MES Adapts, Thrives and Stays True to Its Mission – PEI Journal, 1st Quarter 2024

We are proud to share that we were recently selected to have a member profile published about us in the PEI Journal, recognizing our team and company.

The Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) is a trade association that was founded in 1951, whose members manufacture, distribute, and service energy handling equipment. PEI has over 1,500 member companies across all 50 states and in more than 80 countries.

Metro Environmental Services’ started as a small compliance testing company in New York and has evolved into a full-service company that provides construction, maintenance, testing, inspections, and environmental services to customers who store, consume, or sell petroleum products from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts.

Thank you to all of our customers, vendors, partners, friends, and the MES team for your support over the years.

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The article below appears as written in the PEI Journal, 1st Quarter 2024.

MES Adapts, Thrives and Stays True to Its Mission

by Megan Ferguson

Tell us about the history behind Metro Environmental Services, LLC

Metro Environmental Services, LLC (MES) was founded in 2002 by the late Mathew DiNapoli and his uncle, Stephen Tyree. Mat and Stephen initially started the company as a small compliance testing company servicing Long Island, New York City and up to Albany, New York.

Over the past 22 years, MES has expanded its services and now offers full-service solutions to customers who store, consume or sell petroleum products across several states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

We went from a small testing company with a handful of technicians to a company that has grown 20x and is now providing large testing and inspection programs, maintenance and repair services, environmental remediation services, large sampling programs, and small and large pump and tank construction services.

The company remains family-owned and operated by the Tyree family, a four-generation legacy in the petroleum industry. We are extremely proud of our history and believe it illustrates MES’s ability to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing industry landscape.

Mission Statement: Our Mission is to have a motivated and highly trained workforce with an unparalleled commitment to our customers, while exceeding industry standards for professionalism and safety.

What are some values that MES adheres to? What is the culture of the company?

At MES, our culture starts with our people. Our team not only shares core values as a company, but they hold them true as individuals as well. It’s all about adapting, thriving and staying true to our mission.

We have an incredible group of people who have come together for a common goal. As cliché as it might sound, we have some of the best people in the world working here. Great people who are determined to work as hard as possible for one another and always willing to lend a helping hand to a colleague.

Our core values are personified by each and every individual within MES.

• Dedication
• Problem-Solving
• Adaptability
• Hard Work
• Efficiency
• Safety
• Technology Focus
• Excellence

These values define who we are and how we thrive in an ever-evolving industry.

Being a young company in comparison to others in the industry, how has MES established the current reputation it has with its customers?

We built our reputation by committing to our core values—and customers have come to know MES as a company with the best people who are dedicated to providing practical solutions as a trusted partner.

We have also built a reputation on always “making it happen.” We never say no to an opportunity. We have structured the company in such a way that we can mobilize on projects of nearly any size within a matter of days.

Customers also know us for our emphasis on accessibility. We are an open book and remain as transparent as possible. Customers have the ability to talk to anyone in the company whether that be a technician, a project manager, or a principal and find the answers they need.

Our reputation is grounded in values and powered by relentless determination. We are proof that age in the industry is no bar to becoming a trusted name in the field.

Are there any new products or services worth highlighting?

We recently enhanced our compliance inspection and testing programs to utilize the newest software and technology that are specifically designed to simplify the customer’s job. Our compliance programs are built as a full-life cycle solution to manage the customers compliance inspections, testing, and any needed repairs.

We have had customers of all sizes utilize our programs and have found that working as their one-stop-shop “compliance service provider” has been a game changer for them.

We take ownership of the customer’s compliance requirements, automate scheduling, and track inspections, testing, and repairs with the data being available in an encrypted database for the customer instantly.

As a compliance service provider, what direction do you see the fueling compliance industry heading and how should service providers plan to adapt?

When it comes to compliance management, the fuel industry’s expectations of service providers has been evolving over the past 5 – 10 years. Customers are looking less for vendors and more for partnerships.

They are looking for partners that can provide a full spectrum of solutions that oversee and manage their day-to-day compliance requirements, as well as deal with their problems and emergencies.

The industry has been widely established where any compliance manager in the fueling industry requires a dozen or so vendors for day-to-day compliance management. In many instances a vendor is called to handle an issue and identifies a new problem that will require the customer to bring in another vendor to resolve.

