MTS Contracting Inc. opens Springfield branch

The Springfield office is the Kansas City-based firm’s first branch location, but it probably won’t be the last, according to Tom Burch, Springfield branch manager.

Among its services, MTS does tuck pointing, caulking, structural concrete repairs and coatings, parking garage restoration, building cleaning, and water repellent applications.

MTS opened shop in Springfield after first establishing a local client base.

“Our jobs here had included Missouri State University, Springfield Public Schools, and properties managed by Plaza Realty and Management Services,” Burch said. “With the work we had lined up going into this summer, we decided to go for it.”

Burch has 21 years of experience in construction, having served as a project manager/estimator with MTS for two years prior to opening the Springfield office.

“There was no contractor in the Springfield area qualified to renovate our parking deck at Hammons Tower when we were looking for bidders a couple of years ago,” said Mark Harrell, president of Plaza Realty and Management Services, whose company manages the nonhotel properties of John Q. Hammons. “So, we went with MTS. It’s easier to work with them now that they’re in Springfield, because they can more readily move crews and adjust scheduling, especially during bad weather.”

MTS is currently washing the windows and cleaning and sealing the precast concrete parts of the John Q. Hammons Building.

MTS was founded in 1996 and has done jobs primarily in Missouri and Kansas.

“When there’s an issue with a building it’s often immediate and affects not only the building but the people in it,” said company Vice President Mark Spears, noting that the company is built on customer service.

Bill Tierney, project manager of maintenance and repair at MSU, attests to that customer service. “MTS is real easy to work with,” Tierney said. “If there’s a problem, they are willing to discuss it and work it out.”

The service area for the Springfield branch is within 100 miles of Springfield, which includes projects in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma. Its main resources for securing projects are property management companies and building owners. Projects can range from small waterproofing jobs to complete building restoration. MTS restored two apartment buildings on Walnut Street as a subcontractor for DCI Construction and is currently restoring three other downtown apartment buildings for DCI.

“For some jobs we’re the subcontractor, and for other jobs we‘re the general contractor,” Burch said. “We consider projects large and small. A million-dollar job is a big job for us and we’ve done jobs for $2,000. Considering all the jobs we do companywide during a year, a normal job for us is $25,000 to $30,000. Regardless of the size, we want to be the people the property managers and owners call when they have a problem.”

There are 50 employees at the MTS home office, which makes it a mid-sized company in its market. The Springfield branch has four office employees and eight field workers. Burch expects to have 20 workers in the field by this time next year.