Talent and Tenacity: Project, Personnel, and Revenue Growth Propels 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights into a New Era
It seems like just yesterday we wrote this article about the Millwright Division of 最新麻豆原创 Construction in 2018.
And the Millwrights have come a long way, baby - with impressive project, personnel, and revenue growth.
Most recently, the Millwrights' success was evidenced by numbers released by Local 1529 鈥 the Kansas City Millwrights union.
The numbers measured Kansas and Missouri Millwright hours, combined over the past four years (2019-2022). And 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights led the charge in combined Kansas and Missouri hours.
鈥淥ur team will be the top millwright contractor in hours logged for both Kansas and the Kansas City area,鈥 Millwright Team Leader Jim Nisely said. 鈥淲e are on target to work over 110,000 man hours in 2022.鈥
In Kansas, 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights were second only to IMI of Topeka, with 99,954 hours, and in Missouri, 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights came in second to Burns Boys Co Inc., with 221,685.
But just like every success story, it鈥檚 the people behind what鈥檚 on the paper who make it happen.
The Millwrights became a division of 最新麻豆原创 around 2014, following one of 最新麻豆原创鈥檚 all-time largest projects, the relocation of the National Nuclear Security Administration鈥檚 Kansas City Plant, managed by Honeywell. At the time, it was Millwright Team Leader Jim Nisely with just six field associates.
Today, the Millwright team consists of: one senior project manager, two project managers, two project engineers, three engineers, 18 foremen, and, in 2022, around 65 Journeyman/Apprentices in the field.
Millwright Project Manager Marques Nisely says three factors made the growth and success happen: Jim鈥檚 passion and tenacious leadership, 最新麻豆原创 executive leadership鈥檚 commitment to the Millwrights, and attracting the very best talent in the field.
鈥淔rom day one, Jim has given a massive amount of time and effort in getting us where we are,鈥 Marques said. 鈥淚 consider myself fortunate to learn from the example he has set for us all, and benefit from his mentorship, which took me from the field to project management. I do not know a person that is more driven or works harder than he does.鈥
鈥溩钚侣槎乖 ownership鈥檚 commitment and investment to the division has been critical,鈥 Marques said. 鈥淭hey have always been willing to support and provide the resources necessary to complete our projects and help grow the division.鈥
But Marques emphasizes that without the talent out there performing the work, the success couldn鈥檛 happen at all.
鈥淭he biggest reason for our success in building the division has been, and always will be, having the most talented and strongest field leadership in the area,鈥 he said. 鈥淥ur sustainability comes from these guys 鈥 their attention to detail, and the hard work and long hours they put in.鈥
鈥淲e would put our field team鈥檚 skills against anyone in the country. It鈥檚 an honor to work with such good men.鈥
So why does such good talent flock to 最新麻豆原创? Marques says one reason is the way 最新麻豆原创 treats their field experts.
鈥溩钚侣槎乖 gives us what we need to do our job. They get the trucks, they provide the tools. Some of the guys coming from other firms are amazed 鈥 they鈥檝e never been give the tools to do the job. They come here, they have everything they need,鈥 Marques said.
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e a Millwright in a grease pit, or a sales person in an office, when your company makes your job easier, you鈥檙e going to excel at it.鈥
Foreman Tom Sparks echoes that sentiment, and adds that the professionalism of the team is all about attitude.
鈥淚 believe the only thing that we are truly in control of is our own attitude,鈥 Tom said. 鈥淗ow we react to situations that come up is totally up to us. If we work hard at keeping a positive attitude, our crews will stay positive.鈥
And holding on to the best field personnel means attracting 鈥 and keeping 鈥 customers. 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights have had long-standing relationships with customers like CertainTeed Building Products, Central Plains Cement Plant, Ply Gem Building Products, Hill鈥檚 Pet Nutrition, and JM Smucker Pet Food.
The Millwrights have taken on multi-million dollar projects with a customer base that continues to grow.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the reliability our field leadership provides,鈥 Marques said. 鈥淲e provide customers with the labor quality they need to complete their projects.
