Company Profile: Corporate milestones Q & A with Andrew Matses, president at M.C. Andrews Co., Inc.

What milestone are you celebrating in 2022?
MCA is celebrating 25 years in business.

What thoughts or emotions come to mind when you think about this milestone?
During the last 25 years, and my prior experience since my youth as the son of a long time general contracting family, I have waded through some very challenging times, as well as some very lucrative times. I have witnessed continuously fluctuating economies, which prove to be very impactful to the construction industry. However, the one thing that sticks out to me, is the lack of individuals coming into the trades, which equates into the major lack of hands-on experience.

What inspired you to start your firm?
I grew up working in a family owned union, general contracting firm, founded by my father in 1954. We primarily performed large public projects, and it is through this environment that I learned much of what I know today. I enjoyed the act of construction and found it very rewarding. However, I found the typical mentality and practices within the public arena contrary to what I was taught and how I wanted to run my business. I learned through “the school of hard knocks,” and performed every task imaginable. The approach I was pursuing was more of a team effort and within the private marketplace, where I could control all risk factors. It is here where we excelled, coupled with a team approach with our staff and clients.

What are some of the firm's greatest accomplishments since inception?
MCA has completed projects for some of the most prominent corporations and businesses throughout New England, but some significant projects I often recall are the corporate software division for EMC in Cambridge, the numerous banks we have built for many of the major banks in New England, the numerous projects we performed for The Hilltop Steakhouse, and the many projects at renowned educational institutions we completed. Recently, we have grown into some specialty areas, such as the cannabis industry, one which has proven to keep things fresh.

How has your company evolved over the years?
MCA started doing much of its work in the public arena, self performing the majority of work with our own forces. As the economy and industry has changed over the years, so have we. We now self perform a small percentage of the actual field work, allowing us to focus on the management and procurement of our projects.

What is it like working at your firm?
Working here at MCA, in my opinion, is fun. We have a total team approach. If our employees do not share the same attitude, they do not work here. I was brought up to do whatever it takes and that is my philosophy. Hard work and ethics is how we perform and both my staff and I find this approach very rewarding while developing a comradery that reflects in the results of our projects.

What is one of the funniest memories in the history of your firm?
One memory that I often speak of took place when we were in the thick of the New England banking expansion. I was negotiating the award of a local banking project that I thought was a done deal. To my surprise, the bank decided to hire another contractor, and when I asked why, I was told that one of the board members didn’t like that I didn’t have socks on. That takes the cake for a reason for not getting project, but I am an avid fisherman and I do not wear socks with my boat shoes. No loss though, we had a good laugh anyway.

What’s your vision of the company in the future?
My vision for MCA is simple; continue our old school, hard work, personal service attitude until my son, Drew, can continue our family legacy for a third generation.

What project are you most proud of?
I don’t have one project that I am most proud of, because I take every project very personally and in most instances become lifelong friends with our clients. Our complete focus on oversight for our clients has proven to be a unique formula that has worked for us, and one that will contiunue for generations to come here at MCA.

Andrew Matses is the president of M.C. Andrews Co., Inc., North Andover, Mass.