H.B. McClure acquires Shipley subsidiary in York County

GMCS Commentary: Here is another contractor to watch in 2015.  With a super aggressive acquisition strategy, H.G. McClure is the company to watch as they continue to expand their kingdom well beyond their central Pennsylvania foot print.  It is only a matter of time before they face off with Worth & Company here in our region and start to provide their competitively priced services to this region’s facility owners and developers.   While many Philadelphia mechanical contractors struggle just to expand their market share, H.B. MClure expands the pie and gobbles up the competition. Take notice Philadelphia developers! 

Harrisburg-based mechanical contractor H.B. McClure Co. continues to expand its operations in Central Pennsylvania.

The Dauphin County company today announced its has acquired Worden & Shewell, a mechanical contractor in Spring Garden Township that has been owned by Shipley Energy.

Founded in 1947, Worden & Shewell is a design-build contractor that specializes in servicing commercial and industrial boilers, as well as air-handling systems and custom mechanical contracting.

"Every deal we do will, in some way, help us achieve our strategic objectives," H.B. McClure President Bob Whalen said of the York County deal, which adds about 35 employees to the growing company. "This really allows us to be a major player in commercial service in York (County)."

H.B. McClure, which acquired Kohl Brothers Inc. of Harrisburg earlier this month, will maintain Worden & Shewell's Ridge Avenue office and equipment.

"Our commercial service business in York (County) has been growing at a 50 percent clip a year over the last three years," Whalen said. "Having a concentration of business in York (County) will make the business more efficient. And having more service technicians in the market gives us the ability to service our customers better."

H.B. McClure has been serving the York County market from its Harrisburg office. The company has been looking to expand its physical locations to better serve its growing footprint.

Last year, H.B. McClure acquired I.T. Landes & Son Inc., a Montgomery County-based mechanical services firm with 110 employees.

That deal significantly grew the company — it now has 388 employees — and expanded its presence into Montgomery and Bucks counties. It also picked up an office in Harleysville.

Whalen said the plan is to add an office in Lancaster County to serve H.B. McClure's growing commercial service business there, as well as into Berks and parts of Chester County. A Lancaster office would reduce driving time to projects in those areas.

"We are currently looking for space," said Jeri Donadee, the company’s vice president.

H.B. McClure's vice president of commercial services, Korey Kann, will assume the role of operations manager in York County.

"It gives us an opportunity to challenge one of our leaders," Whalen said.

Shipley's CEO William Shipley III said he expects a seamless transition for employees at Worden & Shewell.

"We have had a long-standing relationship with H.B. McClure Co. and their commitment to the highest level of customer service is what's most impressive," he said in a statement.

With the new addition, H.B. McClure is projecting its revenue to be more than $70 million this year. The company posted $65.4 million last year, according to Business Journal records.

Source: Central Penn Business Journal