Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X V J U LY 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 26 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G F O C U S e growth is mainly due to the firm's many long-term, repeat clients, including Northern Light Health and the University of Maine System. e geographic spread to Maryland and Michigan is due to projects with the U.S. Postal Service and the Veterans Administration health system. But WBRC has seen growth on all fronts. "It's been the advancement of our efforts in a number of our studios," says Borrelli. Full steam ahead Late last year, Sebago Technics, a South Portland-based engineering and land development consulting firm, expanded its office space to make room for growth and acquisitions. e employee-owned company, founded in 1981, added 6,001 square feet at 75 John Roberts Road, bringing the total footprint to 23,541 square feet. Despite pandemic- and economy- related uncertainties, Sebago Technics is on an upswing. It recently acquired Titcomb Associates of Falmouth and Bath, which provides surveying services, and Sawyer Engineering and Surveying, an engineering, surveying and septic design services company in Bridgton, to gain a foothold in the fast-growing Lakes Region. CEO Mark Adams says the acquisi- tions support Sebago's continued growth and future opportunities. Now it's look- ing to expand its market, with more hir- ing and acquisitions in the works. e workforce, in the low 40s a decade ago, is over 105 today, across locations in South Portland, Bridgeton and Bath. Project and revenue numbers in 2021 were at historic highs, a trend expected to continue this year. Despite potential impacts from rising interest rates, many projects that were on hold due to labor and supply chain issues are largely full steam ahead now, he says. "e first federal stimulus package is just now hitting the street in terms of projects and purchases, and there's a large package that's coming," Adams says. "We're seeing, in some instances, institutional clients that were active throughout the pandemic but, due to construction prices and supply chain issues, were holding off. Now a number of those are moving forward. at being said, I think we all can expect that there will be some impact due to some of the indicators in the economy." Next-gen talent Woodard & Curran, a Portland-based science, engineering, design-build and operations company specializing in water and environmental projects for public and private clients locally and nation- wide, has seen significant growth since 2015. e 2016 acquisition of California- based environmental engineering company RMC Water & Environment expanded its national footprint. In 2018, it launched a new Woodard & Curran Constructors division. In 2022, the company's new CEO, Alyson Watson, introduced a five-year strategic plan for continued growth. "Some of the core tenets of that plan are around being able to enable and leverage distributed teams, because we're working in a much dif- ferent atmosphere now, recruiting and retaining next-gen talent, enhanc- ing our technology and data science capabilities," says Vice President of Marketing Jennifer Andrews. e company is planning a move from its outer Congress Street loca- tion to a larger space at 12 Mountfort St., where veterinary technology and services supplier Covetrus Inc. is headquartered. "We want to invest in spaces that make people want to come back to the office to collaborate and innovate," says Andrews. Over 15 years, the firm grew its revenue four-fold to $263 million in 2021 and tripled its workforce to 1,200 employees across 27 offices and over 50 water and wastewater treatment plants throughout the U.S. "at makes us the largest engi- neering firm that's headquartered in Maine," Andrews notes. Service line expansion and new technologies aid growth. For example, more clients are implementing artifi- cial intelligence and machine learning. "Helping clients make sense of their data is something we're asked to do a lot," she says. Natural expansion is year, Hermon engineering firm S.W. Cole Engineering Inc., offering geotechnical engineering, construc- tion materials testing, and special inspections services, acquired Geisser Engineering Corp., a Rhode Island engineering and construction testing and inspection firm with clients in that state and in Massachusetts. e acquisition marked S.W. Cole's first formal foray into the Ocean State, although the company had done work there previously. e expansion was only natural, given the Maine company's past projects in Rhode Island and desire to expand service offerings there, says President and CEO Robert Chaput Jr. Founded 43 years ago, S.W. Cole has acquired numerous companies through- out New England within the past two decades, most recently an engi- neering firm in Taunton, Mass. e company has eight locations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. S.W. Cole hired all of Geisser's employees, and now has a total workforce of about 120, giving the company an expanded network of offices and team members through- out New England. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Sebago Technics President and CEO Mark Adams, near the Maine Medical Center construction site last year in Portland, says his firm expanded its office space to make room for growth and acquisitions. WBRC Inc. architect and senior principal Richard Borrelli, left, with Jocelyn Boothe, architect and principal, right, stand before WBRC's new Portland offices. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F W B R C I N C .

• Cover