MCR Services, Inc. has been selected as a recipient of Constructech Magazine's Vision Award for 2004. Constructech Magazine, identifying automation and technology solutions, announced the winners of its 5th annual Vision Awards during a ceremony held at Harry Caray's Chicago restaurant.

MCR Services, Inc. received the Gold Award for INTERCHANGE , our proprietary software that bridges and integrates the internal and external functions of our construction firm. It has become the cornerstone of company operations—the heart of our global database.

This award honors companies that have understood the advantages of technical advancements in their day-to-day business operations and implemented them or integrated them with their normal workflow. These companies sometimes gain the time-and-labor saving benefits right away, but sometimes it takes faith and perseverance to realize the improvements.

Any company involved in commercial, residential or heavy construction--from Architectural firms to Property Management, Construction and Subcontracting firms--is eligible for consideration.

Independent Judges Evaluated the Entries

"This year's winners emphasize what it takes to operate successful business in the construction industry ... [They] have demonstrated their commitment and understanding of how technology can help them effectively improve and enhance their companies and their [profitability]," says Peggy Smedley, editorial director and publisher. "It was great to meet...the winners and personally congratulate them on their [award]."

Entrants were asked to describe the challenges they faced within their organization and how they used technology in an innovative way to solve these problems, and what benefits were received by choosing this technology solution. An independent panel of judges evaluated the entries based on the individual merits of the company and the success each had with applying technology within their organizations.

INTERCHANGE Helps Us to Focus on Our Relationships

MCR Services, Inc. won the top Vision Award in the category of General Contractor ($6 million - $25 million).

During the ceremony, Wade F. Hungerford, CPC, President and CEO of MCR Services, had the opportunity to speak with representatives from many other firms, some of them from companies with $500 million in annual sales volume. “It was a really eye-opening experience for me,” Hungerford relates. “It was nice to get professional recognition for something we’ve worked so hard to perfect over the past several years. INTERCHANGE helps track our marketing, sales and production efforts with a single, unified software package.” Hungerford explains. “It’s really improved our ability to focus more on our relationships and customers and less on our own internal operations.”

Constructech Vision Awards judges believe that INTERCHANGE is a great example of developing an in-house solution to help focus on building relationships [instead of] managing software. Judge Sally Love of Paragon Worldwide in Greenville, South Carolina says, “I particularly like how this company found a way to derive even greater value from the application by licensing it to business partners. Now that’s not only innovative, it’s good business.”

An Unexpected Award

Hungerford relates the following: “We submitted our application in April and didn’t receive a response until late September, when we were asked to attend the awards banquet in Chicago. I expected that we were going to receive an honorable mention or something, because…no more information was forthcoming…but instead we were awarded a gold medal for our efforts! I was extremely surprised, since the organizers had not provided any specific details. I am still dumbfounded by this humbling experience.”

No Software or Technical Solution is Perfect

No software or technical solution is perfect, and continuing improvements are necessary to keep abreast of changes in technology, legal requirements and business developments. “INTERCHANGE is an evolving product, but already some of our professional contacts have urged MCR Services, Inc. to continuing developing it with the ultimate goal of licensing it to other commercial users.” notes Hungerford.

MCR Services, Inc. has always tried to develop systems and solutions to put it ahead of the game. INTERCHANGE is just another part of our effort to remove the mystery from the building process.

  
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