Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors Inc.

Founded in 1963, Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors Inc. is one of the Midwest’s largest and most trusted mechanical contractors, completing projects for a number of high-profile clients across the North Star State including the University of Minnesota, the Mall of America and a number of professional sports teams.

Serving general contractors and building facility owners alike, MMC has installed and serviced mechanical systems on more than 300,000 projects over more than 50 years, ranging from schools and office buildings to hospitals and data centers. MMC works on projects ranging from 10,000 to more than 1 million square feet and embraces a total cost of ownership (TCO) financial estimate structure that helps owners determine both the direct and indirect costs of a job.

As a full-service mechanical services contractor, MMC offers an expansive slate of services before, during and after each project, including large-scale and specialty project management, engineering and design-build services, mechanical systems service and off-site construction.

As a fully integrated mechanical systems contractor, the company offers 24/7 services on all systems, as well as modular fabrication and virtual building systems (VBS).

“We have a family-style culture and we focus on building relationships with our people and with our customers,” says Laura Neary, communications coordinator at MMC.

Expanded footprint

Under president Mark Anderson, MMC works throughout the Midwest with projects in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa. While the company has long worked out of its headquarters in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, the company has begun to branch out as of late, opening up a satellite office in Woodbury, Minnesota, and increasing its presence in Fargo, North Dakota, to better service more remote clientele.

MMC’s increased presence in the Fargo area is a result of a recent effort that saw MMC tackle its largest project to date: the Sanford Fargo Medical Center. The new, nearly 1-million-square-foot, 11-story project includes a new children’s/pediatric intensive care unit, trauma/operating rooms, orthopedic, neurosurgery, heart surgery, interventional cardiology, emergency service facilities and a new central utility plant.

“We’ve been involved in this project for over three years now, the last two years being with the construction,” says Neary. “It is a design assist, green field project and we have been responsible for the installation of all mechanical and plumbing systems.”

At the University of Minnesota, MMC is wrapping up at the Acute Ambulatory Center, a $160-million, 330,000-square-foot facility in Minneapolis that will provide much-needed space for medical students to gain vital experience in their field.

Over the years, MMC has developed an expertise in the booming niche of data centers: a type of project that calls for highly technical levels of HVAC work. “Data centers and mission-critical work requires very precise cooling requirements to be met at all times,” says Neary. “The amount of space dedicated to data centers is shrinking, but the IT requirements are not, so contractors like us are sometimes left with small spaces to fit often very complex mechanical systems into.”

A push toward making data centers more energy efficient has added an extra level of complexity to the task. “That makes designing and building them even more complex, but our team loves the challenge,” says Neary. In Chaska, Minnesota, MMC recently completed a 75,000-square-foot facility for Stream Data Centers that achieved a LEED Silver certification. With three 1.125-megawatt data center suites, each upgradeable to 2.25 megawatts, the new data center can accommodate up to eight fiber carriers.

While MMC works across nearly every industry, including commercial housing, gaming, hospitality, industrial, retail and institutional, it’s the company’s work on professional sports stadiums that often garners the most attention. MMC has worked on projects for many Minneapolis-area teams, including the Minnesota Twins, Wild and Timberwolves.

On a design-assist project for Target Field, home of MLB’s Minnesota Twins, MMC performed HVAC work including the installation of two rooftop/VAV systems, eight air handling units, 256 fan coil units and three chilled water pumps, among others. On the plumbing side, the company installed four hot water steam heat exchangers, 1,500 plumbing fixtures and domestic water, sanitary/vent and stormwater piping and systems.

On another design-assist project for the City of Minneapolis at the Target Center, home of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, MMC self-performed all mechanical systems duties, including plumbing, HVAC piping and sheet metal, as well as overseeing all temperature controls and fire protection subcontractors.

Embracing new technology

Like any company serving such a wide geographic area with employees working both in the field and the home office, at times it can be difficult to cultivate a sense of engagement and collaboration. MMC has made a concerted effort to address this issue, creating an engagement team tasked with better integrating office and field employees to create a more unified team. “We’ve revamped our company events and communications to be more inclusive, consistent, and better catered to all employees,” says Neary. “We are one team at MMC.”

MMC is constantly looking to employ innovative new ideas on the jobsite, but that doesn’t mean the team is chasing every new trend that comes down the pike. “At MMC, we work to adopt innovative methods, technology and processes that can make for safer, higher quality work to be completed, but we focus on excellence so we make it a priority to do smart work while making sure we aren’t getting stuck in old ways,” Neary says.

MMC has grown to become one of the Midwest’s largest and most trusted mechanical contractors thanks to its tireless commitment to quality and ability to form close bonds with its customer base. “It’s why we get a lot of repeat business,” says Neary. “Our project managers build lasting relationships with our customers. We have really dedicated talent at MMC. This is a great place to work and that shows through the enthusiasm and hard work of the team.”

The ability to create bonds with coworkers is directly related to MMC’s employee hiring and retention practices. “Having a satisfied employee base is huge,” says Neary. “We have a lot of company events, we strive for open communication and we hire individuals who fit the culture.”

Satisfied employees not only improve relationships with clients, but also overall company culture and morale. “Usually when I ask a co-worker what their favorite thing about working here is, they say it’s the people they work with,” she adds. “It’s fun to come to work here. We have some really amazing people out on our sites and in our offices.”

With the opening of its East Office in Woodbury, and its continued growth in the Fargo area, MMC is steadily expanding its presence across the Midwest. With a focus on company culture, impacting lives and a strong catalog of past projects at some of the region’s most recognizable buildings, Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors Inc. will continue to dominate the Midwest market with a fully integrated approach to mechanical contracting.