Customers are starting to look for that full-service approach where they can rely on a vendor to identify and fix the issue rather than just leave them with a new one.

While MES may not yet have a nationwide presence, our geographic focus in the Northeast has allowed us to become true specialists in our market. From our in-depth knowledge of each area’s individual regulatory requirements to our relationships with local officials, we are able to find resolutions to problems in the quickest possible time.

Describe some of the changes MES has gone through since its beginning in 2002.

Over the years, MES has transformed from a modest compliance operation into a versatile service provider offering many services in the Northeast, including pump & tank construction, compliance testing and inspections, maintenance, remediation and O&M and sampling.

Change isn’t always easy, and we certainly have felt our fair share of growing pains. We never would have made it this far if we hadn’t had the right people in the room. We have a highly technical staff who are passionate about what they do. We believe that nothing can stop passionate people who have made up their minds.

Have there been any noteworthy successes for the company?

MES started as a company solely focused on retail petroleum locations. It was all we knew. However, over the years our team never shied away from a new challenge and as a result, we have successfully expanded our knowledge and capabilities across dozens of industries.

In addition to retail petroleum locations, we are now regularly working at airports, hospitals / health care facilities, transportation facilities, commercial buildings, municipalities, fire departments, police precincts, schools, golf courses, religious buildings, cemeteries, federal state parks, military facilities, and more.

We have found that each segment has its own nuances that must be known and understood to successfully work there. We are extremely proud of how the company has successfully grown to work with so many different types of customers across so many industries.

Finding qualified and committed workers is a big issue for the energy handling equipment industry and companies everywhere. How is MES combating this challenge?

In an industry where finding skilled workers can be a challenge, we have come to terms with the fact that we need to think differently. We focus on the people before the skills. We actively seek out individuals who not only excel in their roles, but also who we believe will wholeheartedly match up with our vision and core values.

We believe that the right people can be trained. We have some of the smartest, most experienced people in the industry working here. But arguably even more important is the fact that they are willing to take the time to mentor and teach new employees.

We have the mindsight that someone with the right values can be taught the appropriate skills and knowledge if someone puts their arms around them. This mindsight ensures that our team remains committed to the company’s mission, and lives by the core values that define us.

How does MES benefit from being a member of PEI?

Being a member of the Petroleum Equipment Institute has helped us stay updated on industry trends. PEI’s resources, including the PEI Recommended Practices and other training materials help us stay informed about industry changes and safety best practices.

In addition, the PEI network itself has allowed us to build relationships with industry members outside of our typical market. We have been able to help customers by making introductions to contractors and suppliers in markets that we don’t service today.

PEI is truly an industry leader and authority in the energy handling equipment industry. PEI is the first place that we turn to for anything related to the industry from educational information to training resources to networking opportunities.

PEI is a pioneer of the petroleum industry and has created an opportunity that otherwise would not exist for companies and individuals to unite and collaborate.

What is something about MES that is special?

Our company culture is something that cannot be replicated.

We have a team of people who are united and truly care about one another and want to make sure we all get home safely at the end of each day.

Many of the people working here have been working together for over 35 years, which has created a tight-knit group that cannot be recreated. As a collective group we are working nonstop, completely aligned with one another, on a common goal.

We genuinely have an employee-first culture. We all understand that at the end of the day this is a job. We all have family and friends waiting for us at home. We all know and respect that our personal lives come first, and we step up for one another when needed.

The fact that all of these good-hearted and incredibly intelligent people have come together is something beyond special.

It’s a new year! What are some of the goals the company has for 2024?

In 2024, we’re embarking on an exciting set of goals.

One significant objective is to take our celebration of achievements to the next level. Like any company, we are all focused on the day-to-day and sometimes forget to stop and recognize the amazing things that are being accomplished daily. Whether it’s marking the successful completion of a project or commemorating special occasions, MES wants to take milestone celebrations to new heights.

We also plan to continue targeting manageable growth and diversification. We are aiming for 15% growth for 2024 and want to continue to keep a focus on diversification and maintain that we don’t have any one customer accounting for 25% or more of our annual revenue. Another significant goal for us is to keep our employee turnover below 10%, which we have successfully been able to maintain since the company was founded.

We are extremely excited to see where this year takes us. The sky is the limit!

 

This is a member profile from the PEI Journal, written by Megan Ferguson, Communications Coordinator at PEI (Petroleum Equipment Institute). Read the original article.