ENR Texas & Louisiana has named electrical instrumentation contractor MMR Group Inc. as its 2013 Specialty Contractor of the Year. The natural gas boom helped the Baton Rouge, La.-based firm boost its regional revenues in 2012 up by roughly 230% over the previous year, totaling $302 million. That includes work associated with fracking in Texas and natural gas/petrochemical plants in Louisiana.

The firm worked on three major projects company-wide in 2012 that helped push up revenue: the restart on the old Eastman Kodak chemical plant for OCI; the 50,000 barrel/day refinery expansion for Valero in Lake Charles, La.; and Exxon's Kearl Oil Sands project in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Another major project for MMR was Chevron’s $60 million, 20,000-ton Bigfoot Offshore production facility in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Since electrical instrumentation crosses all industries, MMR’s client base is extremely diverse, including markets such as alternative energy; air separation/distribution; chemical and petrochemical; food and beverage; manufacturing; marine services; metals and minerals; on- and offshore oil and gas; pharmaceuticals; pulp and paper; refining; and waste/water treatment.

With its expanding workload, MMR increased its number branch offices over the past year, and actually broke ground on its Odessa, Texas, office in July 2013. In August 2012, MMR also created a new company called MMR ProCom, which will target pre-commissioning, commissioning and start-up activities both domestically and internationally.

Safety and training have also been key to the company’s success. This year, MMR received ABC’s 2013 Diamond Level National S.T.E.P. (Safety Training and Evaluation Process) Award. The firm has been stepping up its training processes as well, with plans to build additional training centers in Odessa and Corpus Christi.

Be sure to read more about MMR’s achievements in the October 14 issue of ENR Texas & Louisiana.