- October 3, 2021
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In 2002, Mark S. Pooler used his decades of corporate experience in technical and leadership roles to found MSP Superior Services Inc., a full-service commercial construction and facilities maintenance company.
MSP Superior Services is the culmination of a lifetime of work – 25 years – Pooler spent installing, maintaining, designing and overseeing underground and aerial cable wire installation, systems and maintenance for Fortune 100 and other companies. He also taught technology and construction skills to hundreds of students through a partnership between his employer at the time, Technitran, and Sojourner-Douglass College.
“I took everything I learned and put it in this business,” Pooler said.
MSP’s first client, Sojourner-Douglass College, would be its longest. The private college awarded MSP a $100,000 contract to paint its newly-acquired building at 200 North Central Avenue. The work expanded to include serving as the school’s prime construction and facilities management contractor, responsible for maintaining the college’s six buildings, from Baltimore to the Eastern Shore.
In 2015, Sojourner-Douglass College closed, but MSP had been building a client list as a prime contractor and subcontractor for work that included commercial window installation at the University of Maryland, College Park; high dusting at the Air and Space Museum and African-American Museum in Washington, D.C.; installing audio-visual cabling at M&T Bank Stadium; and concrete repairs at the stadium and at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Business grew and MSP was on course for potentially more work through federal certification.
Then, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted existing work and delayed growth.
Some of MSP’s employees feared catching Covid and quit. Existing federal contracts held by competitors were extended, preventing MSP from bidding on that work in 2020. Office closures made it difficult to find potential customers.
“Everything was just slow,” Pooler said.
However, MSP benefited from a BGE Small Business Energizing Grant. It applied most of the grant to payroll for its 18 employees and paid rent with a small portion.
“We had anticipated being at a different level when the pandemic hit,” Pooler said. “The grant was definitely important.”
BGE Energizing Small Business Grants program is part of BGE’s $15 million pledge to assist small businesses with Covid-19 relief and recovery.
“Over the next three years, we’ll provide hundreds of $20,000 grants to businesses throughout central Maryland,” said Rodney Oddoyo, senior vice president of governmental and external affairs for BGE. “Our hope is that the funding helps these businesses stabilize and ultimately thrive.”
MSP now has a half dozen contracts, including maintaining 33 Maryland Transit Administration light rail stops, custodial work in Baltimore County government offices and police stations and a complete buildout of a beauty salon in Edgewater.
It still will pursue federal contracts. Its SBA 8(a) certification gives MSP access to bid on contracts up to a certain dollar amount. But MSP is pushing further. To open more doors to federal contracts, MSP also secured a mentor-protege agreement that allows MSP to compete for larger federal contracts in the facility maintenance sector.
“We hope to secure large federal contracts through the help of joint ventures with our mentor,” Pooler said.
In fact, MSP and its mentor recently formed MN Management Group LLC, to expand business. “We’ve positioned ourselves in the right direction,” Pooler said. “We see a bright future in front of us.”
MSP Superior Services lnc. is a 100% minority-owned construction and facilities maintenance business that operates in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. corridor.
BGE Energizing Small Business Grants program is part of the company’s $15 million pledge to assist small business with Covid-19 relief and recovery and is a multi-year commitment expected to run through at least 2023. Eligible businesses located in BGE’s service area can apply through Oct. 13 for BGE Energizing Small Business Grants of up to $20,000. To learn more and view previous grant winners, visit bge.helloalice.com.
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