The ZweigWhite 2012 Hot Firm List Ranks Schultz Surveying and Engineering 43rd Among the Most Successful AEC Firms in the USA

The ZweigWhite 2011 Hot Firm List Ranks Schultz Surveying and  Engineering 43rd Among the Most Successful Architecture, Engineering,

and Environmental Consulting Firms in the USA



Mark Zweig and Stan Schultz proudly display SSE's recognition.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  —Every year since 2000, ZweigWhite has recognized the most successful architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms with The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List. Over the years, the "Hot Firm" designation has become synonymous with success in the industry.  2012 marks the second time Schultz Surveying and Engineering has been named to The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List. In 2011, SSE ranked 54th among these top firms and they moved up 11 places to 43rd in 2012.   “We are extremely proud to have made this prestigious list during these economically challenging times.  I am very thankful to  our customers who rely on our services and the SSE employees who work so hard to meet their needs,” said SSE owner Stan Schultz.





Stan Schultz, Mark Zweig and Ted Maziejky
pose for the camera.

Zweig White, the nation's leading consulting, publishing, and training firm for the

architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry, recently released the names of firms making The Zweig Letter 2012 Hot Firm List.   Mark C. Zweig, ZweigWhite founder & CEO said, “Getting on The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List for 2012 is an amazing accomplishment, particularly when you consider the depressed state of the A/E/P industry. I am so proud of these firms I cannot tell you! They are making it happen in spite of many obstacles to their success.”

 

The 2012 Hot Firm List, compiled by ZweigWhite, recognizes firms that exhibit the fastest growth in the last three fiscal years. SSE was ranked on their average percentage revenue growth and absolute dollar revenue growth from 2008 to 2011. Entrants were limited to firms based in the United States or Canada that derive the majority of their revenues from the practice of architecture, engineering, planning, environmental consulting, or allied disciplines. Design/build firms that provide both design and construction services were also eligible.

 

While being ranked #43 on the ZweigWhite list is quite impressive, SSE was also the second faststMissouri based company on the list.  “This recognition makes all of the hard work and effort we have been doing seem worth it, added SSE Branson Operations Manager Brad Allbritton.  “Coming in at #43 in America and #2 in Missouri just confirms the trust our clients have in our services.”

Cardno USA, the American arm of the Brisbane, Australia-based Cardno Limited, a global infrastructure services firm, took the top spot again this year.  All of the companies that earned a spot on The Zweig Letter 2012 Hot Firm List – which range from firms as small as six people to as large as 10,000 employees – were celebrated at the 2012 Hot Firm Awards Banquet during the Zweig Letter 2012 Hot Firm Conference at the St. Regis in Aspen, CO.

 

The top 10 on the 2012 Hot Firm List:

1. Cardno USA, Portland, OR

2. Exp Global Inc., Brampton, ON

3. Surveying and Mapping, Inc., Austin, TX

4. Gkkworks, Irvine, CA

5. Sullivan International Group, Inc., San Diego, CA

6. Vanir Construction Management, Inc., Sacramento, CA

7. Allen & Shariff Corporation, Columbia, MD

8. HAKS Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors, P.C., New York, NY

9. Nobis Engineering, Inc., Concord ,NH

10. Dade Moeller, Richland, WA

 

Schultz and his wife Kathy, along with SSE CFO Ted Maziejka and his wife Leslie, attended this year’s Hot Firm Conference, which featured presentations by 12 Hot Firm CEOs.  The event also offered an excellent opportunity to network with some of the most successful companies in the engineering industry.  “Talking with other leaders was very refreshing and I left the conference with a wealth of good ideas for SSE.  I also made some great contacts that could lead to very good partnering opportunities,” concluded Schultz.

 

Stan and Kathy Schultz with Leslie and Ted Maziejka at the banquet.

 

ZweigWhite founder and CEO Mark Zweig said the following about the Hot Firm List and what it means to the A/E industry, “No one can tell me that the companies on the TZL Hot Firm for 2012 aren't special. They achieved success despite all odds!”

For more information about the Hot Firm list, go to www.zweigwhite.com.

Mary Frye Wins Her Second Employee Of The Month Award

Mary Frye

LAKE OZARK, MO- Schultz Surveying and Engineering is pleased to announce that Mary Frye will be recognized as the March employee of the month. Mary was selected for her work with the survey department at the Lake Ozark office.  Owner Stan Schultz said, “Mary is the first SSE employee to be chosen for this award a second time.  I believe that speaks to the job she has done taking care of our customers concerns and making sure our surveyors get all the details of each survey completed.  She is a great asset to our company and I am so proud to have her on our team.”

