Design Mechanical opened for business on September 1, 2003. Many thought it wouldn't last in such a poor economy. However, in our first full year of business, our revenue was over $9 million! Five years later, the revenues grew to over $20 million. It certainly didn't grow that quickly on good looks alone;. It was the career-long relationships of both Bill Iler and Mike Chieppo, along with a great office staff and highly experienced field crew that helped this company survive the start-up, and grow to what it is today. We have moved our operations from a 4,000 square foot space to our new building which is over 26,000 square feet, located off I-35 and Cambridge Circle. If you're ever in the neighborhood, please feel free to stop by- we'd love to show you around! Now since the beginning of business, we've kept busy. Real busy! Our first initiative was to become a Mechanical Service Contractor's Association STAR Contractor. Our first challenge was to get our technicians STAR certified, which involved them passing the STAR test. We were very pleased to find that many volunteered to take the test and passed it on the first try! Next we provided documentation on our safety record, which was easy since DMI has achieved both the MCA and SMACNA safety excellence certificates every year since our inception. After that, it was about providing on-going education to our employees, establishing an inventory control system and maintaining the highest level of customer service standards. All in all, it took about nine months to prove our company worthy of such a designation. DMI was the first contractor in Kansas City to achieve STAR certification.