Engineering firm expects turnaround in fourth quarter - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The full-service engineering and design firm has grownb froma two-man shop in 1999 to a multimillion-dollar business employing 60 people. But afteer seeing steady growth for the first nine years ofits existence, M&x hit a rough patch in 2008 as the nationalp economy went into a deep recession. “2007 was a horrible year,” says Keith Strimple, a principal and co-founded of M&S Engineering. “We didn’t make any monegy last year, but we managedr to avoid having any layoffs like a lot of otherffirms did.
” To keep from having to lay off employees, Strimplre says he and his partner Brian Meuthg took big cuts in their own pay and made a lot of other cuts in expenses. “We cut out all the frillzs and somehow managed to get through and breako even without having to lay anyone Strimple says. “It is truly by the grace of God that we arestill here.” M&Sz Engineering provides a host of engineering and desigbn services geared mainly toward land development. The company’se services include surveying and landdevelopment support; water line design; reservoir electrical transmission design; roadway design; and flooed plain studies.
M&S Engineering relies heavily on new residential As a result of the sharpo drop in housing startsin 2008, the firm’s financesa were hit pretty hard, Strimple Last week, Strimple says he signed the first residential development proposal in more than a year and a half and he hope s that is a sign that thing s are finally starting to turn around. “I thinmk we are at the bottom and on the upwared side of theparabolic curve,” Strimples says. “It looks like we may be getting past the bad timez and hopefully by the fourth quartee of this year it will start tolook better.” Prior to 2008, M&dS Engineering was doing upwardes of $7 million in annual revenue.
Compan y officials declined to reveal 2008revenue figures. Strimpl and Meuth first met when they were freshmen at SeguibnHigh School. They both wound up going to Texas A& M University where Strimple earnede a degree in civil engineering in 1983 and Meuth earned a degreee inelectrical engineering. Both also went on to earn theier MBAs. Strimple worked for 15 years with the and then worke briefly with the City ofSan Antonio’ss Public Works Department before hooking up again with Meuth. Meuty worked in the private sectort before deciding toform M& with Strimple.
Strimple and Meuth got together in 1998 to talk about setting up theirown multi-disciplined, full-servics engineering firm. Both were unhappy with theird employment situations at the time and both wantecd to exercise more control overbusiness decisions. “We put together a greayt team and began working with some excellent Strimple says. “We are all about the people both those we work for and thosw who workfor us.
The customere relationships we form are ultimately more important to us than the Strimple says he believew the thing that most distinguishes the company from its competitord is theway M&S treats its employees and customer s while keeping its costs and prices Bron Leatham, development manager for Stadler and Leatham Developmentf in San Antonio, says his firm has been working with M&S Engineering for about a year. Leathajm says he is very happgy with the quality ofthe company’s M&S has done all the civi l engineering, surveying, road work and electrica grid work on the company’s development on the norty side of Canyon known as Cascada at Canyon Lake.
Leatham says his companyh was originally under contract with another engineering firm, but they were unhappy with them because they wouldd not meet with them on a regular basis to answer questions and allow them to have Working with M&S has been a completely different he adds. “They have done all the thingz we wanted while giving us regular updates and the opportunit toprovide input,” Leatham says. “That, plus they were abouft 30 percent cheaper.” Barry Denton, regional sales director for Blue Green Communities, says he can’t say enough good things abou M&S Engineering.
Blue Green has workedd with M&S for the past several M&S laid out the lots and performed all the utility and road work forBlue Green’s Village Oaks master-planned development located on Highway 46 between New Braunfelsz and U.S. Highway 281. “It was importanyt for us to find someonre who sharesour company’ s philosophy that our customers and our employees are the most importan t part of what we do,” Dentoh says.
“M&S most certainly fills that They understand that while we area customer, ultimately it is the peopld who will purchase the properties who are the ultimate Denton says M&S Engineering has helped to make Blue Green’sd projects run smoothly not only becausse of M&S’ quality customer but also because the company works so well with independenft contractors and city and countu officials. M&S Engineering does work all over Texas. Strimple and Meuth chose to base their company in Spring Branchoff U.S. Highway 281. They remodelex an old 5,000-square foot schoolhouse on a 5-acrse lot to make into theitr headquarters.
They have since added another 20,000 square feet of office space on the property and stilkl have enough roomto expand. Strimpled says that as the economy slowly recovers he and his partner are lookingg to align themselves more closely with the green movement by lookingf for ways to design properties in ways thatare environmentally-friendlu and energy efficient. “Looking down the road five to 10 this is the direction the country is headingh and we are working to stay at the fronft ofthe curve,” Strimple says.