“We are excited about the opportunity to combine MMC’s expertise in pre-construction, BIM modeling and design with APi Group’s national reach,” said Mark Anderson, president of MMC.

The acquisition provides MMC an opportunity to expand its market share in data centers and other large construction projects. MMC plans to join forces with St. Paul-based Doody Mechanical, a highly respected mechanical contractor in the Greater Twin Cities.

“The combination of MMC and Doody will provide employees more opportunities to grow,” said Russell Becker, APi Group CEO and president. “MMC and Doody will continue to provide high-quality, responsive service to its existing customers.”

MMC and Doody will operate under the leadership of Mark Anderson with the assistance of Doody’s President, Jim Torborg, during the transition period.

About Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors Inc.
MMC helps you maximize value through its technically superior team of professional engineers, project managers, supervisors, tradesmen, customer support and service. With more than 300,000 completed mechanical contracting projects, MMC brings its expertise to you through its local fabrication shop and office in Eden Prairie, Minn.

About APi Group Inc.
APi Group acquires construction companies to propel their success in the industry while encouraging company leaders to keep their entrepreneurial spirit. APi Group owns 16 companies within Minnesota and 36 companies throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

The Herculean task of clearing 40,000 cubic yards of snow from TCF Bank Stadium in preparation for Monday night’s football game required a game plan that likely made Vikings football coach Leslie Frazier proud.

On short notice, a team of local companies – including Mortenson Construction, Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors (MMC) and Frattalone Cos. – helped to develop and carry out the plan.

“We could not have done it without them,” said Garry Bowman, director of communications for University of Minnesota athletics. “Those guys were key to helping us pull this off. It would have been next to impossible to do this on our own.”

How much snow was in the stadium? If it had covered the playing surface alone, it would have been piled 20 feet high from one end to another, according to Bowman.

Mortenson, which built TCF Bank Stadium, helped oversee the effort to clear snow out of the 50,800-seat venue, which was hastily awakened from its winter hibernation to accommodate the Dec. 20 Minnesota Vikings-Chicago Bears football game. The entire cleanup effort cost more than $100,000 – and possibly several hundred-thousand dollars, Bowman said.

The game was scheduled to be played in the Metrodome but had to be moved after the Dec. 11-12 storm dumped more than 20 inches of snow and ice on the dome’s Teflon roof, causing parts of it to tear and collapse.

On the Wednesday morning after the snowstorm, Mortenson called on Eden Prairie-based MMC and “laid out this huge request” for 800 feet of 36-inch-diameter PVC pipe, according to Michelle Rose, MMC business development manager.

The idea was to cut the pipe lengthwise then slice it into sections to create makeshift chutes, which would be used by shoveling crews to help clear snow out of the stadium’s seating bowl.

It was a challenge, in part, because it’s not a common pipe size, Rose explained. But an MMC production manager got on the phone and tracked down a pipe supplier in Fairmont who could fill the order.

“We immediately had them truck up as much as they had,” Rose said. “By 6 o’clock that night they delivered the first load of pipe.”

Once delivered, the pipes had to be cut and mobilized for safe and effective use at the stadium. The project team cut the pipes, drilled holes, installed rope handles and fabricated joining brackets, Rose said.

Tasks that may seem simple, like cutting the pipes to size, turned out to be a challenge.
“This was a trial-by-fire effort,” Rose said. “They had to find the right type of saw to even cut these puppies in half. I am not sure how many saws they went through, but they figured out one that worked well.”

For its part, Little Canada-based Frattalone Cos. provided trucks and loaders to haul snow out of the stadium and deliver it to a dump site at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
Frattalone’s effort was based on a plan the company devised with the University of Minnesota back in August, in anticipation of having to clear snow out during the Gophers’ season.

Turns out, the Gophers didn’t have to worry about snow.

“When the dome went down, it was, ‘Oh boy, how can we make this happen?’ ” said Tony Frattalone, president of Frattalone Cos.

Finding a dump site for the snow wasn’t a problem because Frattalone had already been under contract with the university to clear snow from the St. Paul campus, which uses the Fairgrounds as a snow dump site.

The biggest trick was getting the proper equipment in place without damaging the playing field or the drainage pipes.

“Basically, we supplied the University of Minnesota with two loaders, which are small enough weight-wise [and] light enough so it won’t affect the field,” Frattalone said. “We basically hauled out the snow. The university had their equipment push the snow to us and we took it from there.”

One thing that’s overlooked is the property around the stadium – parking lots, curb lines, sidewalks – that had to be prepared for the game, according to Frattalone.

“That was probably as big, if not bigger, than getting the snow out of the stadium,” he said. “That was not seen as much because it was done at night. We were running day and night.”

TCF Bank Stadium wasn’t the only sports venue on Frattalone’s mind last week. The company stores 8,000 sheets of plywood for the Metrodome, which uses the sheets to prepare for events like the Home and Garden show.

After the storm, Frattalone got a call to deliver nearly 2,300 plywood sheets in four truckloads to the Metrodome. The sheets have been used to protect the playing surface while crews assess damage to the dome’s roof.

“It was a pretty hectic week for us – but a good hectic,” Frattalone said.

By the numbers
40,000 Cubic yards of snow in TCF Bank Stadium
800 Feet of PVC pipe used for snow removal

(SOURCE: Brian Johnson – Finance and Commerce, Dec. 23, 2010)

Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors (MMC), a fully-integrated, single-source mechanical contractor, recently opened their new office/fabrication facility in 79,000 square feet of the former Musicland building.

While the facility is new, MMC is not new to community. MMC is moving from an office space they’ve leased since the company’s start in 1963. Besides the cosmetic improvements a new space features, the company was able to improve their work environment with a design focused on two key objectives: environment and customers. In the new space, MMC has installed new industry concepts and technologies they are bringing to their customer base.

The new office facility is located at 7450 Flying Cloud Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3514.

About Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors (MMC)

MMC serves a base of clients both local and national. They are the largest mechanical contractor in the upper Midwest and is in the top 50 nationally. Their client base draws from a variety of industries such as hospitals, clinics, senior centers to office complexes, data centers and clean rooms, to name a few. MMC’s multi-discipline services include system engineering; CAD design; environmental, health and safety planning; system control implementation; service maintenance of systems; and 24/7 service dispatch. Some of MMC’s more recognizable metro-area projects are the Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul; the 225 South Sixth Street and Wells Fargo Center, downtown Minn., MN; Mall of America, Bloomington, MN, and most recently, the Target Twins Stadium, downtown Minneapolis. MMC has two offices (the other, their Southwest office in Phoenix, AZ).

(SOURCE: Eden Prairie Sun Post – By Michelle Rose – 11/9/2010)

Total mechanical contract: $20,000,000
Date completed: March 2002

Total mechanical contract: $15,000,000
Date completed: June 1995

Architect/Engineer: Alliance/MCE
Total Mechanical Contract: $16,000,000