Most commercial buildings in Kansas City are served by four or five different contractors. One for the rooftop units. Another for the plumbing. A third for the panel work. When a walk-in cooler goes down on a Saturday, the facility manager starts calling down a list and hoping somebody picks up.
CEI Electrical & Mechanical was built to be the one number on that list. We have held commercial electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration licenses in Missouri and Kansas since 1985, and we run our own crane fleet — which means a rooftop unit replacement does not require us to schedule a third-party lift.
What a commercial mechanical contractor actually covers
The term gets used loosely. In practice, a mechanical contractor handles the systems that move air, water, and refrigerant through a building, plus the electrical service that powers them. For CEI that means:
HVAC — rooftop units, split systems, makeup air, VAV boxes, economizers, exhaust and ventilation
Refrigeration — walk-ins, reach-ins, prep tables, ice machines, condensing units and line sets
Plumbing — supply and waste, water heaters, booster pumps, grease interceptors, backflow prevention
Electrical — panels, switchgear, three-phase distribution, lighting, controls, code corrections
Roofing — flat roof repair and replacement, and the flashing work that follows any rooftop equipment change
Crane and rigging — equipment setting and removal
Why single-source matters on a rooftop unit replacement
A five-ton RTU swap is the clearest example of what splits between trades and what doesn’t.
The old unit has to be disconnected — electrical. Refrigerant has to be recovered under EPA rules — refrigeration. The unit has to come off the roof and the new one set — crane and rigging. The curb has to be adapted and the roof membrane resealed around it — roofing. Gas and condensate have to be reconnected — plumbing. Then the new unit gets wired, charged, and commissioned.
Run through separate contractors, that job involves four scheduling windows, four insurance certificates, and at least one argument about who is responsible for the leak that shows up three weeks later at the curb flashing.
We do all six parts. One crew lead, one schedule, one warranty conversation.
The buildings we work in
CEI’s work is commercial only. No residential service calls.
Our regular accounts include restaurants and commercial kitchens, retail centers and strip malls, warehouses and distribution facilities, medical and dental offices, schools, churches, apartment and multifamily properties, and municipal buildings across the metro.
Restaurants are the largest single category, and it is the one where multi-trade matters most — a kitchen has refrigeration, exhaust hoods, makeup air, gas, grease waste, and heavy electrical load in the same 2,000 square feet.
24/7 dispatch and how it actually works
Emergency service means a technician is reachable at 2 a.m., not that a voicemail gets returned Monday.
Our dispatch line is staffed around the clock at 816-221-0006. Calls are triaged by trade and routed to the on-call tech for that discipline — a refrigeration failure does not get an electrician. Service vehicles are stocked for common failure modes, so a contactor, capacitor, belt, or fan motor is usually on the truck rather than a next-day parts run.
Licensed, insured, and documented
– KCMO Business License 0626486400
– Johnson County Contractor License 2026-0000612
– City of Kansas City Contractor License 950621
– USDOT 735920 / MODOT 130499
– EPA-certified technicians, including A2L refrigerant certification for the current low-GWP transition
– OSHA-certified field staff
– General liability and workers’ compensation current; certificates available on request
How we bill
Commercial service work is priced on time and materials unless the job is quoted as a project. We publish how estimates, service calls, parts, and change orders are handled so there is nothing to reconstruct from an invoice later.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a mechanical contractor and a general contractor?
A general contractor manages the construction of a building and coordinates subcontractors. A mechanical contractor installs and services the systems inside it — HVAC, plumbing, refrigeration, and the electrical that supports them. CEI is a mechanical and service contractor. Our construction division, Swift Construction, handles tenant finish and commercial build work separately.
Do you work on residential properties?
No. CEI is commercial only. We do service multifamily and apartment properties, which are commercial accounts even though people live in them.
How fast can you get a technician out?
Emergency calls are dispatched around the clock. Response time depends on trade and location within the metro. Scheduled maintenance and non-urgent repairs are typically booked within a few business days.
Do you handle preventive maintenance contracts?
Yes. Most of our long-term accounts run on scheduled maintenance — filter changes, coil cleaning, belt and bearing inspection, backflow testing, and refrigerant leak checks on a set interval. Planned maintenance costs less than emergency response and it is the difference between replacing a compressor on a Tuesday and replacing it on the Fourth of July.
Are you licensed in both Missouri and Kansas?
Yes. We hold licenses in Missouri and Kansas, including a Johnson County contractor license, and work throughout the metro on both sides of the state line.