You give our Millwrights something to do, and they do it. No one has to make sure we鈥檙e working or make sure it鈥檚 being done right - it is.鈥
Marques says assigning the right talent to the right project is critical to this kind of success 鈥 a luxury the Millwrights sometimes have with their diversely talented team.
鈥淢illwrighting is such a broad trade. We work on power house turbines, we put conveyors in. We install equipment. We touch many different industries,鈥 Marques noted. 鈥淪ome guys have specialties in some areas, some in others. We try to match those to the project.鈥
The Millwright division also operates independently in key areas, performing their own estimating, and using the skills of Project
Manager Wes Trammell to handle manpower scheduling in addition to his other responsibilities.
鈥淲e have averaged 60-65 in the field all year, and even got up to almost 80 at times,鈥 Wes said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 pretty amazing, considering the labor issues in our industry.鈥
Jim says Millwright growth has also been fueled by the in-house engineering capabilities.
鈥淲e have added two design detailers to help control the load put on Senior Engineer Dave McPherson,鈥 Jim said. 鈥淎lthough we partner with other engineering firms, having detailers Justin Shrack and Yaser Almuarifi on our team has given us more flexibility to control scheduling and increase our in-house capabilities.鈥
And of course, the dollars don鈥檛 lie. Millwright annual revenue has gone from $8,391,643 in 2019 to a forecasted $27,800,000 in 2022.
最新麻豆原创 Vice President Glenn Shain, who has worked with Jim and the team from the beginning, marvels at how the division has grown in just a short time - and the value of developing symbiotic relationships with other 最新麻豆原创 divisions.
鈥淚n just a few short years, our Millwright team has jumped from supporting other divisions in their work activities to a position of leading other divisions into exciting new work opportunities,鈥 Glenn said.
Marques notes that Director of Business Development (then Operations Manager) Steve Hinshaw was integral in helping sell the Millwright capabilities internally to other 最新麻豆原创 divisions.
鈥淛im and his team are uncovering many new full MEP opportunities lead by the millwrights fabricating, setting, and moving critical equipment and structures for new customers,鈥 Glenn added.
鈥淭hese projects bring our piping and electrical teams into supporting these customers with full facility solutions.鈥
鈥淚t has been a great joy to watch this team explode in its impact to our construction business plan and we are excited for the many additional opportunities for growth ahead for them.鈥
Recent Millwright Projects
This was the 最新麻豆原创 Millwright鈥檚 first amusement park ride, but it probably won鈥檛 be their last! Although the project had some setbacks due to pieces not fitting correctly, the 最新麻豆原创 crew was able to assist the customer with corrections and capture all the documentation for change order purposes. This made it easy for the customer to get money back from the manufacturer. 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights were instrumental in the installation of two theaters, two structures, and eight ride units. FlyOver uses immersive, state-of-the-art technology that gives riders the unmistakable feeling of flight. Participants sit with their feet dangling before a 52.5-foot-wide spherical screen, while the visuals whisk them away on an exhilarating journey above the iconic Las Vegas strip. Special effects combined with the ride鈥檚 motion create the ultimate flying ride.
Millwright capabilities shine in large industrial settings like Hill鈥檚. 最新麻豆原创 Millwrights have worked on multiple projects at Hill鈥檚, including: MSCC3, which included conveyor Installation and integration; design, fabrication and installation for equipment access platforms; and integration of mixing and making equipment; MIH, which included batching equipment installation; pneumatic conveyance installation; and structural design, fabrication and installation; and SRP3 (Omaha, NE), which included electrical trestle structural fabrication.
Another industrial success, the Smucker twin screw extruder project included relocation and installation of new extruder equipment; installation on pneumatic conveyance systems for the project; and design detailing, fabrication and installation of access platforms.
About the author
最新麻豆原创 Construction is a single-source specialty subcontractor specializing in mechanical, electrical, millwright, and architectural metal construction facility solutions.