The McCarthy Story
Building America Since the Civil War

More than 140 years ago, an Irish immigrant named Timothy McCarthy began a lumber business in Ann Arbor, Michigan building farmhouses and barns. The company he founded in 1864 is now a billion dollar construction firm with offices nationwide. While no longer a family-owned business, the McCarthy of today maintains the long-held values of hard work, quality, craftsmanship, respect and teamwork.

1864–1920
The Beginning

Timothy McCarthy had 10 children, and taught carpentry to two sons, John W. and Timothy Jr. His son Charles became a bricklayer.

When John W. fell in love with a young woman who moved with her family to Farmington, Missouri, he followed. Discovering a need for carpenters in Missouri, John W. sent for his brothers. The brothers incorporated the McCarthy Lumber and Construction Company in 1907, and John W. became the first president. Previously, they had built barns and residential structures. After 1907, they ventured into other kinds of structures such as post offices and commercial buildings. Expansion into new building types led the brothers to nearby towns, and eventually into St. Louis where they relocated the business in 1917 and renamed the company McCarthy Brothers Construction Co.

1920s–1960s
Early Risks Open Doors

The company's penchant for expansion and risk taking served it well. In the 1920s, McCarthy Brothers won the contract to erect the Missouri Building at the World's Fair in San Francisco. The entire construction team was transported there by train. The next major risk was a venture in Alaska to build the Anchorage post office and courthouse in 1939. Federal public works projects continued to help the company expand at a time when the national economy was weak. During World War II, McCarthy won government contracts in the Panama Canal Zone, where the firm worked on Army and Navy lock and canal facilities as well as the Air Base at Coco Solo. Early in the 1950s, McCarthy Brothers took on its first major St. Louis project — the Army Corps of Engineers' Publications Center. Also in the '50s, McCarthy took another risk that helped the firm survive the recession of that decade. The firm diversified and purchased the Rock Hill Quarries Company, a profitable operation until the '70s when it became a successful landfill operation. The current McCarthy headquarters is adjacent to this quarry.

Completion in 1961 of the Priory Chapel helped establish the company's reputation as a skilled builder with creative solutions, as well as a significant force in St. Louis construction. As the company slowly expanded, so did the McCarthy family — with many members filling valuable positions within the firm. Merryl L. McCarthy, Timothy R. McCarthy, John E. McCarthy, J. Melvin McCarthy and Francis F. McCarthy are credited with much of the company's success from the 1940s to the 1970s.

1970s–1980s
The Growth Era

Upon Melvin's death in 1976, his son Michael M. (Mike) McCarthy became president of the company. Roger H. Burnet, who had joined the firm in 1972, became its first non-family president when Mike assumed the position of chairman of the board in 1984. In the early '70s, McCarthy started a healthcare company (McBRO) and quickly became a national leader in healthcare construction management. At the same time, the company established a parking structure group, which subsequently became the largest design/build parking structure firm in the United States. Continuing with the risk-taking tradition, the firm branched into bridge and heavy construction in the early '80s. At the same time, McCarthy's pioneering spirit led to the opening of offices in high-growth areas across America. Two of them, Phoenix and Irvine, California, later became full-service operating divisions and are now ranked among the top two builders in Arizona and California. The company had its first billion dollar year in 1986.

Emerging Markets Create New Opportunities

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McCarthy expanded into semiconductor, bio-pharmaceutical, educational, R&D and general manufacturing markets, becoming a major player in each. Additional, full-service divisions located in Dallas and Northern California were formed to serve clients in these regions. In 1999 an office in Las Vegas was opened to serve that booming market. The centralized healthcare, parking and bridge divisions were merged with the full-service regional offices — as these markets continued to thrive. In 1995, Roger Burnet retired, and Michael D. Hurst, a 24-year McCarthy veteran, became the new president and chief operating officer.

Capitalizing on the increased need for advanced research and science capabilities, McCarthy has become nationally noted for its ability to build technically challenging laboratory and process facilities. As Mike Bolen notes. “We love to hear people say it can't be done, and then we figure out a way to do it.”

Moving Into a New Millennium —
Transitioning to 100% Employee Ownership

Continuing the company's quest to become “the Best Builder in America”, Mike Bolen, an Air Force Academy graduate who started with the company as a carpenter, was named chief executive in 2000, becoming the first Chief Executive Officer in the company's 140-year history without the last name McCarthy.

138 years of family ownership came to an end in April 2002, when Mike McCarthy sold his majority interest in the company to McCarthy employees. Now 100% employee owned via a well-funded ESOP, McCarthy employees are now both challenged and rewarded to act like owners while maintaining the family atmosphere that has made McCarthy distinctive since 1864.

With more than 2,000 salaried and hourly employees across the country and an average length of 15 years full-time employment, McCarthy is very proud of its dedicated employee-owners. McCarthy focuses on attracting partners committed to professional excellence and providing creative solutions to client needs. Beginning as a family endeavor, McCarthy remains committed to its founding philosophy. States Mike Bolen, “We operate like a family — learning from each other, accepting challenges and taking risks. Without risk taking, we wouldn't be the leader we are in numerous product and regional markets.”

That market leadership has taken new forms as we've entered the 21st century. McCarthy has become a significant national player in the construction of complex research facilities (including BSL Level 4 labs) as well as the emerging area of nanotechnology.