Landau
Associates
Specialty: Contaminated site cleanup and restoration, geotechnical engineering, natural resource assessment
Management: CEO Steve Johnston, COO Jay Bower
Year founded: 1982
Headquarters: Edmonds
2003 revenues: $10 million
Projected 2004 revenues: $11 million
Largest current projects: Piping for Brightwater sewage treatment plant in Woodinville; cleanups at several large oil terminals throughout Puget Sound area
Landau Associates CEO Steve Johnston said the firm is doing well, given the economic state of the union. While many environmental firms have had to lay off staff in the past few years, Landau’s staff and revenue have grown by 10 to 15 percent.
“We’ve been pretty lucky,” he said. “We’ve got some rock-solid clients, we’ve been able to serve them in good times and bad.”
As the industry matures, its profit margins have slimmed and firms like Landau have resorted to new approaches, like partnering with other firms to get work.
“We have to work harder and smarter to get work,” said Johnston.
Johnston is concerned about the region’s inability to pay for maintaining or improving roads and transit.
“Our infrastructure is in terrible shape,” he said. “All the firms we work with have a very strong transportation component, and when they hurt, we hurt.”
Johnston said he sees the pace of brownfield development picking up. Landau is currently involved in site cleanup for a couple of mixed-use waterfront redevelopments — the North Bay Marina project for the Port of Seattle and North Marina for the Port of Everett.
The firm’s brownfield work also includes developing an annex to Washington State University’s downtown Spokane campus and rehabilitating Tacoma’s Albers Mill project.
Johnston said that finding ways to use formerly unused sites is deeply satisfying. “Returning old, underused land to productive use, that’s always exciting.”