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On the outskirts of Boise, Idaho, semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology is building a $15 billion complex to produce the chips that smartphones and computers use to store data, one of several mega-projects spurred by government subsidies for the critical technology. 

It's the in Idaho's history, and Micron turned turned to Baton Rouge-based MMR Group, the private construction services firm headquartered at an unassuming campus on Airline Highway, to oversee the complex task of installing the facility's electrical wiring. 

It's not the type of project MMR, which cut its teeth in the oil and gas sector, is typically known for outside of the construction industry. But in recent years, the 10,000-person company has quickly expanded from its core business building refineries, petrochemical plants and other nodes of the energy industry into the multibillion-dollar infrastructure boom that's underway in the tech sector.

MMR's annual revenue grew by 75% in 2024 to more than $2.3 billion, a record for the company, according to figures it  That's up from around $705 million in .

Founded in 1991 by James "Pepper" Rutland, a former LSU linebacker and team captain, MMR is privately owned electrical and instrumentation contractors in the U.S., with more than two dozen offices across North America. Earlier this month, the company opened a new regional headquarters in Salt Lake City to oversee projects in the West, like Micron's expansion, and to expand its foothold in Utah, a hub for the mining industry and a place where tech firms are looking to build more data centers and other infrastructure to support artificial intelligence. 

MMR's expansion underscores how some ¶¶Òõh businesses are using skills honed in the oil and gas industry to expand into emerging sectors and diversify their portfolios. 

'We intend to stay'

MMR's rapid growth has attracted interest from private equity and outside investors. But Rutland, who is the firm's CEO, said as long as he’s in charge, MMR will remain privately owned and based in Baton Rouge.

“We grew up here. We started here. We appreciate this state,� Rutland said in an interview. “The market’s been good for us, and we intend to stay. You couldn’t get us out of here.�

MMR got its start in the energy sector, installing electrical wiring and instrumentation at refineries and petrochemical plants around the world.

That remains a core part of MMR's business, and has grown with the surge in investments in liquefied natural gas export terminals. MMR has probably done more electrical work on LNG terminals “than anybody in the country,� Rutland said, including on Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG facilities, as well as its  mega-project now under construction. 

MMR has recently emerged as a major contractor in the race to build AI data centers and the power plants needed to keep them humming. It is working with planned for north ¶¶Òõh as well as to power the facility, Rutland said.

“There’s not a lot of people left in the country that have built power plants,� Rutland said, in the number of new natural gas-fired power plants constructed over the last decade. “Fortunately, we have.�

MMR recently completed work on both a “major hyperscale data center� in Boydton, Virginia and a large-scale semiconductor facility in the southwestern U.S., according to an MMR spokesperson, who declined to name the firms behind the projects. MMR also has a foothold in the renewable energy sector.

Its subsidiary, Phoenix-based SouthWestern Power Group, was the original developer behind a proposal to build a 3,500-megawatt wind farm and 550-mile transmission line between New Mexico and Arizona in what was billed as the largest renewable energy project in the U.S.

The company to the SunZia transmission project in 2022, after , but retained the rights to a parallel line.

Millions of feet of wires

The work MMR does can be difficult for a layman to understand.

“We’re on the construction side,� Rutland said. “All of the electrical, all of the instrumentation, we do that.�

That often includes installing millions of feet of wiring and the instrumentation that monitors how electricity flows through the system, Rutland said.

On Chevron's Big Foot deepwater oil platform, MMR installed 1.7 million feet of cable, 119,000 feet of tubing and approximately 55,000 field terminations. 

“We don’t design it. We do construct it,� he said. “We will commission it. We will start it up for the client.�

Geaux Tigers

There's a deep vein of purple and gold that runs through the firm. MMR recruits heavily from LSU and many of its top executives are alumni.

Rutland was a member LSU’s first class to graduate from its construction management program. His included included Art Favre, founder of Performance Contractors, and Eddie Rispone, the Republican donor and former gubernatorial candidate who started ISC Constructors.

In December, Rutland to LSU's NIL collective to help recruit and retain football prospects. MMR also donated $7.5 million to LSU’s new stand-alone construction management building.

MMR, Rutland said, has probably “deployed more LSU graduates around the country to different offices than anybody else in the state." But the demand for skilled craftspeople and project managers continues to outstrip supply.

To help fill the gap, the company launched its own workforce development program, MMR University, in 2023. The two-year program teaches college students “what we think is important,� Rutland said, adding that when students finish the program, “they’re four or five years ahead of other kids just out of school.�

Louisian has seen in recent years by out-of-state investors. Rutland said that’s not in the cards for MMR.

“We’re not interested in being part of private equity. Seen that. Know how it ends. We don’t like it,� he said.

“We are kind of a big family operation. With that comes flexibility. Nobody has to call New York to find out if we can buy tickets to an LSU football game.