Case Studies Commercial

Each year, some 12 million tourists visit Niagara Falls to learn about its history, hitch a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat tour and take in the breathtaking scenery. In fact, after New York City, Niagara Falls is the second most visited place in New York state. However, none of these tourists get […]

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have gained popularity in the last 20 years, in part because favorable tax regulations have made them an excellent way for retiring leaders to set up succession plans that reward their team, and because by passing profits and losses to ESOP trusts, which serve as shareholders, certain corporations can avoid […]

With three powerhouse women at its helm, Mid Atlantic Maintenance Inc. says it wouldn’t have achieved the success it has without its DBE, or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification. Mid Atlantic Maintenance Inc., or MAM, is a pavement maintenance, road striping and traffic control contractor serving West Virginia and Ohio. If you’ve driven in any part […]

Construction isn’t known for being quiet. But over the last 25 years, a force has quietly swept the industry: design-build. In 1993, only three states allowed design-build, a construction method in which one team is tasked with both designing and constructing a project. Design-build presents an alternative to design-bid-build, in which one team designs a […]

Building good relationships begins on the home front at Mackin & Little Mechanical Inc., a contractor in Spokane, Washington, that specializes in industrial piping, commercial plumbing and wet side heating. There’s no gap among the ranks, says Vice President and CEO George Renner, who, along with partner Mark Mackin, oversees a team of more than […]

In Seattle, Washington, evergreen forests, Puget Sound’s blue waters, glinting high rises and stormy skies all mingle into a color palette unlike any other found in the lower 48. The birthplace of grunge rock and Microsoft, The Emerald City has built a reputation for creativity that places big expectations on the contractors that work within […]

What’s in a name? Plenty, if it’s Michael Graves Architecture & Design in New York City and Princeton, New Jersey. For seven principals today, it means living up to the legacy of the late, great and often-times eccentric architect whose name graces the firm’s letterhead. It’s a daily reminder of what’s at stake as its […]

Rainy day people always seem to know when it’s time to call. So goes Gordon Lightfoot’s old song, the meaning of which may have hit home—literally—for the folks in Minot, North Dakota, in May 2011 when Mayer Electric Inc. lent its services following flood conditions. Normally a much cherished season in the upper plains, the […]

When Mike McGrath is on a plane, he’ll flip through the inflight magazine. Inevitably, once or twice a year he spots a project MG McGrath Inc. has worked on. “Thankfully, a lot of the work we do ends up being iconic for various cities,” Mike says. It’s not uncommon for MG McGrath projects, like the […]

Science and art meld when Mid-Am Metal Forming Inc. undertakes a project, an example being when the Missouri-based metal-bending specialists were contracted to top off the Milwaukee Art Museum’s vast reception hall in 2001. In designing his first U.S. building, as well as his first museum anywhere, the esteemed Spanish architect and structural engineer, Santiago […]