has stayed in the family ever since. Currently run by Mitchell’s sons, Travis and Chet, the pair has acted as partners for six years after being with the company for over a decade.

Wide focus

Marshall Design-Build keeps its main office in Montgomery. Employing approximately 18 people, the company works across several states. Marshall Design-Build is a management company and does very little self-performing work, instead working with subcontractors.

“We use good subcontractors that we can trust,” says Travis. “We don’t have a specific set, but instead we use whoever we feel will do a good job on that particular project.”

In its design-build arm, Marshall Design-Build seeks projects throughout the construction industry in the industrial, medical and retail sectors, as well as building a significant number of schools and churches.

“Being in Montgomery, we can’t just have a niche market,” explains Travis. “We do all different types of buildings, a little bit of everything.”  The variety of projects allowed the company to adjust to the ebb and flow of the changing market and to survive the major troubles.

With the construction market suffering during the recession, Marshall Design-Build was able to rely on its diversity, including multi-national clients, to survive when certain sectors of the market shut down almost entirely.

“The work fluctuates,” says Travis. “Medical was our bread and butter for years and years, but they quit building from 2008 to 2012.” Now seeing resurgence in the medical market, the company is picking up new projects with medical associates across Montgomery.

Variety of projects

Marshall Design-Build maintains diversity in its project portfolio. The company has had several recent projects in automotive facility construction, both manufacturing and dealerships.

In 2014, the company was selected for the construction of a 350,000-square-foot concrete wall automotive manufacturing facility. Marshall Design-Build had been performing construction work for manufacturing suppliers for Hyundai and Kia, and this was one. Designed and built in nine months, the building brought the firm many unique challenges that were successfully overcome.

On location, the company was tasked with digging underground scrap tunnels and press pits for equipment. Excavating down more than 20 feet, Marshall Design-Build had to problem-solve.

“The ground water table was high and pervasive” explains Travis. “We had to install some pretty intense dewatering systems to be able to perform the work.”

With the project currently ongoing, Travis takes pride in the company’s ability to power through the difficulties. “It’s still a challenge,” he continues. “It takes dollars and effort and engineering to get it done right. But we found solutions and did it the proper way.”

Weathering the storm

With the recession hitting the construction industry hard, Marshall Design-Build was fortunate to have built a reputation through a number of areas in the design-build market, allowing the company the variety of work to keep busy. “The downturn affected us like it affected every other company in the United States,” Travis explains.

While the company struggled like the rest of the industry, Travis points to the hard work of his employees, as well as good faith, as having led Marshall Design-Build through the worst of the recession.

“We were so diverse, we do so many different types of projects, that we were insulated to an extent,” Travis details. “Because of that, we were blessed to always have something going on. We have been blessed and we have started building back up. But it took a lot of prayer.”

Keeping ahead of a struggling market has been one of Marshall Design-Build’s greatest accomplishments in the past five years. Travis notes that a significant portion of the company’s recent troubles has been getting workers back on board. “The biggest challenge for us has been finding good folks that you can trust to work for your company when you do have jobs,” he explains. “It’s hard expanding and growing.”

As one of Montgomery’s most respected design-build firms, Marshall Design-Build continues to develop new projects in a variety of sectors. With an upcoming project at the Alabama Wildlife Federation, its versatility is ever-growing. Travis expects the company will continue to bounce back from the recession and stay steady in its workflow. With more money trickling back in, and satisfied clients returning for repeat business, Marshall Design-Build LLC is Montgomery’s best choice for quality, versatile design-build construction.