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Murphy Co. Profile St. Louis Mechanical Contractor Passes 100-year Mark Diverse capabilities enable it to branch out into several construction markets By Tom Nicholson
For more than a century, Murphy Co. Mechanical Contractors has been a mainstay in the construction industry in the St. Louis area. Starting from humble beginnings as a two-man plumbing company founded in 1907 by John C. Murphy, an Irish immigrant, the company maintained a steady pace of growth throughout the decades, expanding its staff, capabilities, geographic reach and client base on its way to becoming one of the busiest and longest-lived mechanical contracting firms in the country. President Patrick J. Murphy Jr., 40, who took the helm in 2004 after former president and cousin Jim Murphy, 67, stepped down to assume the role of CEO, says the firm’s growth and longevity can be attributed in large part to its focus on giving clients the most value for their money, a diversified approach to markets and a strong commitment to employees’ welfare. “Our main focus is to provide valuable solutions for clients, to bring additional value to the end-user,” Patrick Murphy says. Patrick, formerly senior vice president, is the fourth president in the company’s history, and he’s keeping the family-run aspect of the firm going strong. With about 230 salaried employees and 800 union craftspeople at its disposal, the firm has offices and fabrication facilities in St. Louis and Denver. Murphy Co. opened its Denver office and fabrication facility in 1986, a result of Jim’s campaign two decades ago to expand the geographic reach of the firm. The fabrication facilities give the company the capacity to make piping, plumbing components and sheet metal for projects. The firm delves into nearly every nook and cranny of mechanical engineering markets and maintains a diverse array of projects, service contracts and system maintenance contracts. Its annual revenue last year was nearly $200 million.
Recognized as one of the largest and most capable mechanical contractors in the nation, Murphy Co. has worked on projects in most U.S. states. The firm’s diverse capabilities have enabled it to branch into several construction markets. With design, fabrication, installation, retrofit and long-term service capabilities, the firm is a major player across the nation in markets such as heavy and light industrial, industrial process, commercial and institutional markets. Its design capabilities have allowed Murphy Co. to develop a 40-person design-build group that rides herd on every aspect of a project, from the drawing board to the final handover of keys to the client. The design-build group provides about 30% of the company’s total sales revenue. “We have design capability, but we only do design work on projects where we will also be doing the construction,” Jim Murphy says. He points to the firm’s diverse capabilities across several construction markets as a long-term strategy that has allowed the firm to thrive. “We all know this is a cyclical industry, and it’s wise not to have too many eggs in one basket,” he adds. “We began diversifying 30 or 40 years ago, and diversification continues to be a central theme here.” Working as a subcontractor in the commercial sector, the firm is focused on HVAC, plumbing, piping and temperature control in offices, sports complexes, condominiums, supermarkets and retail projects. In the industrial sector, refining, petrochemical, steel, power, automotive and clean-manufacturing figures prominently in Murphy Co.’s portfolio.
It is also active in health care and education markets, providing HVAC, plumbing, gas installations and retrofits. “We are committed to a project from the womb to the tomb,” says Jim Murphy. “It’s not just the capital costs but a focus on the long-term, life-cycle costs of a facility or structure that brings value to a client.” Service and operations contracts make up a large part of the firm’s portfolio. “This provides us with consistency of work because industrial process and refining facilities in time need to be overhauled,” he adds. One of the firm’s strategies has been to seek smaller projects as a means of diversifying its portfolio, says Patrick Murphy. “Currently, about 45% of revenue is coming from projects under $500,000,” he says. The firm developed what it calls quick response teams consisting of project managers and installation and fabrication technicians who manage service projects, primarily for health care, office, commercial and retail clients, under $500,000 and as small as $1,500. Generations
While diversifying across markets, building long-term relationships with clients and focusing on value for clients have been key hallmarks of the Murphy Co., it is the commitment to employees that Patrick Murphy says is a main priority. “We are a family business and we consider our employees family,” he says. Kathy Johnson, the firm’s human resources director, says many employees have multiple generations of family members working at the company. “It is a great to place to work,” Johnson says. “We have a lot of long-term employees, and we know them on a personal level; we know their families. We try to keep the atmosphere such that people want to come to work.” The company instituted a wellness program last year, operated in conjunction with a local hospital, in which employees are educated in lunch-and-learn sessions about nutrition and exercise. “A healthy employee is a happy employee, and it’s good to bring health issues to the forefront,” Johnson says. “We expect to see a reduction is absenteeism and fewer health claims, but our main goal is that we just want our people to be healthy.” Patrick says employees are also encouraged to purchase a stake in the company, and there are currently about 20 employees who have bought into ownership of Murphy Co.
People are a waning commodity across the industry, however, because boom markets have sapped up dwindling labor pools, notes Patrick Murphy. “One significant issue we face is attracting and recruiting qualified people,” he says. “We recruit interns from college campuses and are involved in co-ops where interns work for us for semesters. We get to know them and they get to know us.” Adds Jim Murphy, “It’s the best way to get talent long range: groom young people.” Even with their 101-year legacy of growth and success, the Murphys aren’t resting on laurels. “We will continue to strive to follow markets and look for the niches we can serve,” Jim Murphy says. “We will continue to grow, but size isn’t everything. We will continue to rely on the professionalism and integrity that the company was built on.”
All photos courtesy of Murphy Co.
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