What was once a small repair shop in Kosciusko has flourished into a $185 million company and remains headquartered in the town where it started 70 years ago.
Ivey Mechanical, which was founded in 1947 by Kermit Ivey, has become one of the top mechanical contractors in the southeast. It specializes in the design, fabrication, manufacturing and installation of sheet metal, plumbing and pipe as well as providing plumbing and HVAC units from its locally-operated fabrication shops for commercial, industrial, healthcare and government contracts. It operates across the country with 11 divisions in ten major cities across the southeast.
“We get asked all the time why we are headquartered in Kosciusko,” Ivey President Denny Terrell said. “But this is where we started and where we have grown to the company we are today. We have recently invested over $500,000 worth of improvements in our IMC Fabrication shops and relocated our headquarters to historic downtown Kosciusko.”
The company has continued a steady growth pattern since 1958 when Marlin Ivey joined his father’s company and began the movement from small local contracts to large mechanical contracts. “When Marlin joined Ivey, his focus was to grow the business outside Kosciusko and the way he did this was by putting a focus on contracts in both the private sector and government contracts,” Terrell added.
The first commercial job for Ivey Mechanical was completed in 1960 with a contract for the new East and West Side Elementary Schools in Kosciusko. During the sixties, the company was a major player in mechanical construction throughout the state of Mississippi, including the Twin Towers construction on the campus of the University of Mississippi at Oxford in 1968.
Ivey was building a quality reputation, which later served as the key value that led to progress and expansion with its first military contract in 1970 for barracks work at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. This contracr, in turn, began a geographical expansion and a need for additional divisions in Nashville, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi and Atlanta, Georgia to better serve its customers.
In 1973, Ivey expanded its project portfolio by completing its first V. A. hospital project in Biloxi. This project allowed for numerous opportunities to work with additional government and private healthcare contracts by the late 70s.
The 90s were the years of biggest growth for Ivey with revenue rising from $50 million to over $140 million. However, a wave of consolidations within the industry saw Ivey being bought out, but reacquired itself in early 2003 and has now grown to the $185 million company it is today.
“A lot has changed for us over the years,” Terrell said. “We have had great years, good years and a few challenging years in between but perseverance, prayer and hard work has always allowed us to remain profitable and strong for 70 years.”
Ivey Mechanical works mainly on commercial, healthcare and industrial projects with notable contracts including the Tyson Chicken Plant in Carthage, Nissan Plant in Canton along with the RSA Tower and Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala. It has also completed work at the Thad Cochran Research Center, Vaught Hemmingway Stadium and multiple dormitories at the University of Mississippi in Oxford along with industrial work at Yokohama, Bridgestone and Continental Tire plants. “We will continue to focus on growth in both our mechanical construction contracts and our service work,” Terrell said. “The service division of our business has really expanded over the last 10-15 years, and we are excited about that.”
Ivey Mechanical employs 175 local employees as well as nearly 1,000 employees company-wide. “Construction is very competitive and not many companies make it as far as we have,” Terrell added. “I contribute our success mainly to our people and our communities. They just don’t get any better.”
