GeoEngineers
Specialty:
Earth science and geotechnical engineering
President and CEO: Jim Miller
2002 revenues: $25 million
2003 revenues: $30 million
Locations: Redmond, Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, Spokane, Portland, Boise, Anchorage, Everett, Olympia, Port Orchard and Honolulu
The slow economy hasn’t hurt GeoEngineers due to strategic plans to diversify its market and geographic locations, according to President and CEO Jim Miller.
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In 2002, the firm grew revenues 10 percent over 2001. Most of that growth was outside Washington state. The 200-employee firm has been involved in a series of major projects with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Midway Island in the Pacific.
Midway Island was a military installation for many years before the Fish and Wildlife Service took over operations. GeoEngineers was running operations on the island for Fish and Wildlife, and is now doing cleanup and remediation work.
Because of its strong Pacific base, GeoEngineers expanded to Honolulu in June 2003.
Miller said the company, concerned about the development and transportation market, has concentrated on geographic and service diversity.
“We made some decisions several years ago to diversify ourselves into the federal market, and that has been a larger part of our work,” Miller said. “Every market in every geographic area has its own economic state. It’s been a real strength for us to be able to do that (diversify).”
The firm has done environmental clean up work for the U.S. Navy and Puget Sound Energy.
Although business is booming for GeoEngineers in the federal market, Miller said the industry in general is changing as more brownfield and cleanup sites are addressed.
“We’re concerned about having an economic business base to support our economy,” he said. “The only sector that seems to be growing right now is the government sector.”
Miller is apprehensive about the industry base of the market, and said that primary products such as hardware, software, aircraft and vehicles have been in decline, and the replacement isn’t clear.
“We need a basic product base to support our economy. The viability of the Puget Sound regional economy is threatened,” he said.
While the economy’s status is a concern to Miller, GeoEngineers is staying afloat just fine.
“From our perspective, we’re looking for short- and long-term strategies for growth,” he said. “We’re acquiring other companies and expanding locations.”