Robinson, Noble & Saltbush
Specialties: Water resources, water rights, environmental consulting and remediation, and surface and subsurface geophysical investigations
Management: Joseph Becker, president; John Hildenbrand, environmental division manager; Burt Clothier, hydrogeologic division manager; Mike Krautkramer, lead hydrogeologist
Founded: 1947
Headquarters: Tacoma
2007 revenues: $2.5 million
Projected 2008 revenues: $2.9 million
Current projects: Lakehaven Utility District OASIS project, on-call environmental services for Tacoma Public Utilities, Chelan County PUD groundwater investigations
John Hildenbrand
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Business is still strong in environmental consulting despite some development market slowing, said John Hildenbrand, environmental division manager at Robinson, Noble & Saltbush. Hildenbrand said a lot of public projects, especially on the water resource side, are still “chugging along” because that work relies more on population growth than market conditions.
Hildenbrand said he has noticed a difference in development-side work, with developers moving a little more slowly and being more cost conscious. But he said most private-sector clients in the Seattle area seem pretty immune to speculative problems.
“We’re actually having quite a busy year,” Hildenbrand said. “We’re still fairly diversified, so we’re not tied to any one segment too heavily.”
More demand
Photo by Robinson, Noble & Saltbush Robinson, Noble & Saltbush is helping Chelan County PUD develop groundwater production to expand fisheries along the Columbia River near Chelan Falls. The project used geophysical surveys and an extensive monitoring network to guide well drilling. |
Hildenbrand predicts that local water rights work will continue to grow in coming years. He said the demand for expertise in mitigation assessment will also increase here.
“As we run out of really easily developable land and we start getting into a lot more redevelopment, the risks continue to increase,” Hildenbrand said. “The tighter things become, the more careful people are to look at it to make sure things will pencil out.”
While most of the firm’s business is in the Puget Sound area, it is looking to expand to the north and south, from the Canadian border to the Oregon border. Hildenbrand said the company also expects to do more work in Eastern Washington, especially on water rights and water resource issues.
More consultants
In recent years, new firms have raced to join the environmental consulting field, Hildenbrand said. In some cases, he said companies take on more than they have expertise in and that is “dangerous.”
“Some people will pick the cheapest they will find without assessing the skill set or the expertise,” he said. “There are some companies that oversell what they are capable of.” Those seeking environmental services should have a clear idea of what they need before they start comparing prices, Hildenbrand said.
Overall, the local environmental consulting field has gotten a lot more sophisticated over the last decade, Hildenbrand said.
“If I go back and compare it to 10 years ago, there is a lot more good competition out of there,” he said. “There are a lot of very capable firms out there.”