ince its inception in 1954, the firm now known as Anderson Engineering has been through plenty of changes.
When it opened for business in Branson, it was known as Tri Lakes Concrete Co.
While concrete was at the heart of what the company did, engineering was always part of the mix, says CEO Steven L. Brady.
In 1956, the company moved to Springfield. After a succession of ownership and name changes, in 1977 the company’s name became Anderson Engineering, to reflect majority stockholder Jim Anderson’s last name.
“Firms evolve, and we certainly have, but the emphasis on engineering and surveying services has been here from Day One,” Brady said.
Perhaps the biggest shift in ownership came in the 1990s as Anderson approached retirement.
“We went through courtship by a couple of companies to purchase us, and we didn’t want to go that route,” says Brady, who has worked for the company for more than 40 years.
In 1998, the company adopted an employee stock ownership plan, and by 2000, the company was fully employee-owned.
“It’s been good,” Brady says. “I think some of our growth can be attributed to that and all of that [growth] can be attributed to the staff. The fact that we’re employee-owned and they have a stake in it, it’s meant a lot.”
In addition to civil engineering and land surveying, the company also offers materials testing and drilling services and is licensed in 38 states. The company posted revenues of $5.17 million in 2011, up nearly 23 percent from 2010. Profit growth in 2011 was up more than 60 percent from 2010.
Among the major projects Anderson Engineering has worked on are Springfield-Branson National Airport, projects at hospital campuses in Springfield and City Utilities’ John Twitty Energy Center Unit 2.
Despite landing big projects, Brady says the company has faced its share of challenges.
When business dropped off in 2008 as the economy soured, Anderson Engineering leaders held a weekend work session that resulted in several changes, including closer monitoring of income and expenses for each of the firm’s services.
“As we look back now, we see … one of the key things was taking care of that cash and taking care of expenses,” Brady says.
That step also put the company in a good position to handle growth – some of which was planned and some of which was unexpected in the aftermath of the May 2011 tornado that hit Joplin – where the company has an office.
Though the tornado missed Anderson’s Joplin branch, it hit the homes of four employees.
“For two or three weeks, our (Joplin) office was shut down while we were helping employees, getting housing, relocating and helping in the community,” Brady says. “A lot of our employees assisted in that effort.”
Anderson Engineering also allowed the Rebuild Joplin group to use its Joplin location as a temporary office space for three months.
The firm encourages its employees to volunteer in the community, allowing them to take time off and celebrating their achievements in Anderson Engineering’s monthly newsletter, but Brady credits the employees with taking the initiative to help others, as they did in Joplin.
“It’s something that we’re very proud of. We don’t push. Our employees have gravitated to it,” he says.
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