On Friday, December 9th, 2011 MDG was honored to be recognized at the 2011 Small Business of the Year luncheon.  The award is presented by Business NC Magazine and sponsored by BB&T Bank.  The luncheon was held at the Graylyn International Conference Center in Winston Salem, NC.  The luncheon was wonderful and the Graylyn is an amazing place.  The staff of MDG would like to thank Business NC Magazine and BB&T for honoring our firm as a runner-up for this prestigious award.  Congratulations to Shane Cooper and DeFeet International for being awarded the top spot as Small Business of the Year and to Rhino Assembly Corporation and Something Classic Corporation for being recognized as runners-up as well.  The guest speakers included Mr. Mark Edwards of BB&T Bank,  Mr. Dale B. Carroll, Deputy Secretary of the NC Department of Commerce and last year’s winner Mr. Doug Salkewicz, President of Advanced Technical Welding.

The article about MDG can be read at the following link-MercerDesignWriteUp or, along with all of the write-ups at the Business NC website.

As Principal Engineer of MDG, I would like to take a moment to thank all of our staff for their hard work and determination.  It is their efforts that have truly earned MDG this award.  The magazine article gives insight into the struggles of the firm over the past few years while the economy has been down (to say the least).  The determination of our staff is a key factor in our continued success.  While the journey detailed was arduous and difficult, the rest of the story is even better.  I was able to confidently tell our client that we could take on their project and meet such a tight deadline because I knew the staff I had behind me.  I already knew the outcome, it was a great feeling.  We started to work on this project in late January 2010, had all permits in hand and broke ground in April 2010 and both horizontal and vertical construction were completed in June 2011.  Thats 112 units on 11.5 acres, all permits in hand in three months and finished construction in just over a year.  It is true that as design engineers we do not actually build anything.  However, when a project of this size is moving this quickly, the engineer has to be there when his client calls.  In these situations, correct answers are needed immediately and changes to the design are needed in hand the next day.  Waiting on your engineer to “figure it out” doesn’t cut it.  While this project was going on, the MDG team designed, permitted and started construction on three other sites with an additional 340 units for this same client as well as completed numerous other private, municipal and industrial projects throughout the state.  This level of performance is our normal operational tempo and has been since our inception.  Our team just rocks and I am proud to serve as their leader.

So the story continues.  2010 turned out to be a good year for MDG.  2011 has been good but as the construction industry is still struggling so are we.  What does 2012 hold?  Who knows?  What I do know is, MDG will be there providing exceptional service and assisting our clients in being, not only successful, but profitable.  The question is, will you be part of that team or will you be wishing you were?  You Need To Know Us!

-Marvin

The year is 2003 and Mercer Design Group (MDG) is born; a company started of the efforts and dreams of principals Marvin and Wendy Mercer.  From the beginning, the vision for a winning team began to form with no idea of what outcomes may occur along the way.  As with any fledgling business, the early goal was to still be in business after a year or two.  Key personnel began to join MDG, persons possessing a team driven spirit, desirous of being part of the MDG team vision.  Has the road always been smooth?  Of course not, but the team stuck together to meet and exceed the needs of our clients.

The time is now, the vision even greater, the team even stronger.  After eight years of growth and experience, MDG can now look back on a number of successfully completed projects, happy clients, and solid relationships.  What more could we ask for?  We possess many parts of a strong foundation that many companies seek.  What is extra special is when the things you do everyday are noticed as being extraordinary. 

Late this summer it came to our attention that the MDG team had been selected as a finalist for the 2011 Business NC Magazine “Small Business of the Year” award.  On December 5th we were notified that we are a Runner-Up, in the Top Four out of over 800,000 small businesses in North Carolina.  We will provide a link to the article as soon as it becomes available.

What does all this mean?  The MDG team just keeps doing what we’ve always done, surpassing all of your expectations as part of our normal way of doing business.  This is why – You Need to Know Us.

We can’t help but think that this title is apropos considering the news we’ve recently received.  Were you aware that MDG is one of more than 822,000 small businesses in North Carolina?  Each year, Business North Carolina Magazine, sponsored by BB&T, selects four of those small businesses, or 0.0000049% of them, as finalists for their Small Business of the Year award. 

Mercer Design Group (MDG) has the distinct privilege of being one of the four finalists for the “2011 Small Business of the Year” award!  The Small Business of the Year award recipient and three runners-up will be announced soon in the December issue of Business North Carolina Magazine.  An awards banquet will be held on Friday, December 9, 2011 at noon in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at the Graylyn International Conference Center.  Follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook, or check back here to see where we place in the top four.

To the best of our knowledge, in the history of this award MDG is the first civil and structural engineering firm to be accepted as a finalist.  We are humbled by this opportunity, but proud of the clients and employees who have helped enable this nomination.

Stay tuned as we’ll be posting photos of the event and the award as things transpire.  Just another reason why, You Need to Know Us.

MDG is now hosting its own Blog and we are excited to take you inside MDG as we highlight happenings, community service projects, and events that we are involved in.  We will also be posting articles about relevant issues pertaining to Civil and Structural Engineering issues that may be affecting our clients and future clients.  These articles will include potential or pending changes to ordinances or codes, grant opportunities, industry headlines and general information that our clients may find interesting or useful.  The information we discuss will be informative; however, it will not, nor is it intended to, take the place of consulting engineering or design.  If a topic interests you, please feel free to contact us for more information or to discuss the topic as it relates to your particular situation.

Our firm is proud of our continued success even in these difficult economic times.  Excellence is our brand and we provide innovative engineering solutions specific to our client’s parameters and needs.  We always consider the cost effectiveness of our solutions and try to go above and beyond to meet the needs and timeline of our client.  A great part of our success is our quick response to your calls and our get-it-done-and-done-right attitude which all of our staff share.

Thank you for taking the time to read our first blog post.  Follow us or check back regularly to see what is new.  You may find our company or one of our staff on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.  If you have a Civil or Structural Engineering question or need, give us a call, send an e-mail, or use our contact form.  Our responsiveness, knowledge, and candor may surprise you.  We are confident that you will very quickly understand why… ” You Need to Know Us!”

Look for our first post on September 28, 2011.  We look forward to your readership.