Imagine living long enough to relate stories about the Great Depression, two World Wars, the invention of the television, or Orville Wright’s first flight. For a human to reach such a grand old age would be phenomenal. Yet, some American companies have been around for more than a century, such as renowned Dupont (1802), Colgate (1806), and Ford (1903), making the attaining of the ‘century or more in business’ milestone even more impressive – especially considering the challenging economic downturns of the past.
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For family-owned businesses to survive the test of time requires a different focus, one in which the perspective is not on the next six months, but rather the next generation – a generation that possesses the insight for innovation, building a strong brand, and developing a loyal customer base thorough proven quality of service.
M.J. Daly LLC, headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut, is one such family business established in 1882. As a mechanical (HVAC, plumbing, pipe fabrication), and fire protection contracting firm, the company has a reputable presence in the Connecticut and western Massachusetts markets. It is committed to its promise to deliver one-source, cost-effective solutions for design, installation and maintenance for all projects, while bringing a history rich in experience, professionalism and innovation.
It was quite by accident that M.J. Daly got involved in the contracting business. A flute player from South Norwalk, Connecticut, M.J. Daly began working in a textile mill in Waterbury as a means to support himself and his family while pursuing his passion for music. While assisting with a new addition to the textile factory, he left an impression with the foreman of the piping contractor commissioned for the project. M.J. Daly was offered a job, learned the trade and eventually became a foreman.
At the time, the town of Waterbury was growing quickly but lacking a local company capable of providing services for the piping needs of its numerous manufacturing firms. M.J. Daly started his own piping business with only a dream, horse drawn trailers and $300. He passed away in 1906 leaving the company legacy to be carried on by future generations. His dream was realized; today, M.J. Daly is one of the nation’s largest mechanical contracting firms.
In 2006, M.J. Daly was acquired by Arden Building Companies, LLC, of Rhode Island, a parent company of Arden Engineering Constructors, LLC and Rhode Island’s largest mechanical contracting firm. This acquisition enabled M.J. Daly to broaden its service offerings to customers by providing design-build engineering services, sheet metal fabrication and installation and green build solutions.
The company is certified and licensed with a number of industry organizations and for over 30 years has been a member of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), formed in 1889. The MCAA provides a number of services including safety and loss prevention programs; educational programs; labor management relations and business services.
With multiple in-house controlled fabrication facilities, the company specializes in pipe fabrication with warehousing and logistics support to get products to customers on time. With more than 60 years of fabrication experience, M.J. Daly utilizes the latest design technologies that facilitate layout of mechanical rooms through Building Information Modeling (BIM) before fabrication, which subsequently reduces costs, maximizes space and installs more quickly – all to the highest standards of quality.
The company is committed to safety and ensures that every employee – office staff, trades people and subcontractors – is knowledgeable and fully trained in safety rules and practices. The team’s Safety Committee, comprised of volunteers and committee members, ensures that all projects proceed injury- and accident-free. These efforts have resulted in a recognized and commendable job site safety record.
The company also believes that clean sites are safe sites, and its On-Site Cleanliness Protocols are a means to ensuring that working environments are kept as clean as possible while maintaining pure air quality through the entire mechanical contracting process.
LEED certified buildings and Energy Star ratings are rapidly becoming the future of construction projects. Energy efficient buildings that are healthy workplaces with good air quality are two of the main concerns for LEED principles. As a mechanical contractor, M.J. Daly has a key role to play in ensuring optimally performing buildings by making a commitment to sustainable design. This requires innovation, flexibility and a watchful eye on technological advances. Through its commitment to LEED standards, M.J. Daly is one of the leading companies utilizing smart construction practices, sustainable designs, and strategies to deliver LEED projects, and has done so for a number of blue chip clients including General Electric and Yale University.
In 2008, M.J. Daly completed General Electric’s Energy Financial Services headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, working to rigorous deadlines and constructing the latest in green technologies in only five months. The team installed the facility’s computer room, HVAC and energy recovery systems. This project was only the second in Connecticut to attain LEED Gold status.
M.J. Daly was also involved with Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Kroon Hall in New Haven, Connecticut in 2008-2009. The company engaged the services of some prominent construction and architectural teams that retained the university’s unique architectural features during M.J. Daly’s installation of fire protection systems in the library, office space, basement and classrooms on three floors. This upgrade represents 81 percent less water usage, and the site is LEED Platinum certified.
The Energy Star program is utilized by thousands of businesses, industries and government offices across the nation. An energy efficient building is a “green” building, consuming less energy and generating less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional buildings. Ensuring that new or redesigned buildings are performing to their optimum efficiency requires the experience of a mechanical contractor who can design, install and service an effective maximized operating system – a system that will not only save operational costs throughout the building’s lifetime, but will prove beneficial to the environment. There are a growing number of leading industries that have adopted the Energy Star program as a best practice.
Helping its clients measure their buildings against Energy Star criteria is one way that M.J. Daly sees its role as a responsible purveyor of information and education. The team will assist clients with the planning for design and retrofit of Energy Star products and practices that will ultimately result in long term savings while bringing peace of mind that the project is a contribution toward being environmentally responsible.
M.J. Daly’s promise of quality workmanship in any project, simple or complex; experience in the industry; and a consistent focus on applying new technologies to create optimal, efficient, mechanical systems has garnered the company a strong and repeat client base. This is what M.J. Daly was founded on, and today the company continues to hold true to its mission statement.
A lot has changed in the past 134 years in terms of technological advances, scientific breakthroughs and changing social structures. But even among these changes one principle holds true for M.J. Daly – though the future will unfold as it may in the industry, the company, with a strong heritage of generational leadership, remains steadfast in being recognized as one of the best. That, too, will be part of its legacy moving forward.
