Welcome to Success Stories, where we sit down with duct fabricators and sheet metal shops of all sizes for genuine conversations about how partnering with Mestek Machinery has impacted their operations. Watch the interview or read the transcript to learn how we help contractors find the right machinery and equipment solutions to boost their productivity and improve their business.
In this episode, we sat down with Kevin Gill, Sr., CEO of McCusker-Gill, Inc. in Hingham, MA and discuss his journey with Mestek Machinery — from his first Iowa Precision front-end coil line to the purchase of the Iowa Precision Pro-Fabriduct Full Coil Line in 1991.
As you evaluate your operation’s equipment needs, please remember that we’re always here to help. We’d love an opportunity to help you achieve your objectives so please don’t hesitate to reach out for a consultation. There’s absolutely no obligation — we’ll simply get some information about your operation and what you’re looking to do and see how we can help.
Chief Executive Officer | McCusker-Gill, Inc.
In 1991, Kevin Gill, Sr. resigned from his position at a competing sheet metal company to purchase the assets of the McCusker Company, a small sheet metal subsidiary of a local mechanical contractor. In February of 1991, McCusker-Gill was incorporated.
From its onset, McCusker-Gill, Inc. has sought to be a cooperative and value-add sheet metal partner that provides the highest level of customer service to our clients. Under Kevin’s leadership over the past 32 years, McCusker-Gill has become the best-in-class sheet metal contractor in the Boston market. McCusker-Gill is the largest union sheet metal contractor in New England (based on total reported union hours worked) and have been for the majority of the past 25 years.
McCusker-Gill relocated to its current 60,000 SF facility in Hingham in 2015. In 2022, they completed construction of a 30,000 SF warehouse that is dedicated to their prefabrication operation and is located immediately adjacent to their fabrication facility.
McCusker-Gill has always been a very active member of SMACNA, both locally and nationally. McCusker-Gill was named the SNIPS Sheet Metal Fabrication Contractor of the Year in 2019 and the SMACNA Contractor of the Year in 2003. In December of 2022, Kevin Gill, Jr. was promoted to President of McCusker-Gill, Inc. and Kevin Gill, Sr. was named Chief Executive Officer. Stephanie Gill Steele works at the company as a Controller, Christine Gill as an Assistant Controller, and Patrick Gill as a Project Manager.
In 1991 when the company started, within six months or so, we bought a front end of a coil line — just a used Iowa Precision line. Within five or six years, we decided to move and we were very happy with the Iowa Precision product. We moved over to a 30,000 SF facility and put in a new Iowa Precision Coil Line. We were there for about ten years and I had all indications that we were gonna take that line with us when we were moving to a 60,000 SF building.
But after, carefully evaluating the new Iowa Precision Pro-Fabriduct Full Coil Line, the things that were very appealing to us were the plasma cutter being integrated into the line itself and the 14 ft. transfer tables. We do an awful lot of wrap around — we do about 7,000,000 lbs. of galvanized a year, so we run an awful lot of product through that machine. And we ended up, purchasing the new one, and no regrets whatsoever.
I think a sheet metal contractor’s got a decision to make along the way when he’s purchasing fabrication equipment.
And what we found is — I had worked for a couple of other places that that weren’t with Iowa Precision. They used some of the competitors’ products to manufacture and they ran into a lot of difficulties along the way. Not terrible, but, you know, a lot of downtime.
And our experience has been, you know, dealing with Iowa Precision and Mestek Machinery, our downtime has been really severely limited. Most of the downtime we have is very scheduled.
And our Iowa Precision Pro-Fabriduct Coil Line is an absolute workhorse. We’re running a couple of full time shifts a day so that thing’s going 16 hours a day. And, we do a very good job of maintaining it. You’ve gotta stay ahead — it’s like changing the oil in your car. Right? If you if you stay ahead of it, we’ve been very fortunate with having minimal issues along the way.
Iowa Precision Pro-Fabriduct Full Coil Line at McCusker-Gill, Inc.
To elaborate a little bit on our decision to get the Iowa Precision Pro-Fabriduct Coil Line, we were really trying to — whether you refer to it as manifolding or prefabrication — put sections of ductwork together in our manufacturing facility before we ship it out to the projects to be installed. We manufacture a hundred percent of what we install, and we only manufacture for our own products. And the key to us was the plasma cutter that enabled us to really bring our manifolding processes that we wanted to do to a whole new level. We are always looking to be more efficient and that (the inline plasma) is just able to eliminate a step in the process. And, as you know, you eliminate one step and it multiplies through and mushrooms into a lot of very good efficiencies.
When we made the decision to buy the new Coil Line, we had it closely coordinated with selling our old line. The new line was in… and the guy that was buying our line wanted it on such a date.
So we were there was a lot of time and effort that went into this planning process. We were fairly busy at the time so we couldn’t have a lot of downtime. And, everything worked out delivery wise just perfect. It came when it was supposed to come.
And we were probably a little bit fortunate because we had some experience with Iowa Precision and our operators also experience with Iowa Precision for thirty-some odd years. However, they (Iowa Precision and Mestek Machinery) were right there with us. The the training that they gave us was great. They were they were there when they were supposed to be. I can’t compliment them enough on standing behind the product and getting us up to speed on how to deal with the new additions that we have on the line.
Like I stated earlier… it’s an absolute workhorse. We put, over 7,000,000 lbs. a year through this machine and it just keeps chugging along. The key, through, I can’t stress enough, is really doing the proper maintenance on it. If you if you stick to a good maintenance program and no matter how busy we are, we do shut it down for a couple hours every week to make sure that we’re properly maintaining it. If you do that, things will things will be fine. That’s been our experience.
Over the years, we’ve become a loyal Mestek Machinery customer because of the amount of service that they give us. The pricing has always been fairly competitive.
If you’re looking at changing or starting a new fabrication facility or major upgrade to your fabrication facility, Mestek Machinery is definitely worth the look because, it’s been our experience that they’re absolutely the number one over and over again. There hasn’t been times that we haven’t priced some purchases from their competition. We do it all the time because you have to keep mister Bailey honest from time to time. It’s worth it to do your due diligence. And what you have to figure at the end of the day, though, is who’s gonna be there if you have any problems. Because, you know there can be little hiccups along the way, and, we’ve always found Mestek Machinery has been there for us.
The Iowa Precision Pro-Fabriduct Full Coil Line — Full has been redesigned and re-engineered to produce Product — a finished duct with a full engagement longitudinal seam, which substantially reduces the chances of leakage in the corners of the duct’s transverse joint by up to 25% in most cases. See the new model below.
Mestek Machinery is comprised of a family of metal forming manufacturing brands with deep roots in the HVAC duct fabrication industry: Lockformer, Iowa Precision, Engel, and Roto-Die. Together, our brands design and manufacture the most complete, productive, and innovative metal forming solutions for the fabrication of HVAC sheet metal ductwork and fittings. With over 100 years of combined experience addressing every facet of the HVAC duct industry, our knowledge and experience allows us to develop cutting edge, precision technologies, and automated manufacturing equipment that saves sheet metal contractors and fabricators time and labor while ensuring a finished duct product of unmatched quality.
Looking to improve the productivity and profitability of your HVAC duct and fittings fabrication operation? Looking for a solution to address a particular application? Schedule a no obligation, 1-on-1 consultation with a Mestek Machinery Technical Advisor today.
Have questions about our machinery and equipment? Looking for help on a unique application? Need help with a budget estimate to determine overall equipment costs to evaluate if your project can be justified? Please don’t hesitate to reach out — we’d love to help.