ESC expands with new facility, design services

by Jan K. Allen

SBJ Contributing Writer

ESC Engineers & Architects began as a one-man engineering operation 10 years ago. The company now employs 25 people and recently expanded its design capabilities with the addition of a staff architect.

Eugene C. Bybee, president of the company, said he spent the first 13 years of his engineering career working with Mid-America Dairymen after he graduated from the University of Missouri at Rolla.

"I did all types of engineering projects at Mid-America," he said. "It was good experience."

Bybee began his own consulting firm in the basement of his home, in June of 1989.

As his business grew to include more engineering professionals, he moved into offices at Metroplex Plaza on East Kearney, across from Northtown Mall. He originally shared office space with another tenant, then gradually added office space at the complex as his company continued to grow.

Recently, the firm outgrew the Metroplex, so Bybee purchased a building at 1922 N. Broadway, the corner of Atlantic and Broadway, once a Safeway store and most recently occupied by the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

After renovating the 12,000-square-foot structure, Bybee moved his offices into approximately 7,000 square feet of the space on the north side of the building in April of this year.

Bybee said he plans to lease a portion of the remaining space, which he will finish to suit the tenant. The free-standing building is surrounded on three sides with ample space for parking.

ESC works with architects and contractors on engineering projects of every kind, including structural, mechanical, electrical, civil and environmental. With the recent addition of architect Bryan D. Ragsdale to the staff, the firm also offers design services to industrial, commercial and municipal clients.

"We plan to give the client the full gamut of services," he said.

Bybee said he has always liked to follow a project through to completion, although some clients prefer to take the design and manage the work themselves.

He also prefers hands-on involvement in the company, and he does not let his position as head of the firm prevent him from keeping up on projects in progress.

ESC works primarily in and around Springfield, although the company has done plant design work throughout the Midwest for companies such as Kraft, Dairy Farmers of America and Schreiber Foods, including plants in Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

"We've also done work for most other major manufacturers in the Midwest," Bybee said.

Bybee estimates that about 70 percent of the firm's work to date had been on industrial projects. He hopes the addition of an architect will broaden the firm's services beyond the specialties that have been the emphasis of the company.

The new office space contains a large board room, three major open areas and private offices for Bybee, Ragsdale and Lori L. Clark, PE. The other engineers share a common area divided by movable partitions.

In the computer-assisted design department, six designers take the engineer's work and put it on computer.

The team shares an open area loaded with electronic equipment to produce the final drawings, using software programs that run into the thousands of dollars.

In a separate equipment-laden office, the electrical engineering division produces its own computer-generated models for the industrial client.

Two miles of cable feed the various offices, connecting each computer site with a central server.

ESC schedules training sessions on an average of one to three hours per week. In spite of the benefits of technology, which allows those in engineering to produce work much faster and correct errors more easily, he said he doesn't want his associates to lose sight of the basics.

Ongoing training is important to keep up with new technology and keep the old concepts alive at the same time, he said.

Among the 25 associates of the firm, Bybee's wife Ruthie works in the office. And their son, Scott, is a mechanical engineer with the company.

The Bybees also have two other children, Mark, who works at Mercantile Bank, and Jennifer, a junior at Hillcrest High School.

The business philosophy at ESC goes beyond the rudiments of blueprints, masonry and steel. Bybee and his associates believe in total involvement in the work ethic and spiritual growth, he said.

Besides project meetings, a time is set aside weekly for sharing and Bible study as it relates to daily business practice. Bybee said he feels applying Christian values in the workplace setting is at the root of his firm's growth.

This summer Bybee offered the covered patio on the south side of his building for a one-week activity and Bible school for kids. He expects this to turn into an annual event.

Bybee said he attributes his business success to his devotion to God, belief in honest business practices and the fact that he surrounds himself with capable people.

"We don't do much advertising," he said. "Word-of-mouth exposure has been enough to keep us busy."