Integral Consulting
Specialty: Scientific and engineering consulting for environmental, ecological, health, and natural resource projects
Management: Marc Lorenzen, president; Lucinda Jacobs, vice president; Betsy Day, corporate secretary
Year founded: 2002
Headquarters:
Mercer Island
2004 revenues:
$9.4 million
Projected 2005 revenues: $12 million
Current projects: Portland Harbor remedial investigation for the Lower Willamette Group; independent assessment of 1989 Exxon Valdez spill for the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council Alaska; development of West Nile virus management plan for Suffolk County (New York); cleanup of Lower Duwamish for city of Seattle
Photo courtesy Integral Consulting Integral staff take measurements on the Lower Willamette River. From left, Joss Moore, Ian Stupakoff, Sacha Maxwell and Jane Sund. |
Integral Consulting employees recently returned from the company’s annual retreat at Sleeping Lady, a conference center tucked in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains. From president to secretarial staff, all 66 employees were invited to join.
“We’re most proud of our ability to grow, maintain our culture, and attract talented staff,” said Dr. Lucinda Jacobs, vice president of the 3-year-old scientific and engineering consulting firm. “I think it’s because of our collaborative environment and our creative problem-solving approaches that has allowed us to attract some very talented individuals.”
2 sources of growth
Growth is rising on two playing fields. In 2004, the company projected revenues of $7.5 million and earned revenues of $9.4 million. Furthermore, the company grew from 55 employees to 66, and executives are recruiting half a dozen more positions.
Hiring has been a mix of new graduates and seasoned industry professionals, including Deborah Rudnik, invasive species, Suzanne Burnell, water resources, and Robert Pastorok, ecology.
As Integral Consulting expands, Jacobs said the biggest concern and commitment is quality control. “We’re doing like many companies do, which is identify a principal in charge of all our projects. That principal has major obligations in ensuring the quality of any document going out the door meets our standards.”
Diversified focus
Jacobs referred to hiring as “a little opportunistic” in that it provides a way to diversify the firm’s once-singular focus on environmental issues. She is especially interested in expanding research in the areas of water resources, product safety and the health sector.
“When we plotted our growth, it looked very organic,” Jacobs said. “A lot of it is interconnections of people we met, or people we know, and sometimes we’ll break into a whole new area, like obesity, because one of our staff has a particular interest or commitment to it. Because we’re employee-owned, we have the flexibility to say, “Yeah, let’s just try it. Let’s just give it a shot.’”
She is monitoring the international standardization of procedures and practices as her company begins to work in other countries. It added its second multinational client last year.
“Your whole job changes every year because the projects change and the people change,” Jacobs said. “It’s really a fun business. You just have to get used to the uncertainty.”