Tribally owned Mno-Bmadsen grows construction portfolio with deal for Indiana firm

Dowagiac-based Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming investment arm of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, has expanded its construction portfolio with the recent acquisition of a Northwest Indiana contractor. 

OJS Building Services Inc. is based in Mishawaka, Ind., and specializes in HVAC, plumbing and building automation services. 

The deal brings on new clients in Mno-Bmadsen’s construction services group, stronger HVAC control services, and OJS’ approximately 7-acre location.

OJS also complements Rolling Prairie, Ind.-based mechanical contractor D.A. Dodd, which Mno-Bmadsen acquired in 2015, said Mno-Bmadsen CEO Julio Martinez. 

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D.A. Dodd, which specializes in plumbing, heating, cooling, sheet metal and industrial process piping in Indiana and Michigan, also is based in Northwest Indiana and has subcontracted with OJS, Martinez added.

“We believe this acquisition will result in a value-enhanced business that will support our efforts in leading the market while providing a new opportunity to expand OJS’ established controls department,” Jason DeMeyer, president of D.A. Dodd, said in a statement. 

OJS primarily installs and services boilers, chillers, hydronic and steam equipment, process piping and commercial plumbing. 

“OJS has a very good reputation in the area, which is important to us,” Martinez told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. “Their proximity to D.A. Dodd’s location, which is the headquarters for our construction services division in this area, was also very important. That particular facility is really at its capacity, so we needed to expand.”

Mno-Bmadsen now is considering a few options to streamline its physical footprint in the area and incorporate OJS’ land and building, Martinez said. OJS is based about 25 miles east of D.A. Dodd in Northwest Indiana, just south of the Michigan border.

The “dust is still settling” on the deal, which Grand Rapids-based Calder Capital LLC brokered on behalf of OJS, Martinez said. Mno-Bmadsen also worked with attorneys from Grand Rapids-based Varnum LLP on the acquisition.

OJS employs about 25-30 unionized workers. While OJS owner Steve Meyer is retiring as part of the deal, Martinez said the goal is to grow employment at the company overall.

“We will keep the OJS name and keep building the reputation they have,” Martinez said. “They also have clients we want to keep and are used to the OJS name.”

The deal ultimately positions Mno-Bmadsen for further growth in the construction sector, especially on the HVAC and plumbing side, Martinez said, noting that he’s looking into additional deal opportunities in construction.

“We continue to look into that sector, we think it’s a really strong, tight sector,” Martinez said.

The OJS deal further builds on Mno-Bmadsen’s broader investment portfolio that now includes a dozen companies in professional services, manufacturing, retail, construction and commercial real estate. 

As well, Mno-Bmadsen subsidiary Red Tail Properties in 2022 made a 50% equity investment in a mixed-use property in downtown Benton Harbor with brokerage and property management firm Cressy Commercial Real Estate. Mno-Mbadsen went on to acquire Cressy in 2023.

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