The last year has been one of strategic growth at Hart Crowser, according to president John Crowser. The firm currently employs 220 people, an increase of 10 percent since 1998. Approximately half of the staff work out of the Seattle corporate headquarters and the other half are based in Alaska, California, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

Hart Crowser is a niche consulting firm in site development, industrial property redevelopment, port and harbor development, mining engineering and mineral economics consulting, federal agency environmental programs, and natural resources management.

"The big news is our merger with Pentec Environmental," said Crowser, "which is expected to close in early January 2000."

Pentec specializes in fisheries and related biological issues.

In the past year the firm also opened an office in Boston to serve port and harbor clients in the Northeast, and offices in Vancouver, B.C., and New York to expand a Denver-based mining division, Pincock Allen & Holt. Hart Crowser added a senior-level geotechnical group to the Portland office, and project opportunities also led to offices in Fortuna and San Diego, Calif.

The future is green, according to Crowser.

"We're experiencing a growing demand for environmental compliance, economic and environmental due diligence, and waterfront development-related services. That's because the focus on environmental cleanup is shifting to problem prevention and compliance. This shift is supported by today's stable economy, which spurs land churn - especially valuable waterfront property.

"And, of course, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is having a huge impact on development in Puget Sound, as well as other areas of the country. Pentec's strengths in fisheries biology, wetlands, and water resources management make us very well equipped to handle ESA response."

Crowser sees an ongoing shift in the competitive landscape.

"The consolidation of firms through mergers and acquisitions is resulting in fewer, larger firms competing for huge contracts. To survive, we must understand the consolidation game and play it accordingly," he said. "We need to know who the players are-and it changes daily-what they have to offer, how they price their services, and how they market themselves.

It will become increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized firms to compete at their level because they'll always be able to outspend us - recent statistics show that they're allocating 9 to 10 percent of their net revenues on marketing - and we're talking $2 billion in revenues. That's why we elected to specialize in markets where we can bring real value to clients who need our expertise. By focusing our efforts and resources in these markets, we can effectively get our message across to the right people."