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Ron Mersch, Springfield office leader; Kelly Turner, engineer; and Eric Dove, engineer
Ron Mersch, Springfield office leader; Kelly Turner, engineer; and Eric Dove, engineer

2012 Bishops Finalist: Olsson Associates Inc.

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Founded in 1956 in Lincoln, engineering firm Olsson Associates Inc. opened the doors of its Springfield office in November 2005 with two engineers and a senior design technician.

In June 2010, Olsson acquired Scott Consulting Engineers and moved into the company’s 12,000-square-foot building at 550 E. St. Louis St.

Since then, Olsson’s local operations have grown to 41 professional staff members engaged in civil engineering, landscape architecture and urban planning.

From its inception through 2011, the local branch has generated revenues of nearly $6 million, and Ron Mersch, Springfield office leader, says the office grossed $2.4 million last year.

The firm’s work includes projects such as health care facilities, school buildings and municipal transportation projects. Olsson Associates is now working with the city of Springfield to conduct a study on the James River Freeway-Campbell Avenue interchange and come up with ideas to further ease the traffic flow after the recent widening of Campbell to six lanes.

“People are starting to avoid that area. If you’re two or three years behind the curve, it stifles development,” Mersch says. “That’s one of the worst things you can have from an economic development standpoint – to have people avoid one of your healthiest commercial districts.”

An example of quick-decision customer service occurred last year, with Olsson’s services enlisted after the Joplin tornado destroyed Mercy’s hospital there.

“We were called immediately after that happened. Olsson dropped everything (we) had going and within hours, went down to help Mercy,” Mersch says, noting that quick responses to customer problems are one factor that has led to growth for the local Olsson office.

In an economic climate that has been particularly scathing for the construction industry, employee-owned Olsson Associates has faced some difficult dilemmas, including making the tough choice to cut pay instead of letting valuable employees go, says Eric Dove, an engineer at the company.

Another challenge has been dealing with struggling sales tax revenues for the cities Olsson works with. Cities have to be more cost-conscious about the projects they move forward with and the engineers they choose to do the work.

“In response to that, we’re very conscious about knowing the position they’re in and making sure we design for their needs and not more than their needs,” Mersch says. “And we’ve still been able to grow, even in a down economy.”

Turner also cites determining the fiscal viability of potential clients as another challenge, noting that in recent years, some private developers ended up in financial trouble, and Olsson was left with bad debt.

The company double-checks whether a potential client actually has the funding it would take to get a project to completion, making decisions daily on which projects to pursue and which ones to turn down.

“Those are the hardest decisions,” Mersch says. “In the back of your mind, you say, ‘OK, maybe we missed out on something because we didn’t pursue something.’ You don’t want to turn down potentially good opportunities.”

The Springfield branch is expecting to surpass its 2011 performance, with year-to-date revenues through June at $2.35 million and projections of $5.6 million by year’s end, Mersch says.

Click here for full coverage of the 2012 Economic Impact Awards.


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