In 1990, a pivotal moment arrived for Messer Construction Company, a regional building contractor with offices in Lexington and Louisville and several neighboring states. When the next generation of the Messer family declined interest in owning the company, the company’s managers and about 400 employees bought the business — transitioning it from a family-owned firm to an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP.
This year, Messer marks 35 years of employee ownership, a milestone that the Lexington regional office is using to reaffirm its commitment to community, work culture, and long-term financial stability.
Founded in Cincinnati in 1932, Messer grew steadily around the region. But by the late 1980s, few members of the Messer family still worked for the company, and none wanted to run it.
Founded in 1932, Messer Construction Co. transitioned to an employee stock ownership plan in 1990.
“Our leadership at the time had the foresight to say that employees could buy the company,” said Mark Hill, Messer Construction vice president and Lexington regional leader. “I came just a few years earlier, so I’ve got to witness the company’s growth. It has been an amazing success.”
Over the 35 years of employee ownership, Messer has grown in footprint, capacity, and culture, says Hill. According to the company’s timeline, more than a decade after the ownership change, the firm’s workforce had grown tenfold and annual revenue eightfold. Companywide, Messer completed $1.3 billion worth of work over the past year.
Hill said employees take pride in their ownership and in watching the company succeed. “Everybody helps each other. There’s no trying to get ahead of others here. They know that if the employees grow, so does the company.”
Messer notes that its ESOP remains 100 percent company-funded, with no payroll contribution required from employees. The plan improves wages and strengthens retirement funds — the longer employees stay, the more “invested” they become. As company materials put it: “Employment without ownership is work; employment with ownership is opportunity.”
Employee ownership remains rare in the construction industry, but observers say ESOPs can deliver clear benefits — improved retention, stronger alignment of interests, and a shared stake in success.
Messer VP Mark Hill, fourth from left, and members of the Lexington-based team at the March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction Event.
In Lexington and other regional offices, construction evolves today amid tighter labor markets, rising material costs, and increasing reliance on technology, such as building information modeling, which Messer publicly credits on some of its projects. All this may offer Messer’s employee-owner culture a strategic competitive edge.
The Messer name is attached to many highly visual projects in the Lexington area.
Messer served as the general contractor on the $241 million Central Bank Center, which included a renovation of Rupp Arena and the expansion and modernization of the convention center. Hill says his team is proud of the job they did.
“UK basketball is on TV a lot,” Hill said. “The networks always show aerial shots of downtown Lexington with Central Bank Center right in the middle of it. It really changed downtown. It is the largest and the most significant project we have ever done in Lexington.”
The challenges were considerable.
Parts of the convention center remained open during construction, and Rupp Arena continued hosting games and events — that is, until the pandemic forced cancellations.
“It’s also a challenge when you’re opening a building’s walls and exposing the inside to the elements,” said Mike Wedding, operations vice president for Messer’s Lexington office. “That’s why continuous planning is so important.”
Messer has been involved in many projects at the University of Kentucky.
Over the last decade and a half, it has built more than a dozen new student dormitories that are scattered across campus. It has also been involved with expanding or renovating parking garages.
A new UK Police command center was built by Messer and recently opened.
Students will be pleased when Messer completes major expansion and renovations to the Johnson Recreation Center, including next-level fitness spaces and courts, weightlifting areas, and a 55-foot-tall climbing wall, among other perks.
Messer is also working with the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment to construct a 64,000-square-foot Meats and Food Development Center on the UK farm in Versailles. In addition, Messer renovated Pence Hall, built in 1909, for the UK College of Communication and Information.
“We are extremely busy in all our regions,” said Hill. “We have many backlogged projects scheduled for 2025, so it appears like we will continue to grow as a company.”
Messer also served as general contractor for the $32 million renovation of the Old Fayette County Courthouse, completed in 2018, which restored the historic rotunda and transformed the 119-year-old landmark into a mixed-use civic, tourist, and event space.
Beyond Lexington, Messer is leading a highly visible project in Frankfort: the $300 million renovation of the Kentucky State Capitol. The job, coordinated by the company’s Lexington and Louisville offices, includes restoration work on the dome, roof, and masonry, as well as upgrades to the building’s electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems. Completion is expected in 2029.
Also coming to Frankfort will be a new Messer-built laboratory for the Kentucky Department for Public Health, a $219 million project.
For Messer, the 35-year employee-owned mark is more than symbolic; it underscores what the company believes is its sustained commitment to an ownership model that links employee well-being directly to business performance.