John Kennett – jkennett@mdn.net – Published Tuesday, August 8, 2017
In four years, Midland-based Moltus Building Group has grown to become one of the largest general contractors in the country. But even though the company is big on the national scene, it may be a hidden gem in the local community.
“The joke around here is that we’re the biggest company that no one has ever heard of,” said Moltus principal Mike Prezzato. “It’s been a fast and furious pace.”
Licensed to do business in 36 states and headquartered at 3200 James Savage Road, Moltus has completed projects from Maine to Washington and even taken its construction business north of the border to Canada.
“The customers that came with us when we started are national developers, and they chase bigger national accounts. We build where they go, and they’re good, repeat customers,” Prezzato said.
The company, which began in 2013, doubled both its tonnage and square footage from 2014 to 2016. Tonnage went from 1,224 to 2,521.6 tons during the period while square footage increased from 406,200 to 829,420.
“Our capacity has grown. We’re into larger projects now,” Prezzato said. “But, our philosophy is that even though they’re paying for a $20 million building, the quality should be just like a custom-built house. Just because it’s commercial, the standards shouldn’t be any less. I think our customers appreciate that.”
Metal Construction News has been ranking the Nation’s Top 100 Metal Builders in the U.S. since 1990. Since its inception, Moltus has climbed up those rankings. For the period of 2014 to 2016, the company went from 46th to 20th in tonnage. Over the same period, its square footage ranking has gone from 28th to 15th.
In October, Moltus begins a 500,000 square foot Amazon Fulfillment Center in Indiana. But, to continue that growth, Moltus would like to expand its local sites.
Recently, the company was awarded a new pavilion and farmer’s market in Auburn, which is set to begin this week. The $728,500 multipurpose facility will be built at Auburn City Park.
“They’re fired up about the Auburn job,” Prezzato said. “We’re trying to pursue more local business in addition to our repeat customers. A lot of our guys travel. We would like to get them back for a local project, so they’re home for a while, then they go on the road.”
A couple of years ago, Moltus finished a 220,000 square foot FedEx center at M-81 and I-75. They’ve also completed a 200,000 square foot building for the Gemini Group in Ubly.
“We’re also doing a local project for Penske down in Ann Arbor,” Prezzato said. “We’re working our way to more local.”
The company began about four years ago when friends Prezzato and Justin Lipscomb formed Moltus.
“I used to sell construction products and Mike was one of my largest customers, and we became friends during that process,” Lipscomb said. “We had a lot of the same values regarding customer service and ideals.”
Lipscomb’s desire was to have his own business. He approached Prezzato about the idea, which grew into Moltus. Prezzato handles the financial side of the business, while Lipscomb is more on the project management side.
“I’m more pie-in-the-sky, and he’s a little more focused,” Lipscomb said. “We meet somewhere in the middle. There is a lot of excitement and fire in what we do. At the end of the day, the customer is the key. If we don’t have happy customers, we’re not in business.”
Even the name of the company, “Moltus” may not be a well-known word for many residents.
“My dad went to a Catholic school in Windsor and attended mass in Latin. Moltus means ‘great’ in Latin, so it stuck,” Prezzato said.
To contact Moltus, phone 989-486-9330, or visit its website at: moltusbuild.com
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