60 years after it was founded, dedicated employees continue playing a vital role in the success of McConnell & Associates Org. (MAC). Clients continue putting their trust in this long-lived company, one of the Midwest’s foremost commercial paving and sports construction specialists, for its professionalism, quality, safety, and innovation.
A few years ago, the company faced a choice when it was approached by private equity firms and others in the paving industry wanting to purchase MAC. Instead of selling the company to an outside party, the decision was made to help dedicated staff members—some of them with MAC for almost 40 years—build their legacies through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). These plans, similar to a 401(k), hold many benefits for staff, but unlike a 401(k), employees don’t have to pay part of their salary to be part of ESOP. Employees also receive a financial stake in the company, and take ownership in its future success.
“The ESOP has really been fantastic for everybody involved,” says Rob McConnell, President and employee/owner. “People really like the whole scenario.” Employee-owners can build greater wealth, and for the company, benefits of an ESOP include greater staff retention and more open and effective communication. “This creates a high-character culture where everyone is focused on growing the business to build personal wealth for each and every stakeholder,” explains the company on its website.
The ESOP became official at MAC on January 31, 2021. This year, the company broke the 200 mark, reaching 208 employees at its peak. “We have so many people who have 20 years of their lives invested in this company, and we felt it was better to have them continue to grow the company for everybody’s benefit,” shares McConnell. “As a result, we have greater employee retention and are attracting better candidates. When people look at McConnell & Associates in the industry and realize they can get ownership in the company, then they are more apt to give that a try than companies that don’t offer that.”
“The ESOP provides an additional 401(k) program for them, because we offer a 401(k) that we match every year for our employees. But with ESOP, they have another retirement avenue for their benefit.”
Decades after it was established, MAC is now led by Rob, his brother Scott (who serves as Chief Executive Officer), and brother-in-law Chris Hanson, Chief Operating Officer. Along with a dedicated group of employees, the trio continues building on the legacy of its founders.
Prior to creating the business, Rob and Scott’s father, Troy, was working as a bulldozer operator, and their grandfather Burton served as an excavation company supervisor. An entrepreneur living in a small town in Missouri, Burton’s other business ventures included a school bus service, grocery store, and gas station. Moving to Kansas City for his supervisor role, Burton soon discovered the asphalt maintenance business, which was in its infancy in the early ’60s.
“Sealcoating was a brand-new industry,” McConnell explains, and this interest led to the McConnells working for Patricia Lorenz, an entrepreneur who had a pavement maintenance franchise. In time, the two bought the business from Lorenz and continued growing the business by performing asphalt paving, concrete work, porch construction, and more. In 1965, McConnell & Associates was born, with Troy and Burton becoming 50/50 owners.
To meet the needs of its many customers, MAC has divisions dedicated to commercial asphalt paving, maintenance and repairs, and constructing and maintaining high-performance athletic sports surfaces. These include tennis courts, pickleball and basketball courts, and running tracks. The company also provides commercial concrete services such as parking lots, sidewalks, curbs, repairs, and grading and drainage solutions.
To best serve the paving and sports construction needs of clients, MAC has locations in Kansas City, Missouri; Saint Louis, Missouri; Pevely, Missouri; and Wichita, Kansas. “We cover the middle part of America, which would be Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Arkansas, and Oklahoma,” says McConnell. “There are six or seven states right in the middle of America that we service. There are plenty of growth opportunities in those areas, and we will continue to branch out more in the same areas.”
To operate successfully in such a specialized area, MAC has several team members with certified running track credentials to their name through the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA). “We are very involved with the ASBA, and that lends to our credibility,” says McConnell.
The governing authority on specifications throughout the world for building tennis court complexes, running tracks, and artificial turf fields, “the ASBA exists to promote the highest standards of design, construction, and maintenance for all types of indoor and outdoor sports facilities,” according to its website. “ASBA serves as the centralized resource for builders, designers, and suppliers, as well as the owners, operators, players, and others who enjoy them.”
From parking lots to pickleball courts, not all surfaces are created equal; different methods, materials, and coatings are required, and trends also change. Today, MAC is seeing greater demand for pickleball courts. It its online article, 6 Things to Know Before Building a Pickleball Court, the company outlines the different construction materials available, including concrete, asphalt, and synthetic surfaces, along with discussing budgets, permits, grading, and inspection and maintenance.
As pickleball becomes even more popular, the company is seeing customers asking for surface materials they can call pickleball-specific. Measuring a standard 34 feet wide and 64 feet in length, including boundary lines, proper pickleball courts are built out of a post-tension concrete slab involving post-tension cables. These cables apply “compressive stresses to reinforce the concrete,” states MAC, “and reduce the effect of expansion and contraction,” common with temperature changes. Done properly, a pickleball surface will not crack or require control joints or expansion joints, which will cause a bad bounce. Along with the post-tension work, MAC does all design work, excavating, and construction, all the way to surface coatings.
To ensure top-quality results, MAC manufactures its own paints and acrylic coatings for tennis and pickleball, along with asphalt emulsions and coal tar sealers for its parking lot business. The company also supplies other contractors throughout middle America with its coating products and crack fillers. Today, MAC has two satellite plants in the STAR group, one of the best-known manufacturers of sealcoatings, concrete products, traffic paint, and other products.
Working with MAC means dealing with a company with one of the best warranties in the business. “That’s the biggest feather in our hat,” states McConnell. “What we leave in our wake is 100 percent satisfaction for our customers, and that’s the biggest sales tool we have. We absolutely stand by and honor our warranties.” These include coverage for workmanship and materials. For a tennis court, for example, warranties are for a year, and cover cracking, peeling, or surface coating.
This spring will see MAC complete its largest sports construction contract to date at the world-famous Kansas City Country Club. The large-scale work involves demolishing six existing tennis courts, regrading, and building eight new pickleball courts, six new post-tension concrete courts, and completely rebuilding the tennis facility.
From civil to sports projects, all works handled by McConnell & Associates use the skills of dedicated employees to ensure successful on-time and on-budget completion. “McConnell & Associates is blessed to have such good people come to work every day, who literally put their lives into the company,” says McConnell. “And we have a loyal customer base who put their trust in us to deliver all their pavement and sports construction needs. We have a huge appreciation for both. Those two things working together make us successful.”
