McElroy's Foundation for Success: Doing it Right

By Kim Gronniger
Photos by Brian Peters

Celebrating 75 years of service is a remarkable feat for any business but reaching the milestone as a third-generation family-owned enterprise like McElroy’s is especially rare. Only about 13% of companies transition successfully through three generations.

Homer McElroy founded the mechanical, plumbing and HVAC contracting firm in 1951, and his son Jerry later led it. Today the company provides a variety of mechanical, heating, cooling and plumbing solutions under the joint direction of Dan Beal and Wade Jueneman.

Dan, who is the company’s chairman and Jerry’s son-in-law, oversees day-to-day management and finances while Wade, president, handles field operations. The two have worked together for 19 years. Some of their employees are now working at McElroy’s with their own family members.

PASSING THE WRENCH

Growing up in Topeka, Dan had a passion for anything with wheels and raced motorcycles in high school and college. After obtaining his mechanical engineering degree and an MBA, he worked at a Texaco refinery as an intern before deciding to come back to Topeka to work for his father-in-law’s business in 1991.

Dan brought technical expertise and computer skills to the company during the early days of information technology. He began keeping track of job time sheets and change orders on a Macintosh computer and automated project estimating work previously done by hand.

He says he found a strong mentor in Jerry, who helped him develop the skills to take on successive management roles within the company. Dan was named president in 2005.

Wade, too, was mechanically inclined as a child. From sixth grade on, he put in full days in the summer doing chores and driving a tractor on his parents’ farm in Hanover, Kansas.

An architectural engineer, Wade joined the company as an estimator and project manager in 2007 after working for Brack & Associates for many years, often collaborating with McElroy’s on major projects, including work at St. Francis and Stormont Vail Health.

“Dan reached out a couple of times and finally I was ready to move,” Wade said.Just as Homer and Jerry mentored Dan, he is now mentoring Wade and other employees.

“If Dan sees that you know what you’re doing, he lets you do it,” Wade said. “I’ve been able to grow here at the pace I wanted to grow at and that’s why I’ve stayed. Dan told me when he hired me that I should expect to retire from here and I remember thinking, ‘Geez, that’s not going to happen,’ and I’m still here 19 years later.”

TURNING UP THE HEAT

“This business is evolving all the time,” Dan said. “As soon as you go in one direction to accommodate a shift, something else changes with the labor force or technology. Homer and Jerry had a lot of knowledge and years of serving customers and solving problems that I benefited from then and now.”

Wade said new software applications, refrigeration standards, Environmental Protection Agency changes and supply chain issues continue to impact the business.

The company emphasizes communication, training and knowledge sharing to keep the team current on new developments. Of its 190 employees, about 140 are trade union members.

Wade compares managing people to steering a ship.

“We’re constantly trying to get the right people in the right seats,” he said. “It’s a lot of juggling and a little bit of chess. Sometimes I feel like I’m pulling ropes like the Wizard of Oz in teaching and passing along knowledge. I love it when they bring me questions and challenges.”

The extra effort has paid off. Many of McElroy’s employees have spent their whole careers with the company while a few others left and then came back.

Dan attributes the company’s tight-knit culture to three things: respect, transparency and an expansive definition of family that includes all employees, not just those with McElroy ties.

“We want the best for everyone, including our employees and our customers,” Dan said.

FULL STEAM AHEAD

Craftsmanship is a cornerstone of Dan and Wade’s business philosophy. They guide employees through apprenticeships and prepare those who are interested in journeyman and foreman positions.

“From the beginning, we teach them about our commitment to high-quality craftsmanship and we show appreciation for their skills and service, because ultimately their performance determines our success,” Dan said. “We want to build things correctly that function properly, look good and last.”

Wade agrees. “This is a small enough area that you have to do what you say you’re going to do because word travels fast,” he said. “My dad and grandpa always said to do it right or don’t do it, and that’s our approach. We get excited about the pipes and the duct work and all the things no one sees because it sets the foundation.”

Through the decades, McElroy’s has amassed a repeat client base across health care, food processing, education and other sectors, in addition to its residential customers. Dan estimates that 90% of the company’s work is non-residential and almost every project undertaken is in Northeast Kansas.

“We’re responsive and do what we say we’ll do, and we follow up to ensure the customer experience is positive,” he said. “Our success comes from making our customers and employees feel seen, heard and appreciated.”

“Reputation is everything,” Wade said. “If we see something that doesn’t look right, we’ll rip it out and start over at our own expense.”

That work caught the attention of a national engineering and construction firm based in Tennessee that develops distribution fulfillment facilities across the country. The relationship began in 2017, when the firm hired them to add HVAC to an existing 1.355 million-square-foot distribution center in Topeka, and has since expanded to jobs in other states.

“They saw the high-quality work we did, so now they’re willing to pay extra to put up our employees in different locations because they know that in the end it will result in less downtime and expense for them,” Wade said.

The company is expanding its engineering capabilities, adding a fourth licensed engineer —with two more expected to be licensed later this year — and integrating more efficient computer modeling.

Dan wants to accelerate McElroy’s expansion in the region while also contributing toward activities that will help the capital city grow. He has served on multiple community boards, including GO Topeka. He has also represented McElroy’s on several union boards and workforce development committees.

Wade has served on the GO Topeka board and worked with underprivileged youth. He currently serves on the Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas board, state apprenticeship board, local apprenticeship board and several other committees.

In 2020, McElroy’s formalized its community giving guidelines, focusing on nonprofits working to enhance Topeka’s quality of life. Areas of focus include community health and wellness, children’s education, workforce development and improving living environments.

“We want to grow in Topeka because this is our hometown and where we started,” Dan said. “It’s an affordable community and has enough amenities for what we need, as well as easy access to the cities we serve and the neighboring towns where our employees live.”