BUILT TO LAST | MCP GROUP
Photo by JOHN BURNS
Take a look around the capital city, and you’ll see the work of commercial general contractor MCP Group everywhere. Whether it’s education, health care, commercial offices, hospitality, multifamily, sports or retail, the 60-employee company has its hand in all markets.
The vision of brothers Mike and Bruce McPherson, McPherson Contractors, as the original entity was known in 1972, had the goal to “build the future” with principles of honesty, integrity, and tenacity and core values that include having character, honoring the client, pursuing greatness, working with purpose, and cultivating a family spirit.
Local projects in the recent past include several buildings on Washburn University’s campus, the Federal Home Loan Bank headquarters, Cyrus Hotel, The Pennant, Iron Rail Brewing, Evergy Plaza, Seaman Middle and High School, and Jardine Elementary and Middle School. MCP Group has also constructed several local grocery stores, hospitals, bank buildings, and sports venues. You name it, they’ve built it.
In 1975, MCP completed its first $1 million project, Hillcrest Community Center. They completed The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics in Lawrence in 2003 and the Boot Hill Casino in 2012.
How did MCP become such a pillar in the community?
“It starts with the great people,” said Pat Tolin, MCP Group CEO and director of preconstruction. “The team we have in place is set up for the next 50 years.”
Pat Tolin, CEO and Greg Stueve, COO of MCP Group | Photo by John Burns
Whether it’s the 20 employees with 20-plus years of experience with the company or the more recently hired younger employees, MCP seeks people who are “humble, hungry and smart.”
“Humble—humility is good for all of us. Hungry to do a good job; hungry to meet a client’s needs. And smart—people smart. Knowing how to read people and solve problems. This is a motto we live by,” said Tolin.
Over the years, MCP has done work as far west as Oregon, as far east as Ohio, as far south as Texas and as far north as North Dakota, but primarily, they build in Kansas, Colorado, and Texas. To that end, the company has offices in Kansas City, Denver, and Steamboat Springs, Colorado. But through it all, Topeka remains the location of the headquarters.
MCP Group, which did a complete rebrand in 2018, recognized its official 50th anniversary on Oct. 17. They’ve been celebrating all year long and plan to have official festivities with MCP families in the spring of 2023.
“Fifty years is an incredible accomplishment,” Tolin said. “Mike and Bruce started this company in Topeka, and this is our home. Topeka has been good to us, in the good times as well as the challenging times, and we intend to continue investing in our community by donating our time, talent and resources.”
“MCP has been a vital part of the expansion, rejuvenation, and improvements of Topeka for the last 50 years, and we look forward to our continued work changing the face of our city—making it a better place to live and grow and to raise a family. Topeka is a great place to build, and we take great pride when we are able to build in our own community.”
Tolin said MCP is based on a strong foundation of delivering projects on time and within budget.
“We pride ourselves on turning napkin sketches into successful projects,” he said. “We just like to roll up our sleeves and get to work for our clients, delivering a good, positive experience during the construction process.”
Additionally, the top service that differentiates MCP is having an owner’s mindset.
“Having that mindset through planning and construction forges a strong foundation between builder and client, especially on remodel projects where they’re still occupying the building,” Tolin said. “We put ourselves in their shoes while working on their project. We think about things like controlling the noise, dust and traffic flow or just being supportive to the owner's needs.”
Tolin said the construction industry is generally behind the curve when it comes to technology, so they’re always looking for ways to be innovative on that front to differentiate themselves.
About 70% of MCP’s revenue each year is with repeat clients and most of them have been clients for five-plus years, said Tolin.
In general, business has picked up in the last few months for MCP, and many of the projects that were put on hold during the pandemic are starting to break loose. While 2020 and 2021 were slower years than they were used to seeing, MCP was able to stay sustainable and is now set up to expand in the next several years.
“We are not interested in becoming the biggest contractor in the world, but we do want to grow and continue to be considered one of the best,” he said. “We strive to do that.”
TK
