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Unique Campus Expertise Defines Xcel Mechanical’s Education Market Strategy

HIGHER EDUCATION — UCLA is the is the top-ranked public university in the U.S. and ranked 20th overall in the most recent edition of U.S. News and World Report. Our teams are currently working on multiple projects there; the latest in a string of major projects worth a combined $40 million completed on the Westwood campus over the past eight years. Our teams are also working on a large retrofit project at sister campus UC Riverside. Speaking of iconic Southern California campuses, USC is ranked 4th in California and 27th nationally. Xcel Mechanical went through an exhaustive prequalification process to renew our status as a Preferred Vendor at USC and today builds on a resume that includes more than 60 projects worth more than $20 million completed over the past decade.

Xcel Mechanical Working on Mission-Critical Aerospace Projects with Nation’s Top Defense Contractors

AEROSPACE — The U.S. Government issued $705 billion in federal contracts in fiscal year 2022, according to Bloomberg Government’s 2022 BGOV200 report released today. Of the Top 200 U.S. companies to receive federal contracts in 2022, Xcel Mechanical is working today to deliver projects on campuses belonging to three of the top five. These Owners include Lockheed Martin (#1/ $46B); Raytheon Technologies (#2/$26B); Boeing (#5/ $15B); and Northrop Grumman (#6/$14B). Add to these mission-critical aerospace clients Relativity Space, now building its Corporate HQ in Long Beach, CA. Founded recently by comparison, Relativity aims to be the first company to successfully launch a fully 3D-printed space vehicle into orbit. How cool is that?

Thriving in Acute Patient Care Environments Through Campus Command and Collaboration

HOSPITALS  —  Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is the second-highest ranked Hospital in the United States behind only the Mayo Clinic, according to the 2022 rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. UCLA Medical Center is ranked fifth nationally, tied with Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. CSMC and UCLA are tops in the West and in California. Between the work performed on both of these campuses, plus the work performed at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Xcel Mechanical has developed a reputation for performing in the most delicate, acute-care patient treatment facilities in California. It takes extraordinary people doing extraordinary things to work in places like these.

Xcel Mechanical Systems Wins Third MCAA/CNA National Safety Excellence Award in Five Years

SAFETY – Xcel Mechanical Systems – a commercial engineering and construction firm retained by some of the nation’s largest general contractors to implement HVAC and plumbing systems in some of Southern California’s most iconic buildings – was recognized again today with an MCAA/CNA National Safety Excellence Award.

The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), based in Rockville, MD, represents more than 2,600 mechanical contractors nationwide. CNA Insurance, based in Chicago, IL, is the nation’s seventh-largest commercial insurer. The MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Award is presented annually to five commercial mechanical contractors of varying size that demonstrate a profound commitment to keeping their employees and project partners safe through ownership investment and documented safety program results.

Today’s recognition – which came during MCAA’s weeklong National Convention in San Diego, CA – marks Xcel Mechanical’s third MCAA/CNA National Safety Excellence Award in the past five years.

“It’s important to note that every MCAA member contractor that competes for this award is already a leader in terms of their commitment to Occupational Health & Safety,” said Raffi Elchemmas, MCAA’s Executive Director of Safety & Health. “For an MCAA member contractor to win this award just once is remarkable, which makes Xcel Mechanical’s third award extraordinary.”

Xcel Mechanical Systems President Kevin Michel, a California state-licensed professional engineer who founded the Gardena, CA-based design-build firm more than two decades ago, said his senior management team’s decision to invest in an industry-leading Safety Program many years ago came easily, especially given the job-related dangers construction workers face each day.

“Construction workers everywhere perform their jobs in high-risk environments, and so doing whatever we can to keep our employees safe is an everyday priority,” Mr. Michel said.

“An effective safety program starts with commitment, teamwork, accountability, and personal responsibility,” he said. “The result of that effort is that our employees return home to their families safe each night, which is the most important part. But these awards are also an enormous point of pride for everyone at Xcel Mechanical,” he said. “These awards represent the diligence of our entire company. They are without question the most important recognitions we have received since opening our doors.”

About Xcel Mechanical Systems, Inc.

