JESCO, Inc.

All in the familyJerry Maxcy shows Jenn Monroe JESCOÔÇÖs dedication to building on its strong foundation. When a tornado devastated CaterpillarÔÇÖs Oxford, Mississippi, high-performance extrusions plant in February, the company knew JESCO, Inc. could handle the challenge of getting the facility back up and running. JESCO had originally built the manufacturing plantÔÇöas well as a number of others for the companyÔÇöand was a trusted partner. But, according to Jerry Maxcy, JESCOÔÇÖs senior vice president and division president of construction/ engineering, it was vital not only to rebuild the plant, but to do so as fast as possible. ÔÇ£That 180,000-square-foot facility was a feed plant for three or four other Caterpillar plants across the country,ÔÇØ he explains. ÔÇ£Having it down put a cramp in their ability to produce nationwide. Our challenge was to get it back up and operating quickly. It probably should have been torn down to the ground and rebuilt, but Cat didnÔÇÖt have time to do that.ÔÇØJESCO pulled all its resources together from all its divisions and set up at the site 24/7. Within two weeks the structure was stabilized enough to move some limited production back into it. Caterpillar wanted to resume full operation by June 1, and even though JESCOÔÇÖs best projections set the fastest completion date at early to mid-July, it met the challenge. By early June the plant was ready for production equipment to be moved back into the facility. Maxcy credits the dedication of the JESCO team for this success. ÔÇ£It should have taken eight or nine months,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£but by the end of July weÔÇÖll be out of there.ÔÇØ Currently the company is finishing work on the administrative offices and landscaping, which were not set as high priority as the plant.This project exemplifies what makes JESCO different from others in its industry. It offers engineering, construction, mechanical and electrical work, millwright work, and steel fabrication to the manufacturing, distribution, commercial/retail, education, healthcare mechanical/electrical, and agri-industrial/food processing sectors. It completes $180ÔÇô200 million of construction each year, most of which is repeat industrial work for private companies. ÔÇ£All those things set us apart,ÔÇØ Maxcy says. ÔÇ£We can handle all your basic needs under one hard-hat logo.ÔÇ£This project pulled all the JESCO elements into play,ÔÇØ he continues. ÔÇ£It even allowed us to partner with our parent company [The Yates Companies] for project management, cost accounting, and demolition.ÔÇØNot only does JESCO offer turnkey solutions, it also uses its own staff to do a majority of the work. In MaxcyÔÇÖs division, for example, JESCO uses its own forces to do everything from pouring foundations to roof decking. Maxcy says the company matches the right people to the right job and taps into the wealth of expertise found in its field supervisors. ÔÇ£Every supervisor has his own specialty: some are best for industrial work, some better for institutional or commercial,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£We match the supervisor with the work, and then a project manager with a supervisor he has worked with in the past. That creates a good team format.ÔÇ£A lot of our work is repeat business,ÔÇØ he continues, ÔÇ£and weÔÇÖve had some customers request supervisors and project managers by name.ÔÇØ There is little risk in the person no longer being part of the JESCO teamÔÇöthe company sees little turnover. In fact, this past May one of the companyÔÇÖs senior project superintendents retired after 50 years of service.ÔÇ£Most of the people in the supervisor ranks came out of our workforce and worked their way up,ÔÇØ Maxcy says. ÔÇ£We try to look throughout the company for opportunities to move young workers up.ÔÇØ JESCO uses the ABC ÔÇ£Wheels of Learning,ÔÇØ a competency-based modular curriculum, to prepare its employees for promotions. One challenge for JESCO, and the construction industry in general, is attracting young workers to its current staff of 300ÔÇô400 employees. While the company works with local vocational colleges to find new employees, Maxcy says the perception of construction as a viable career has to start with kids at an early age. ÔÇ£The notion among many educators and even parents is that construction is a dirty business,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve got to change that notion. Construction offers great opportunities for a lifelong occupation. There are few downsides. Once youÔÇÖre trained you can go anywhere in the world to work. ItÔÇÖs not an easy life, but it gives a young person the opportunity to earn a very good living and to enjoy that feeling that only comes from building something of permanence.ÔÇ£We treat people as much like family as we can and still run a business,ÔÇØ he continues. ThatÔÇÖs not the only indication that the values upon which the company was built are still held in high esteem. Some of JESCOÔÇÖs success can be attributed to the financial stability of being part of an Engineering News Record Top 50 Construction Company. But its history plays a more significant role. In fact, Maxcy says he believes JESCO is able to continue to be successful, even with 25 to 30 projects occurring simultaneously, because it has never lost sight of the original mission statement.ÔÇ£We practice what we preach,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£We try to instill our motto into every employee, and that is that we deliver every project on time, within the budget, to our ownersÔÇÖ satisfaction. Those are the words weÔÇÖve lived by since 1941 when Joseph E. Staub founded the company, and those are the words we are always going to live by.ÔÇØAdditionally, Maxcy says JESCO employees are dedicated to hard work and attention to detail. ItÔÇÖs a work ethic that he believes is part of the community. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a work ethic that most of our folks have grown up with,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£They were raised up working hard.ÔÇØ ┬á