Got a problem? They'll find the answer
Meeting customer needs is just what Meridian does
Diverse doesn't begin to cover it all for Meridian Construction Services,
Inc. For instance, in 1999, it did work on the Portage Juvenile Detention
Center. This included the usual items in the general trades package, all
honed for the specific security needs of a jailplus an unexpected task,
the precast decking. In others, Meridian provided the interior fit-out,
along with a totally unallied taskthe paving.
It is this kind of spirit that has made Meridian what it is today. "The
many, many kinds of things we do and provide just kind of evolved,"
says owner Tim Ochwat. "We pride ourselves on taking it all in stride.
When things get thrown our way, we take it on, and so now we have all the
diversity we can handle. The GCs and CMs have confidence in us that we can
do it."
Solving problems
In his life as a carpenter, Ochwat says, he ran all the difficult projects,
and that has carried on into today. "I was the hired gun they brought
in to handle situations," like the cowboy who rides into town and establishes
law and order for the townsfolk.
That idea of doing whatever it takes to solve the problem infects his
staff as well, who are all committed to success. Tom Harlkowicz, now vice
president of operations, has been known to work on site all day and fill
orders at night, while Mike Coia's excellent service to the firmhe
ran a University of Akron job with 27 subs and earned Ruhlin's praise on
a "stellar job"has earned him the title of general field
superintendent.
Beyond taking on the unexpected tasks, Meridian also accommodates clients
with added care in doing the work. For example, a renovation at Akron City
Hospital to add a 13,000-sf open-heart surgery support center, including
an ICU, CCU, decontamination area and classrooms, went on while the hospital
was able to maintain full surgical operations. And, it got done eight months
ahead of schedule.
Training for excellence
This can-do spirit is matched only by Meridian's commitment to excellence.
"One of my passions is millwork," says Ochwat, noting that this
work, like all interior work, demands a great deal of precision. For instance,
the Akron-Summit Co. Main Library project included precision work, such
as six stage doors, each 8 feet wide and 20 feet high, which pivoted 360
degrees on a single pivot, with only a 1/4 in. clearance.
This kind of skilled fitting can be found only in an experienced workforce.
This, Meridian delivers; his foremen average 20 years on the job, and younger
craftspeople are brought in to learn the right way. "We don't just
throw someone into the job," he says. "We are breeding the next
generation of foremen and craftsworkers, and in the right way, keeping the
skills going." Correct training, he adds, is one of his pet peeves,
and he constantly looks for find reliable people.
The Carpenters Apprentice Training Program provides the basics, he adds,
in classrooms and on the site. Then, he says, "we have to pass our
knowledge on to the younger guys. It is our obligation as humans and as
tradesmen to instill that."
Further proof of Meridian's dedication to precision work is seen in its
membership in the American Woodworking Institute, whose very strict criteria
for installation are often included in project specs. "There are only
a few of us who can meet
Ochwat knows that Meridian's attention to detail and ability to meet
customer needs, coupled with its diverse service offering that brings to
a project whatever skills it takes, will be the key to its future growth.
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A history of meeting every need
Meridian's growth depended on its ability to take on challenges
Tim Ochwat, founder of Meridian Construction Services, Inc. has four
generations of carpenters in his own family, and he learned his trade, both
its skills and its values, from his wife's grandfather. But in his 27th
year as a carpenter, with a well-established reputation for being able to
run a job well, he decided to go out on his own.
"I had a long-held dream to start my own company, and the time seemed
right," he says about his launch in 1997. "I knew I'd regret it
if I didn't do it."
He says that his business took off when he was challenged with an enormous-scale
project, the Ritz Carlton hotel downtown. The work involved tying the building
into the 1930's Terminal Tower, so Ochwat took his grandfather-in-law, and
mentor, down to see the job. "He'd worked on it as an apprentice, he
remembered it," says Ochwat in amazement.
That job led to work such as the downtown Cleveland Marriott, Akron's
Inventors Hall of Fame, the First Merit Tower in that city, and the B. F.
Goodrich headquarters, work that put him in good company with established
competitors and proved his abilities on that playing field.
Meridian is now going into its eighth year, moving from a five-employee
office, with about $250,000 worth of work that first year, mostly supplying
and installing cabinetry and door, to an average of $7 million worth of
business yearly at this point in its corporate life.
Today's diversity
The firm today has a diverse offering, specializing in carpentry, including
fine millwork and cabinetry, for public and private projects such as board
rooms, offices and healthcare worka lot of that latter. Along with
this, Meridian handles interior fit-outs and general trades work, a term
that often can encompass the entirely of catch-all tasks, including installations
of things like handrails, overhead doors and toilet partitionseven
paving and decking if it's called for.
Two of Ochwat's three kids work for him part time and may join the firm
in the future, if they proven themselves elsewhere and are still interested.
The family feeling also extends to Tim's wife Karen, who serves as Meridian's
secretary/treasurer. bxm
Diversity is key
Diversity indeed, with a full range of projects
Meridian's work involves varied skill sets in as many market niches
Healthcare
- Akron City Hospital's Surgery Center, Phase II
- Parma Community Hospital ER/ICU/8th Floor Renovation
- Lake West Hospital 4th Floor Patient Care Unit
- Eliza Bryant Nursing Home expansion and modification
- Massillon Community Hospital addition and renovation
Civic
- Akron-Summit Co. Main Library, for which Meridian did all the high-end
millwork and tenant spaces for a bookstore and café as add-ons when
the project was completed.
- Cleveland Botanical Gardens for Donley's, with doors, frames and hardware
- FBI Building in Cleveland, with doors, frames and hardware.
- New Hopkins International Airport Continental Concourse D (for Albert
M. Higley Company)
- Portage Co. Juvenile Detention Center
- Inventors Hall of Fame
Education
- University of Akron Student Union (for Ruhlin Co.), a $5.2 million
general trades package, which took a challenging three years with weather
constraints. Work here ranged from millwork and glass stair rails to paving
and tenant work for the Barnes & Noble Bookstore. "We were the
go-to guys for Ruhlin," says Ochwat, "taking care of all their
oddball needs."
- Tri-C Metro Campus administration building
- Tri-C Corporate College East
- Hawken Middle School, general trades package, (for Albert M. Higley
Company)
- Lutheran West High School
Corporate and hospitality
- B. F. Goodrich
- Cleveland Marriott
- Ritz Carlton Cleveland
- First Merit Tower