 

March employee of the month Mary Frye just celebrated her 2nd anniversary with SSE in February.  In addition to helping with surveys, Mary also helps with many other administrative duties at the Lake office.  When asked what she likes about working at SSE, Mary added "I am so happy to work with the great customers SSE has. I really enjoy coming to work and helping them. I am humbled to be chosen for employee of the month and appreciate the honor."

 

In honor of Mary being awarded March’s employee of the month, SSE will donate $100 on her behalf to the PAWS animal shelter. It is a not for profit group that works to save animals that have been abandoned or owners are no longer able to care for them.

 

“In the last few months I have received numerous compliments about Mary from our customers.  My experience is that customers have to receive outstanding service before they say anything.  This number of compliments shows that Mary is always providing service that customers notice.  She consistently shows she cares about our customers and that she is a professional. We are all very lucky to have her as part of our SSE family,” concluded operations manager Mike DeLong.

Springtown Gets Sewer Service After Years of Waiting

The small unincorporated area located directly East of Potosi, Missouri is known far-and-wide for the wastewater system problems that have persisted since the 1970’s.  The small area of Springtown consists of 231 homes, businesses and churches. As the area developed, a water system Washington County Public Water Supply District (PWSD) #1, was constructed that provided potable water to most of the area’s home.  Unfortunately, these same homes were located on extremely small lots that have proven to have over a 90% failure rate of their private septic systems.

Realizing the problems that have plagued the area for years, concerned citizens contacted SSE.  Current PWSD board member Darrel Adams said “They quickly went to work and helped us organize our existing water district into a district that could also offer sewer services. They then provided us with a financial feasibility study of the anticipated project. We used the framework SSE provided and successfully passed a $2.5 million dollar revenue bond that allowed us to secure a $538,000 low-interest loan and over $1.71 million in grants.”

SSE Business Development Director Marvin Nesbit added “Springtown received a larger grant percentage than all but one of our past customers with 76% of the project being state and federal grants.”

 

Design for the project involved creating an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Potosi to use a wastewater plant that was constructed for the Potosi Industrial Park.  Once the agreement was secured, SSE developed plans for the gravity system, which were sent to USDA-Rural Development and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for their approval in June of 2010. “We can’t thank the USDA-Rural Development and the MoDNR enough! Also the city of Potosi was very helpful and without them we could never have completed these improvements,” said Darrel Adams.

One of the most time consuming tasks of any new sewer system is obtaining easements. In an effort to keep the project quickly moving forward SSE procured over 200 easements by the fall of 2010. Construction began in July of 2012, and is expected to be complete in early 2013.

SSE Poplar Bluff operations Manager Tim Southards concluded, “We enjoy working with the folks in Springtown and their sewer district is exactly the kind of project Rural Development had in mind when they started this program. We always enjoy helping communities like Springtown learn about and obtain funding from these programs. In SSE’s short history we have helped communities obtain over $100 million for water and wastewater improvements.”

Stan Schultz Awarded Outstanding Environmental Advocate

Stan Schultz with LOWA Executive Director, Donna Swall

Lake Ozark, MO – Recently, Schultz Surveying and Engineering  owner Stan Schultz was awarded the "Outstanding Environmental Advocate" award from the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance, commonly referred to as LOWA.  This award from LOWA recognizes the outstanding environmental advocate who has made significant contributions toward preserving and protecting the lake and watershed.  This is the first year the award has been given, and LOWA Executive Director Donna Swall had this to say, "It was a unanimous decision to select Stan to be the initial recipient of  this award. Stan is a visionary who  can see the value in what we do as an organization. He  has worked with our group since  our formation nearly eight years ago."

LOWA began when 18 local, state, and federal agencies joined together to hold several public meetings around the lake. These agencies have agreed to continue as technical advisors, but clearly want the citizens to lead. The intent was to see if there was any interest in starting a citizen led watershed group for the Lake of the Ozarks. Many of these groups are forming nationally to protect and preserve our waterways and lakes.

"I am very humbled to receive this award”, said Stan. " I feel blessed to be a part of this community and to have the opportunity to help improve the water quality of the lake.  I  am proud to have helped LOWA in accomplishing their mission and I look forward to continuing this partnership." Donna concluded by saying, "Stan has kept us going, and without his help in the early days, we would have failed. Stan's level of commitment to protecting the environment and to the lake’s economic success is why we chose him for this award. . Eight years ago he promised me he would do all he could to assist LOWA, and he has proven his word is as good as gold.The lake area needs more people like Stan."

Clarkton: Out With the Old; In With the New

Residents in Clarkton will soon get a much needed new wastewater treatment facility to keep their sewer system running smoothly.  With a customer base of 520 people, the City’s existing wastewater treatment facility was well past its life expectancy.  Under enforcement action, the plant was literally crumbling apart.  In addition, many of the old lines in town needed replacement.  SSE has designed a new extended air wastewater treatment plant with disinfection and a new lift station.  SSE owner Stan Schultz said, “The problems Clarkton’s older system was experiencing are similar to what we have seen in other communities in Missouri.  We enjoy designing projects that keep sewer rates low for the residents and keep communities in compliance with all DNR and EPA rules and regulations.”

