If you think MRI tests are expensive, try buying a magnetic resonance imaging machine. Some health care providers invest millions in technology to help diagnose patients.FORT WAYNE – A $2.1 million investment by a growing commercial construction and engineering services company shows it’s no ordinary Joe, an economic booster says.
Shambaugh & Son, 7614 Opportunity Drive, wants to expand its fabrication shops, construct a new storage building to house inventory and make other improvements. The expansion will result in 25 new positions with an average annual salary of $60,000.
Shambaugh generates annual revenue of $350 million and employs about 300 in Fort Wayne. According to the company’s website, it employs 1,500 in 40 states.
Scott Naltner, executive vice president with the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance, said people who think of Shambaugh “as just a contractor” are misinformed.
“They’re a premier company,” he said. “They are one of those companies that you really need to be educated about to know what they do. They have all kinds of engineers and technical expertise out there.”
Shambaugh specializes in a full range of new and retrofit construction for industrial, commercial, institutional, food processing, medical and biofuel projects.
Shambaugh will hire computer-assisted drafting designers, engineers, estimators, project managers and control technicians.
Naltner is assisting Shambaugh with a pair of 10-year tax breaks that will save it $171,506, according to an application filed this week with Fort Wayne city officials. The company is a subsidiary of Emcor Group Inc. of Norwalk, Conn.
Founded in 1926, Shambaugh has been instrumental in the construction of the $550 million Parkview Regional Medical Center, which will open next month near Dupont Road and Interstate 69.
Even so, CEO Mark Shambaugh recently said work in the medical field has peaked. In an interview late last year, Shambaugh said he planned to go after local projects in other industries to make up the difference and seek health care-related projects in other regions.
Shambaugh was unavailable for comment Friday.
In November, the company announced it had added at least 16 employees over the previous three months. Most of those workers are engineers, estimators or project managers. Demand for the firm’s design-build business has increased nationwide.
The company guarantees energy savings for customers who retrofit electrical, mechanical, lighting, heating and air-conditioning systems.
