In the company of fun

The growing engineering firm is planning its first office overseas.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

YOUNGSTOWN — Big engineering firms often dangle large sums of money before the partners of MS Consultants in hopes they will sell out.

Without much thought, the partners always give the same answer to acquisition offers.

“We’re having too much fun,” said a smiling John Pierko, a partner and vice president of environmental services.

Fun for the longtime engineers is being asked to take on complex tasks, such as studying how to relieve traffic congestion at the merger of interstates 70 and 71 in Columbus.

“That project has 56 bridges,” partner David Mosure emphasized.

Fun also is plotting the steady growth of the company, which was founded in Youngstown in 1967 but now has 10 offices in five states.

MS revenues have been climbing at between 8 percent and 10 percent a year over the past decade. Revenues reached $39 million last year, which made MS the 293rd largest engineering firm in the country, Engineering News-Record said.

The company’s owners plan to continue growing, rather than sell out.

“We don’t want to be told what to do,” said Mosure, who is a son of the late Thomas F. Mosure, one of the company founders.

In the planning stages are an office in southwest Florida and the company’s first office abroad, in the United Arab Emirates.

Mosure gives another fact to show why MS officials are excited about the opportunities in the Middle Eastern nation and one of its fastest-growing cities, Abu Dhabi.

“Forty percent of the world’s tower cranes are in Abu Dhabi,” he said.

That means plenty of new buildings are going up and lots of engineering work is needed. The firm has an agent in the country making contacts and lining up potential work.

Looking for business hot spots has helped MS expand like it never could have if it had kept its focus only on the Mahoning Valley, said Mosure, vice president of the company’s construction sector.

Only 10 percent of the company’s business comes from working on projects in the Mahoning Valley.

The expansion of the company started in 1972 with an office in Columbus. That office has grown to 100 employees — the same number of employees as the Youngstown office.

Thomas E. Mosure, another son of the founder, now is company chairman and president and works out of Columbus.

The remaining three partners are based in Youngstown — David Mosure, Pierko and Raymond Briya, chief financial officer.

Another 100 employees work at the company’s other eight offices.

The office in Coraopolis, Pa., shows what can happen when MS opens a new office. Since the office opened in 1985, the staff has grown from five to 50.

The key is to have engineers that know the area, understand government regulations and have contacts in government and industry, Mosure said.

MS has established a presence in other markets both by opening new offices and acquiring existing firms.

About half of MS’ work is in road and bridge projects.

A quarter of its business comes from sewage and storm water work, while the other quarter comes from engineering and architecture work for commercial buildings.

Despite the focus on growth in other areas, the company remains committed to its Youngstown office, the partners said.

A “for sale” sign hangs from its building at 333 Federal Plaza East, but that is because the partners are looking for a larger location downtown.

“We’ve been out of space for eight years,” Mosure said.

One quarter of the local staff works out of the top floor of the credit union next door.

The partners said they are committed to staying downtown because of the company’s history there and the good relationship they have with city officials.

The biggest challenge facing the company is to finding enough talented engineers and architects, Mosure said.

With fewer students interested in studying math and science, the industry has a difficult time finding professional staff, he said.

That’s why bigger engineering firms are constantly scouting acquisition targets — to scoop up their talent.

Mosure said MS has had success in attracting local engineers to the company because the Mahoning Valley is a family-oriented area and some people want to stay close to home. The company has 56 Youngstown State University students on staff. It offers internships to college students in the hopes they will stay with MS when they graduate.

“We like to bring them into the MS way of life and hope they stay forever,” Pierko said.

Jerry O’Brad was one who nearly did that. He was the first employee hired by company co-founder Thomas Mosure and recently retired after more than 40 years with the company.

shilling@vindy.com