With $1.1 billion in regional revenue in 2021, Cincinnati-based Messer Construction Co. maintained revenue while coping with the struggles of the pandemic, spurring innovation and increasing workforce diversity, contributing to ENR Midwest’s selection of Messer as the region’s Contractor of the Year. 

Recent projects include a 650,000-sq-ft project at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which includes a $600 million hospital expansion with 249 new patient beds. More than 50% of the project was completed using prefab/off-site construction, which was critical to achieving the aggressive schedule goal.

600 million hospital expansion with 249 new patient beds. 

Messer also used 3D laser scanning and two cranes to ensure smooth execution and fit of a pedestrian bridge that connects the Critical Care Building to the patient tower. The work was completed on an active campus that serves 16,000 employees and 60,000 patients a year. 

While overseeing the hospital project, Messer strived toward another of another of its goals, which is to increase diversity. In partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Easterseals Serving Greater Cincinnati/Building Value, and 16 different subcontractors, Messer created 50 sustainable careers for 50 people from nearby neighborhoods.   

“We’re helping folks break the cycle of poverty while helping the construction industry find people on a career pathway that they may not have considered possible. It’s pretty powerful,” says Stanford Williams, vice president and chief inclusion and diversity officer of Messer.  

The project also featured 27% diverse participation with 35% of spend on MWBEs.  Across the company, Messer spent more than $215 million with certified minority and women-owned businesses in 2021. 

At all of its projects, the company is committed to a zero injury culture. Messer earned an Outstanding Project Safety Award from the Coalition for Construction Safety while serving as construction manager for a 84,000-sq-ft facility that features a football field, office space, batting cages and an athletic training room, all on an active campus at the Scheumann Family Indoor Practice Facility at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. 

For more on Messer and the company’s recent achievements, check out the July 18 issue of ENR Midwest.