What Messer Construction Co. does

Messer Construction Co. is a privately held, 100% employee-owned construction manager and general contractor headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1932 and operating across 12 regional offices in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast. The company delivers complex commercial building projects across seven primary verticals — aviation, healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, federal/military, food and beverage, and science and technology — for clients that include hospital systems, universities, airport authorities, manufacturers, and municipal governments. Notable projects include the $900M Nashville International Airport CONRAC program (Messer-Sundt JV), Vanderbilt University Peabody Campus, UC Health Gardner Neuroscience Institute, Nashville SC GEODIS Park, Louisville City FC Lynn Family Stadium, and Alkermes' sterile fill line expansion. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts (construction management at risk, design-build, general contracting, preconstruction, and self-perform skilled trades via the Craftforce team), with multi-year contract cycles and pricing determined per project scope via competitive bidding or negotiation.

The company's technology stack is built around Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), with Building Information Modeling deployed on nearly 100% of projects, supported by AR/VR visualization, virtual mock-ups, 3D printing (HP SitePrint), UAV/drone surveying, and a Direct Procurement Services capability that has reduced electrical equipment lead times by 20 weeks and HVAC lead times by 25 weeks on specific healthcare projects. Messer is a founding member of the Lean Construction Institute and applies Lean methodology (prefabrication, flow scheduling, target value design) on 100% of projects. Supporting platforms include the Messer Plan Room and Messer Business Portal for subcontractor prequalification and bid notification, and a self-perform rental division.

Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales: senior executives and region leaders engage owners, developers, and government entities early in preconstruction, pursuing competitive bids, design-build, and CM-at-risk delivery. The company is led by President & CEO Timothy Steigerwald with a full C-suite (CFO Matthew Barney, COO Steven Bestard, CIO Chris Hickok) and a deep bench of regional VPs; governance includes outside directors drawn from Macy's, American Electric Power, Womble Bond Dickinson, Carousel Capital, and Taft Stettinius & Hollister. No revenue, funding, or valuation is publicly disclosed, but scale signals (1,550+ employees, 380+ active projects, multi-state footprint, and billion-dollar individual pursuits) position Messer firmly in the upper-middle tier of U.S. commercial construction firms.

Name

Messer Construction Co.

Legal name

Messer Construction Co.

Website

https://messer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Messer Construction Co. is a 100% employee-owned construction manager and general contractor delivering complex commercial building projects across the U.S. Midwest and Southeast for healthcare, higher education, aviation, manufacturing, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Construction Services

NAICS

Nonresidential Building Construction (2362), Industrial Building Construction (23621)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction Management (Agency/Owner’s Rep) (IMAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Construction Program Management (Multi-site/Portfolio) (IMAFAAAF), Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

Keywords

• Commercial construction services
• Construction management
• General contracting
• Preconstruction planning
• Design-build construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Construction Management: Provides leadership and construction management expertise for complex commercial construction projects in diverse market segments including aviation, healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, and more.
2. General Contracting: Acts as general contractor for construction projects, managing all aspects of project delivery including subcontractor coordination and self-performance work.
3. Self-Performance: Self-performs skilled trades including carpentry, labor, and heavy equipment operation through Craftforce team. Brings skill and talent to projects to safely construct projects.
4. Preconstruction Services: Early engagement in project planning driving better outcomes by including key stakeholders in decisions about budgets, building needs, advanced problem solving, and lean strategies.
5. Design-Build: Design-build construction manager delivery method for projects where Messer manages both design and construction phases.
6. Direct Procurement Services: Equipment procurement management for owners, allowing purchasing during schematic design instead of post-award to reduce lead times and cost escalation exposure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Messer Construction Co. is a construction manager and general contractor that delivers complex commercial building projects across the Midwest and Southeast United States. The company provides construction management, general contracting, self-performance, preconstruction, design-build, and direct procurement services for healthcare, higher education, aviation, manufacturing, government, federal/military, food and beverage, and science and technology clients. Operations are supported by integrated Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), Building Information Modeling (BIM), Lean Construction methodologies, and a 100% employee-owned workforce.

