Missouri Valley Inc.: Coordinating to Provide Better Quality at a Competitive Price

Missouri Valley Inc. (MVI) dates back to 1973, when the company reorganized to expand its capability in challenging industrial markets. However, the MVI team has a history in construction that dates back more than 100 years. Today, the company operates from a central headquarters in Amarillo, Texas, to serve heavy industrial and commercial clients across the Texas panhandle and into New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado. Above all, the MVI team prides itself on continually providing clients with a comprehensive set of skills, an uncompromising commitment to safety, and the kind of service that makes one-time clients life-long partners.

There may be many general contracting companies who specialize in heavy industrial work, but there are few that provide the scope of services that the MVI team can. “We have a diverse range of skilled tradesmen in-house including carpenters, iron workers, pipefitters and others, enabling us to tackle as much of the work as possible,” says George Cumming, president of MVI. Together, the team can handle various projects ranging from new construction to maintenance and modifications to industrial facilities with quick turnaround schedules.

Of course, safety is critical to the success of any general contracting company specializing in industrial work, and MVI works hard to maintain a sterling safety record. In 2011, MVI snagged two top safety awards in the industrial division at the Texas AGC annual convention. Good habits start early on in the process and Shannon Lusk, safety supervisor at MVI, works directly to instill good worksite habits throughout the company’s project development. In 2006, the company was among the first of its clients to be recognized by Texas Mutual Insurance Company for its ability to maintain a low incident rate and loss record.

Shuffling Skill-sets

The company embodies extensive experience working for federal clients, large-scale manufacturing companies and power companies whose facilities can’t afford to stay offline for very long. “Many of our employees have been with us for upwards of 20 years. Our long history in the industry helps us understand the client’s needs and meet their goals,” says Cumming. As a result, a significant portion of MVI’s volume is maintenance and remodeling work and not new construction.

In fact, MVI shuffles its talent around to allocate the company’s own employees for the most complicated and challenging jobs. MVI only brings in extra help as needed for more routine work and only when financially advantageous. MVI doesn’t take on any hazardous material abatement work with its own forces, but aside from that, there isn’t much that the company won’t tackle with both enthusiasm and experience. In addition, the company employs electricians to take care of complicated instrumentation and process machinery integration; Cumming himself is licensed in engineering.

When the project does call for extra manpower, MVI will allocate its own staff for complicated concrete work, instrumentation, process piping, carpentry, structural and miscellaneous steel and will add manpower for other items as needed. To complete the package, MVI keeps pricing competitive by inviting prequalified subcontractors to submit bids for everything from HVAC, asphalt paving, concrete slabs, insulation and roofing.

In late 2011, the MVI team was busy completing major renovation work at a large natural gas storage facility. The client is a public power utility serving clients across Texas and Oklahoma and needed to expand its facilities to account for future energy needs. “It essentially entailed the installation of more than 12,000 feet of pipe, two large compressors, gas treatment equipment and buildings,” says Cumming.

Upholding Traditions

Meanwhile, MVI crews recently restored the Hemphill County Library in Canadian, Texas. “We had to completely demolish the interior to build a facility that balanced its historical architecture with the needs of a modern library,” says Cumming. The new library was dedicated on September 30, 2011, almost 100 years after the original structure was built by the local Women’s Christian Temperance Union Chapter. With the new space, the library will continue to serve the local community and host the Christmas Bazaar, established by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union more than 100 years ago to fund the building’s construction.

In response to the economic downturn of 2008, MVI was forced to downsize, but the act has only motivated the MVI team to work harder and go further for its clients. “We continue to tailor our workforce to suit the goals of our clients and even though it means having higher overhead costs, keeping enough staff to perform to our quality standards is critical to our success,” asserts Cumming. For the next few years, MVI’s focus will remain on providing its expertise to industrial facilities in need of small touch ups and major overhauls while new construction markets recover.

When the markets do turn around, MVI will be standing by waiting to help large industrial companies make the major infrastructural investments to keep up with demand. In the process, the Missouri Valley Inc. team will continue to uphold its impeccable safety record and provide clients with a reliable expert for all kinds of industrial and commercial contracting services.