Sparling

“Business — and our backlog — is excellent,” said Sparling CEO Jim Duncan. The staff of the electrical engineering and consulting firm grew by 18 over the past year to 136 employees. Annual revenue is up more than 15 percent this year, from $14 million in 1999 to over $16 million in 2000. Markets include corporate, retail, hospitality, entertainment, health care, biotechnology, education and 24-hour data centers.

Sparling's growth is due, in part, to its increasing focus on technology and advanced communication systems. The firm’s technology consulting services — including telecommunications, data networking, technology programming and audio/video and security consulting — have been particularly successful, Duncan said. Sparling is now programming technology for the Seattle Public Library system, Seattle's new City Hall, the University of Washington Law School, Oregon Convention Center expansion and the Telus Center at the University of Alberta.

“The growth of e-commerce and technology companies in the Puget Sound region has resulted in greater demand for our technology programming and design services for data centers,” said Duncan. “We also anticipate increased opportunities in national and international markets, particularly the Pacific Rim, since these countries have major infrastructure and support facility needs.”

He said that among the challenges Sparling faces is recruiting in a tight labor market — specifically, finding design professionals in telecommunications, technology and engineering.

Trends affecting the design professions now include the wave of new technology and its effect on buildings — both in space demands as well as access, according to Duncan. There is high demand for bandwidth and for buildings to offer more services related to high-speed information and e-commerce. Also, there is more emphasis on back-up power, power quality, security and flexibility of systems.

Another challenge Sparling faces is maintaining profitability in the face of the increasing costs of doing business. The firm's success faces serious restraints in the form of rapidly increasing office rents and the cost of health care benefits, said Duncan.

Sparling is determined to play a leading role in the design of energy-efficient and sustainable buildings, especially through the use of photovoltaics and solar energy. “Alternative sources of energy are destined to grow in importance over the next couple of decades as demand increases and our limited supply of fossil fuels continues to dwindle,” said Duncan. “Even in Seattle — the land of gray skies and rain — solar energy will play an important role in powering buildings.”

Data centers and their overwhelming need for electricity continue to spring up all over the region and the nation, he said. “At this point, there will not be enough electricity to power these centers even in the next 10 years. Again, we're looking at alternative sources of energy as well as innovative ways to connect these key components of Internet-reliant industries.”