The treatment plant for the City of Clarkton is an extended aeration type wastewater treatment system that features the patented SEQUOX Biological Nutrient Removal Process.  This is achieved by sequencing the aeration with continuous clarification.  The treatment plant was designed for an average flow of 200,000 gallons per day.  It consists of two treatment trains, each containing an aeration basin, clarifier, and an aerobic digester.  “The project was funded for a total of $3,005,000 of which $1,505,000 was a USDA-Rural Development loan and $1,500,000 was a USDA-Rural Development grant,” said Marvin Nesbit, SSE Director of Business Development.  “Our goal is to be on time and under budget, and we are headed in that direction.”

In addition to the new water treatment facility, SSE is rehabilitating two existing lift stations, adding a new lift station, and installing several thousand feet of new gravity collection lines.  After careful review of each problem with the old treatment plant, SSE put together a design that addressed all of the deficiencies.  They also developed preliminary designs and cost estimates for the project that were made available to the public.  Mayor Greg Reynolds added, “The plan Schultz Surveying & Engineering developed was a cost effective way to solve our sewer problems.  We appreciate their hard work and dedication to making rates lower for our customers and providing a quality service for our City.”

SSE Adds Three Former Missouri DNR Officials to Help Clients Design Water and Wastewater Systems

SSE is proud to have three former Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) Employees on our team.  Out of the 11,655 active Professional Engineers in the state of Missouri, these three P.E.’s come highly regarded, given the fact that they each worked for MoDNR for a total of 40+ years combined. SSE owner Stan Schultz added, “Our core business has been helping Missouri communities find funding and build systems to meet MoDNR’s requirements. I’m excited about what these three experts bring to the SSE team.”

 

Tim Southards, P.E.

Tim Southards of Poplar Bluff joined the SSE management team.  Southards will be covering the southeast Missouri region as the Operations Manager for the Poplar Bluff office.  As an Environmental Engineer for DNR, Tim is well versed in the requirements, regulations, and emerging issues facing communities, developers, and industries that need solutions to their drinking and wastewater needs.  Tim stated, “It is exciting to join a growing company like SSE.  Helping our clients provide safe drinking water to their citizens in the most effective and economical way possibly while keeping our streams and rivers clean for fishing and other recreational activities is a dream come true.”

 

John MacEachen of Russellville, Missouri, joined the esteemed SSE Business Development team in September of 2012.  John’s background in drinking water and wastewater operations, and management and regulatory compliance, are an important factor with the overall SSE operation.  John worked as the Enforcement Unit Chief for the Public Drinking Water Program of the MoDNR.  During his 15+ years with that program, he oversaw enforcement activities to ensure regulatory compliance, assisted in the development of regulatory language and requirements, and assisted in technical review of the project plans and specifications for regulatory compliance.  John said, “Today, small systems have the greatest problems to solve and the fewest resources available.  Therefore, the solutions have to be economical, long-lasting and within the technical capabilities of the system.  We can help you achieve that.”

 

Dave Stinson, P.E.

David Stinson joined SSE in October 2012.  David will play a key role within SSE, as Director of Engineering.  Those responsibilities will include heading up the quality control on all of SSE’s designs and plans, as well as supervising the management of all projects.  Stinson’s background with DNR has allowed him to gain considerable knowledge regarding Missouri’s water and wastewater regulations.  This knowledge will be a tremendous benefit to communities and businesses throughout Missouri.  David said, “Being an Engineering Unit Chief with MoDNR has given me a better understanding of the state regulations and how to properly design an efficient and economical drinking water and wastewater system according to state guidelines. If our clients have questions or concerns about MoDNR’s policies and regulations or their permitting process, I will gladly offer my advice and experience to help them work through their issues.”

 

SSE owner Stan Schultz concluded, “We are proud that we now have three former DNR engineers working for SSE and know that their understanding of the regulations and personnel who oversee them will be a huge benefit to the customers we serve here in Missouri.”

SSE Has A New TV Star- Wayne Faries on the road!

Check out this KJHR TV video staring  SSE's own Wayne Faries.  He is really good on camera!!

Wayne smiling for the camera.

Click this link to watch the full movie staring Wayne and his wife Gail.

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/ok-turnpike-authority-is-temporarily-shutting-down-mcdonalds-over-i-44-for-remodel

For the record we have all stopped at the McDonald's over the Oklahoma interstate.  I sent postcards from there on my first visit in 1988.