Interface

Staffing company-wide has increased by about 10 percent this year at Interface Engineering, to a total of 160, and the staff in the Kirkland has decreased slightly to 23. Fee income is on track to exceed last year by 10 percent to 15 percent.

The Kirkland office is one of four on the West Coast. Interface also has offices in Sacramento, Milwaukee and Salem, Ore.

Core services are in engineering and design of mechanical and electrical systems for the commercial market. Architectural lighting, low voltage and code consulting are also offered. Retail and office generate 45 percent of business. Education, residential, hospitality and manufacturing are the firm’s other major markets.

“The pace of business has been brisk — at times uncomfortable — during the first half of the year,” said business development director Matt Smith. “It returned to a more manageable pace the end of the third quarter.”

The firm has made use of aggressive scheduling and moving production work between offices to make use of all resources. In 2001, Interface is projecting a 10 percent increase in revenues. “Maintaining fees at a level that adequately compensates our effort and risk continues as an on-going challenge to the industry, not just our company. We need to help our clients understand the value of fully engineered design in a market of increased design-build,” said Smith.

The lack of available real estate in the metropolitan markets means an even greater push for infill, redevelopment and brownfield development, according to Smith.

“There will be a continuing upgrade of older retail to compete with new product on the market. It may also provide an opportunity for increased fees; unknown conditions are not conducive to fixed-fee work. The work will either go hourly or lump-sum with a generous contingency factor,” said Smith. “Increased densities will fuel discussions about what is too much density.” He added that sustainable design has taken a noticeable step forward over the past year. Smith said that as public agencies like the city of Seattle and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers adopt the U.S. Green Building Council standard, the private sector will eventually follow suit.