BY ROBERT P. MADER Of CONTRACTOR’s staff

PHILADELPHIA – Despite the bankruptcy of corporate parent Enron Corp. (December 2001, pg. 3), its mechanical contracting subsidiaries are doing well. They are not part of Enron’s bankruptcy and may be put up for sale to raise cash for Enron sometime in the near future, said Ron Zemnick, president of Williard Inc.

The group’s customers have been coming from its standard customer base from before the acquisition, with only a limited amount of new work coming from Enron, Zemnick said. The contractors did enjoy, however, some cross-fertilization from the different members of the Facilities Services Group because of better communication among Limbach, Williard and Harper, Zemnick said, so sales leads developed from that relationship. In addition, Enron did not require individual members of the group to alter their methods of operation.

Williard has several large projects either just completed or underway. In December it completed a $14 million electrical contract on Philadelphia’s high-profile Kimmel Performing Arts Center. In the next six months it expects to complete a $55 million mechanical, sheet metal and electrical project at the Philadelphia airport’s Terminal One. The firm also won the plumbing and HVAC contracts for the new stadium for the Philadelphia Eagles, which broke ground last summer. Zemnick did not reveal the dollar amount of the contract at the customer’s request.

Enron entered the mechanical contracting business when it purchased Williard, Philadelphia; Limbach Constructors, Pittsburgh; Limbach’s Affiliated Building Systems; and its LINC franchise of commercial/industrial service contractors on March 10, 1998.