FREEPORT, ILL. — The Mechanical Service Contractors of America has designated Mechanical Inc. as an MSCA STAR Qualified Contractor.

The MSCA's designation of excellence offers proof to building owners and facilities managers that the STARqualified contractor is providing the highest level of skill, quality, value and professionalism in the plumbing and HVACR service industry.

"We were very pleased and view this honor as another way for us to better serve our customers," said Jeff McCoy, vice president, Mechanical Inc. "We take great pride in providing quality customer service at a fair price. We are one of only three service contractors in Illinois who have received this qualification."

Mechanical Inc. was ranked number 76 in CONTRACTOR's Book of Giants (May, p. 27) with revenues of $57.55 million and it is one of the largest service companies in the Rockford, Ill. area.

By initiating the MSCA STAR Qualification program, MSCA raised the bar for training and professionalism for the mechanical service contracting industry. Contractors who achieve MSCA STAR Qualified status belong to an elite group of contractors. These contractors have verified that they uphold a strict code of business ethics, employ the best trained and most qualified workforce, maintain a safety record above the industry average, offer outstanding customer service and focus on continuing education and training for all employees. The qualification program was initiated earlier this year.

A third-party review committee, set up through Ferris State University, a leading technical college specializing in HVAC instruction, determines qualification based on documented proof of criteria submitted by contractors. Qualification is an ongoing process, and contractors are considered for the honor as they become eligible.

One of eight awarded
"Eight MSCA STARS have qualified to date, and eight more are pending final review," said Barbara A. Dolim, MSCA executive director. "We hope to have at least 25 MSCA STARs by the MSCA conference in October. We are very pleased with how the applications are coming in and our contractors' interest in the program. We will have a special recognition program at the conference of all our MSCA STARS to date."

The MSCA STAR Qualification program also inspires contractors to strive for greater levels of training and expertise.

"When this program was made available, we concentrated on coming together as a group and achieving the various requirements for this qualification," said McCoy. "During the course of meeting those criteria, the educational benefit and knowledge gained by our technicians became very evident. We are a better service company as a result of our involvement with this program."

Mechanical has now grown its service division into one of the largest currently serving the Northern Illinois area.

Established in 1968, Mechanical Inc., a full-line mechanical service and construction company, specializes in all types of HVAC and plumbing service for commercial, educational, healthcare and industrial applications. Its home office is located in Freeport, with offices in Chicago and Mundelein, Ill. More information is available at its Web site, www.mechinc.com.

More information about the Star Qualification is available at www.mcaa.org/msca.