ETC Building & Design, Inc.

John Mentzer worked for a custom home builder while putting himself through Purdue University. After graduating from the premier Building Construction Management school in the country, he decided to take on the most difficult and rewarding type of construction, Healthcare.

John began his career with Centex Healthcare Division (now Balfour Beatty) on which he worked on or oversaw $650M of negotiated GMP ground up Healthcare construction projects, totaling over 2.5M square feet of new construction. Over time, John’s work took him all over the country, eventually landing him in California in 1998. At this point he got his initiation in OSHPD, gaining his IOR license (OSHPD inspector A-20169). He received his general contractor’s license by 2001. During this time he worked on numerous renovations and out-of-the-ground construction, progressing to Director of Operations and then Vice President of West Coast Operations.

Mr. Mentzer met Michael Essrig and Chris Taylor while looking for an NPC2 contractor for seven HCA hospitals in 1999. John was impressed with how Essrig and Taylor worked — coming in ahead of schedule and under budget, and always making things right. This led John to join ETC, becoming a partner in the firm in 2006. Since joining ETC, John has joined the Hospital Building Safety Board (HBSB) as a consulting member on the committee on IOR, helping to enhance communications and process between owners, contractors, inspectors and OSHPD on construction projects.

John Mentzer Earns National Design-Build Certification

Mentzer Joins a Growing Industry of  Design-Build Professionals Redefining  Project Delivery throughout the United States

John Mentzer, Executive Vice President with ETC Building & Design, Inc. has successfully completed the Design-Build Institute of America’s comprehensive education, training and certification testing program to achieve the design-build industry’s designation as a nationally certified Associate Design-Build Professional.™

DBIA Certification is the nation’s only measurable standard of an individual’s knowledge of the Design-Build Done Right™ principles vital to successful project delivery. By completing these requirements, which touch on all aspects of design-build, candidates earn the right to display “Assoc. DBIA” after their names, identifying them to design-build end-users and the industry at large as experienced design and construction professionals with a firm understanding of design-build project delivery.

With more than 27 years of experience in Healthcare construction, seismic retrofitting and creating earthquake fastening systems, Michael Essrig now serves as President & CEO of ETC Building & Design, Inc. & Safe-T-Proof Disaster Preparedness Co., Inc.

A first generation Californian, Michael’s professional highlights have found him serving Southern California since the inception of his disaster preparedness career when he was working out of his very own garage. Nearly two decades after the famous Sylmar earthquake where he found himself barely escaping falling furniture, Michael couldn’t stand the thought of another quake occurring and not knowing if his own children would be safe. A self-starter with an entrepreneur spirit, Michael set out to “safe-t-proof” his own home. He had such peace of mind when he was finished that he launched a company, Safe-T-Proof, that now serves as the leader in hospital, commercial, institutional and governmental disaster preparedness services. The Safe-T-Proof fastening system is the most specified and recommended system for laboratories by Structural Engineers in the United States. It is currently being used at Genentech, Stanford, UCSF, USC, Pfizer, USGS, Cal Tech and many other large institutions and hospitals throughout the US.

In 1994 Michael invented the Quake Cottage™, a mobile earthquake simulator that has become a popular educational tool for demonstrating the devastating effects of severe earthquakes. It also exhibits how the Safe-T-Proof fastening system, which Michael invented and filed patents for in 2010, securely locks down furniture and equipment to remain in place during the most violent tremblers. Michael Essrig and his Quake Cottage™ have been featured on NBC’s Dateline, The Today Show, Anderson Cooper and several other national and local news programs and several have been sold to government agencies and municipalities for the earthquake preparedness programs. (More about the Quake Cottage >>)

Michael and his team are leading the way in Healthcare and Life Science construction throughout California with over 4 million square feet of tenant improvements and seismic retrofitting over the past 27 years. The variety and complexity of experience of the ETC team has earned it the reputation as one of the leading Healthcare/Life Science construction firms in CA.

Tom Ross brings extensive project management experience to ETC’s construction projects. He has worked in construction since he was 15, with a specialization in plumbing. After working several years on the East Coast doing water main, underground utility, and HVAC work for large custom homes, Tom moved to California in 1998 where he performed plumbing for residential communities, averaging 35 homes per tract. In 2000 Tom moved to San Diego and started working in the healthcare environment specializing in medical gas, steam, and plumbing systems. After five years of doing this work, Tom was hired by Scripps Health Care to run their plumbing department and coordinate construction inside the hospital where Tom expanded his knowledge of hospital systems to include fire systems, pneumatic tube systems, building management controls, hydronic heating, and cooling, and Joint Commission requirements. In 2006, Tom started his own plumbing company focusing on the design/build of medical gas systems for surgery centers and hospitals all over California, and in 2008 merged his plumbing license with ETC and came on board to manage ETC’s construction projects as well as oversee all plumbing work.

Mr. Miller has an extensive understanding of OSHPD and 18 years of construction experience.  This includes experience in new construction, tenant improvements, restoration and structural retrofit. Mr. Miller has successfully managed projects ranging from $250K – $12M and is proficient in all trades of construction.

Mr. Burns has 16 years of experience managing complex healthcare construction projects. His experience as an owner and general contractor leads him to see the best project at the best value. He demonstrates the ability to lead project teams and their respective budgets to successful completion.  He understands the special requirements of working in occupied facilities and ensures the projects are completed in the best interest of his clients.