History
Originally established in 1888 as the Builders and Traders Exchange, MBEX was founded in response to a highly industrialized local growth and prosperity. In 1902, the name was officially changed to the Minneapolis Builders Exchange when the organization was incorporated by nine men who established the current setup—allowing general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers access to a wide variety of bidding opportunities, in turn giving architects and engineers the ability to place technical information before as many potential bidders as possible.
The Exchange took a big hit during the depression, as the construction industry was severely affected. During WWII, the Exchange served as a planroom for war-time construction projects as commercial construction was at a stand still while all materials and energy was directed toward the war effort.
Many aspects of the Exchange have developed and changed over time. Original dues included a share of stock costing $40 and annual dues of $50. Current membership dues of $360 remain unchanged for over ten years. In 1909 the exchange filed 377 sets of plans, compared to 3,420 incoming plans in 2008.
Despite the many struggles and changes, MBEX has remained an important force within the commercial construction industry. Today, we have more members and more projects than the original incorporators could have imagined, as they originally expected the corporation to have a lifetime of 30 years. 120 years later, here we are…stronger than ever, continuously growing and improving our services to over 1,000 members!
