Feb. 15, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Biotech.

A Twin Cities-based builder that’s ranked among the industry’s top firms is starting a Sioux Falls office and bringing a niche in complex health and research-related projects.

McGough, which has six offices throughout the region and one in Dallas, is moving into a space at 114 S. Main Ave. next month.

The firm, which has more than 700 employees, is ranked among the nation’s top 200 builders by revenue, according to Engineering News-Record’s annual list. It has made a name for itself since the 1950s as a pioneer in executing complex projects, including some significant biotech and laboratory work.

Its portfolio includes multiple projects for Takeda Pharmaceutical, 3M, Abbott, Bayer, WuXi AppTec, Bio-Techne, Cargill, General Mills, Medtronic and many science-related projects at schools such as the University of North Dakota, University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, St. Cloud State and many others.

“There are high-tech, instrument-sensitive projects, and we understand the processes and specialty systems that go along with making these projects a success – whether it’s higher education, a corporate client or a pharmaceutical company,” said Clark Hagen, general manager of the Sioux Falls office.

Health care, higher education and industrial work make up the bulk of the firm’s total annual volume, with the balance being arts, community and worship, “and it’s easy to see how much the life sciences have been part and parcel of the majority of our work,” Hagen added.

“We’re going to look to grow and expand that in Sioux Falls and look to develop our niche in the life sciences sector.”

The new Sioux Falls office builds on some of the company’s recent major projects in the Dakotas. McGough was the builder behind the recent Terex project in Watertown – a 425,000-square-foot building that consolidated 11 facilities and completely revamped the operation’s layout.

McGough also built the well-known Block 9 project in downtown Fargo, an 18-story mixed-use tower that Hagen helped oversee as a member of the senior leadership team in Fargo.

“It was really a legacy project, something you don’t see in our area,” he said. “And it was a unique, complicated project delivered with great success and through several winters.”

McGough’s other projects in the Dakotas include work for Sanford Health in Fargo, the North Dakota University System, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System and Concordia University.

The firm anticipates having about 20 professionals staffed out of the Sioux Falls office and equally as many working in the field, Hagen said.

“We are looking at resumes for project managers and superintendents,” he said. “We’re being mindful when we have interviews as we are actively building our pipeline of potential projects.”

The current team includes Hagen and Rich Naser, development strategist.

“South Dakota is an incredibly vibrant and strong market that is growing quickly,” said Tom McGough Jr., the company’s president and CEO. “Many of our current clients and partners are already well established in the state. We are excited about what opportunities this expansion in the Upper Midwest will bring for years to come.”

McGough is a welcome addition to South Dakota’s construction community, said Joni Johnson, executive director of South Dakota Biotech.

“As our bioscience economy continues to grow, the specialized construction McGough offers will be invaluable,” she said.

“We are excited to welcome them as members of South Dakota Biotech as they become further connected to our industry and look forward to seeing what kind of building activity they will support throughout our state.”