Xcel Mechanical Systems is a nationally recognized engineering and construction firm specializing in commercial HVAC and plumbing systems. Building owners and some of the nation’s largest general contractors trust Xcel Mechanical to deliver cost-effective solutions that make their buildings more comfortable and energy efficient. Based in Gardena, CA, Xcel Mechanical Systems is one of the largest mechanical and plumbing contractors in California, and one of the safest in the United States. For more information, please visit: www.xcelmech.com

 

 

Engineering Excellence Fuels Aerospace Design-Build Capability

REDONDO BEACH, CA— Xcel Mechanical Systems entered the mechanical contracting industry as a highly technical and capable Design Build mechanical contractor that specialized in engineering and delivering Aerospace High Bays and Clean Rooms that were then used for research, or to manufacture sensitive instruments and equipment. We continue to secure work with those longtime clients, and in fact have worked in nearly every building on every aerospace campus in the South Bay. That resume and capability now extends to secured sites located in Northeast Los Angeles County, under the purview of Xcel Mechanical’s new Palmdale-Lancaster Project Management Office.

Xcel Mechanical Recognized as “Procore Groundbreaker Award Finalist”

Industry-leading construction management software provider Procore hosts a two-day conference each Fall to announce new product releases – and also to recognize and celebrate innovative “Procore Groundbreaker” customers and partners.

During yesterday’s 2021 Conference Kickoff, Procore Founder and CEO Tooey Courtemanche recognized Xcel Mechanical Systems as a “Procore Groundbreaker Award Finalist” for our Office and Field Team’s collaborative work on the LAX TBIT Terminal Core and APM Interface Project.

Mr. Courtemanche recognized Xcel Mechanical Systems along with five other award finalists from around the world.

The Procore Conference is being broadcast on a proprietary platform to thousands of attendees from more than 60 countries. And while in-progress, this content is only available to registered attendees.

No matter the outcome of today’s final announcement, we would like to recognize the hard work and diligence of our internal Procore Champions; our Project Team; our Superintendents and Foremen; and members of our Engineering, Detailing and Field Teams who together have already positioned our company as one of the most innovative Procore users in the world.

 

Communication, Collaboration and Hard Work.

Our Executive Leadership Team has believed from Day One that a short list of strategies could help steer our company through the COVID-19 crisis: communication, collaboration, and hard work. So, we focused on establishing open lines of communication. Encouraged honest dialogue. And, continue to do our best to meet our commitments to our customers. All of this while the news seemed to get a little worse each day. Well, we’re happy to report something you already know: the statistics are still concerning, but the news does seem to be getting a little better each day. We will continue on this path. We will remain focused on your safety, and the continued strength of our company. We value both. We need both. – ELT

Bell Ringers – Estimating Aims to Keep us Rolling!

Recent data is now proving out what company executives have been hinting at for weeks: Our company’s Estimating Team is as busy and is enjoying as much success as at any point in recent memory.

Bid-tracking software implemented here just under three years ago shows that over a 34-month stretch that ended March 30, our Estimating Team sent out an average of 34 new project proposals worth a combined $21.5 million, each month. During that same span, the team’ s average “hit rate” was about $3.5 million in new contracts per month.

But the following month – April 1 – April 30 – our Estimating Team landed new contracts totaling $5.3 million and secured and additional $5.1 million in “Intent to Award” notifications. In other words, our company officially or unofficially landed more than $10 million in new project work just in the last month.

“One month is not a trend,” said Company President Kevin Michel. “But considering what was going on in our country, our state, and our communities during this period, those are extraordinary numbers,” he said.

“I’ve been telling our people for weeks that our Estimating Team is as busy as ever. And because of that hard work, I predict that the rest of our company will soon be as busy as we’ve ever been. Pretty incredible.” 

When the crisis began, both Mr. Michel and Team Lead Matt Moloney figured they would be steering the team through what both men expected would be very troubled waters.

But in a story that is beginning to repeat itself, Xcel Mechanical somehow managed to get out in front of the crisis and maintain mission-critical Field, Shop and Office operations. The company now appears positioned to emerge in the weeks ahead stronger than ever.

In a small token to recognize the Estimating Team’s ongoing efforts to keep us rolling strong, Mr. Michel had a large (and loud!) bell installed near the team’s work area – for when the big jobs hit.

A company-wide shout-out to team members Matt Moloney, Vedas Ha, Mike Holt, Bryan Torrellas, Brian Michaud (project manager), Hannah Galipeau (project engineer), and Chris Miller (assistant project engineer).

“I’m looking forward to hearing that bell ring again soon,” said Jason Gordon, Vice President of Operations. “We’ve got some catching up to do!”