Product overview

Messer Construction Co. is a construction manager and general contractor offering a unified portfolio of construction services across the Midwest and Southeast. The core offering consists of Construction Management and General Contracting services supported by integrated capabilities including Self-Performance (Craftforce trade professionals), Preconstruction planning, Cost Planning and Estimating, Building Systems/MEP coordination, Equipment Rental, Risk Management, Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), and Lean Construction practices. The company also operates digital platforms including the Messer Business Portal for subcontractor prequalification and the Messer Plan Room for bid notifications. Direct Procurement Services represents a specialized offering for Science and Technology projects to manage long-lead equipment procurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Construction Management and General Contracting End-to-end construction management and general contracting services for complex commercial building projects, including subcontractor coordination, schedule management, safety oversight, and project delivery through construction management at risk, competitive bid, and design-build delivery methods.
• Self-Performance Services
• Preconstruction Services Early-engagement preconstruction planning including budget development, building needs analysis, advanced problem solving, and lean strategy development involving key stakeholders to drive better project outcomes.
• Design-Build Delivery Single-source design-build construction management in which Messer manages both design and construction phases of a project, providing clients with a unified point of accountability.
• Direct Procurement Services (DPS) Equipment procurement management service in which Messer purchases long-lead equipment on behalf of owners during schematic design rather than after trade award, reducing lead times and cost escalation exposure.
• Cost Planning and Estimating In-house estimating services delivered by 35+ cost planning experts providing timely, accurate construction pricing and ongoing analysis, including mechanical and electrical cost specialists.
• Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Modeling-based virtual design and construction service using Building Information Modeling (BIM), virtual mock-ups, AR/VR, and 3D printing for site logistics planning, safety planning, MEP coordination, and conflict identification on commercial projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• MEP RFIs reduced by more than 70% during construction when BIM is used
• +12 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Sundt ConstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Joint venture partnership (Messer-Sundt JV) for $900 million Nashville International Airport CONRAC program. Project includes new rental car facility and related infrastructure as part of Nashville's $3 billion New Horizons expansion plan. Expected completion by 2029.
• Harmon ConstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerM/WBE joint venture partner for Louisville City FC Lynn Family Stadium project. Messer/Harmon JV completed 11,900-seat stadium with 34% minority- and women-owned business participation totaling more than $21 million in diverse spend.
• Messer Plan Room (Subcontractor Network)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline platform for subcontractors and suppliers to register, receive bid notifications, and access project information. All subcontractors and suppliers required to complete registration on the Messer Business Portal for prequalification.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gilbane Building Company: Family/employee-owned construction manager with comparable size and concentration in healthcare, higher education, and public-sector work—closely mirrors Messer's culture and project mix.
• Barton Malow Company: Employee-owned (ESOP) contractor of similar size serving healthcare, higher education, sports, and industrial markets with comparable self-perform capabilities and regional Mid-Atlantic/Midwest footprint.
• Sundt Construction: Employee-owned general contractor with similar Southwest/Southeast regional footprint; Messer's JV partner on the $900M Nashville International Airport CONRAC program and a direct competitor in aviation and commercial work.
• Mortenson Construction: Employee-owned national builder with strong practices in healthcare, sports/stadiums, airports and higher education—named JV partner with Messer on Nashville SC GEODIS Park and a direct competitor in Messer's core verticals.
• Brasfield & Gorrie: Privately-held employee-owned general contractor headquartered in the Southeast with deep healthcare, higher education, and commercial practices—directly overlaps Messer's Southeast geography and core verticals.
• Holder Construction Group: Mid-sized privately-held CM/GC specializing in complex commercial, healthcare, sports, and mission-critical projects—closely comparable in scale, complexity, and delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Whiting-Turner Contracting Company: Large privately-held national general contractor with deep healthcare, higher education, and commercial building practices—competes head-to-head for many of Messer's flagship projects.
• Turner Construction Company: Largest U.S. nonresidential general contractor with national footprint across healthcare, aviation, higher education and commercial—direct competitor for large CM/GC projects like those Messer pursues.
• AECOM (Construction Services): Global infrastructure consultancy with a large construction management arm; competes with Messer on large aviation, healthcare, and federal/military programs and has substantially greater capital and geographic reach.
• The Walsh Group / Walsh Construction: Fourth-generation family/employee-owned national builder with large building, transportation, and water divisions—competes with Messer on commercial building and shares the employee-ownership cultural alignment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/47158
• Xx.com/messerwearebldg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles33 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Messer Construction Co.