News

Terracon Foundation Awards $82,254 in University and Community Grants

Olathe, Kan. — The Terracon Foundation is pleased to announce the awarding of $82,254 in grants and scholarships. The Terracon Foundation was established as the community investment arm of Terracon with a goal to reach out and become a real part of the lives of company employees and the communities where they live and work.

“We are pleased to award grants to eight universities to allow students to complete their degrees, participate in research and further their professional relationships,” said Laura Campa, P.E., chair of the Terracon Foundation and manager of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, office. “We are also excited to award 10 additional grants to community organizations across the nation that are doing crucial work to educate and mentor children, increase health, and more in their communities. Each grant was championed by a Terracon employee who is actively involved in the organization or university.”

As part of an ongoing effort to support higher education, the Terracon Foundation presents university grants for scholarships, fellowships, and programs in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

University Grants

The Terracon Foundation has presented a total of $53,500 to eight universities:

• Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
• Cloud County Community College, Concordia, Kan.
• Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tenn.
• Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
• University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark.
• University of Kansas School of Engineering, Lawrence, Kan.
• University of Washington, Seattle
• Virginia Tech Foundation, Blacksburg, Va.

Community Grants

The Terracon Foundation has awarded $28,754 in community grants to 10 nonprofit organizations:

• ACE Mentor Program of America, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa
• Archbishop Chapelle High School, Metairie, La.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley, Columbus, Ga.
• Caterpillar Ministries, Huntersville, N.C.
• EveryoneOn, Washington, D.C.
• Girls on the Run International, Charlotte, N.C.
• Latinx Education Collaborative, Kansas City, Mo.
• Museum of Arts & Sciences, Inc., Macon, Ga.
• Rutherford Outdoor Coalition, Rutherford, N.C.
• The ALS Association, Mission, Kan.

For more information about the Terracon Foundation, visit terracon.com/foundation.

About Terracon

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states. Terracon ranks 22nd on Engineering News-Record’s 2020 list of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, visit terracon.com.

TERRACON RECOGNIZED AS HEALTHY KC WORKPLACE WELLNESS CERTIFIED

During Pandemic, More than 100 Businesses Recognized for Workplace Wellness and Steps Taken to Keep Employees Healthy

OLATHE, Kan. — Terracon, a leading provider of environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services, has been recognized as gold level Healthy KC Workplace Wellness Certified by The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Healthy KC Initiative.

The Healthy KC Workplace Wellness Certification program recognizes area organizations for innovation and excellence in promoting a culture of health in the workplace. Certifications range from Honorable Mention up to Platinum and are based on five pillars of health: healthy eating, active living, tobacco cessation, work-life integration, and design-built environment.

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, remote workforce challenges, and an increased need in mental health services, these organizations made valuable pivot moves to keep their workforce healthy. This year’s Workplace Wellness Certification had a specific focus on what policies and measures businesses implemented to ensure the health and wellbeing of their workforce as well as creating a more inclusive and equitable environment to ensure employees’ mental health.

For more information about the Healthy KC initiative, visit: http://ow.ly/Flrb50DulFS

“Terracon employees are deeply committed to their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of their family members,” said John Prutsman, Terracon chief people officer. “We plan to expand our health and wellness program offerings to continue this momentum.”

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states. Terracon ranks 22nd on Engineering News-Record’s 2020 list of Top 500 Design Firms.

Terracon Welcomes California-Based Burleson Consulting Inc.

Acquisition enhances West Coast environmental compliance, engineering services

OLATHE, Kan. – Terracon proudly announces it has acquired Burleson Consulting Inc. (Burleson), a leading provider of environmental compliance and engineering services for federal, state, municipal, and industrial clients throughout California.

Burleson provides quality environmental compliance, site assessment and remediation, biological habitat restoration, and water resources services to government and private-sector clients from its headquarters in Folsom, Calif., and location in Monterey, Calif. Burleson’s professionals have environmental experience and in-depth knowledge of the latest technologies, developments in environmental compliance, remediation, and permitting services. The firm provides expertise in NEPA, CEQA, CERCLA, RCRA, and water quality permitting and monitoring.

“Navigating the environmental compliance and permitting process can be challenging and time-consuming for many of our clients,” said Gayle Packer, Terracon president and CEO. “The addition of Burleson further strengthens our existing environmental practice in California and the Western U.S., and complements our focus on delivering an outstanding client experience throughout the project life cycle.”

All Burleson’s 14 employees will immediately become part of Terracon. The firm will continue to operate locally as Burleson Consulting Inc., A Terracon Company, and the transition will be seamless for clients.

“We’re excited to join Terracon as the next step of our company’s evolution and growth,” said Nadia Burleson, P.E., QSD, Burleson president and CEO. “Our clients will continue to enjoy the responsive, trusted service they’ve come to expect, along with access to Terracon’s national presence and resources.”

The new acquisition is supported by Terracon’s existing California offices in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as others throughout the state and region. Burleson joins other West Coast Terracon acquisitions in the past five years including NORCAL Geophysical Consultants of Cotati, Calif.; Mayes Testing Engineers and Argus Pacific in Washington state; and CHJ Consultants of Colton, Calif.

Terracon is an employee-owned consulting engineering firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states. Terracon currently ranks 22nd on Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.

Terracon Expands Virginia Presence with TAM Consultants, Inc. Acquisition

Enhances mid-Atlantic, national facilities services

OLATHE, Kan. – Terracon is pleased to announce it has acquired TAM Consultants, Inc. (TAM). Based in Williamsburg, Va.,TAM serves public- and private-sector clients with a full range of facilities engineering and design services.

Founded in 2002, TAM is a 15-person professional services firm with offices in Newport News, Williamsburg and Richmond, Va. TAM’s professional services include structural engineering, building enclosure consulting, property condition assessments, forensic and investigative engineering, roof consulting, project management, and a variety of building testing services.

“TAM and Terracon share a commitment to not only outstanding technical expertise, but exceptional client service based on enduring relationships,” said Gayle Packer, Terracon president and CEO. “We’re excited to enhance our facilities services throughout Virginia and the mid-Atlantic region at a time when extending the service life and efficiency of existing buildings is top of mind for many of our clients.”

All TAM employees will immediately become part of Terracon, supporting clients from its three Virginia locations. The firm will continue to operate locally as TAM Consultants, Inc., A Terracon Company, and the transition will be seamless for clients.

“Becoming part of Terracon is an exciting next step in TAM’s mission to continue to provide outstanding service to our clients,” said Timothy Mills, P.E., TAM founder and CEO. “This merger allows TAM to bring an even broader range of consulting engineering services to our clients and the region, drawing on Terracon’s national presence and resources, and offers new career development opportunities for our team.”

The new acquisition is supported by Terracon’s existing offices in Virginia, North Carolina, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and others. TAM joins two other recent Terracon acquisitions: Skelly and Loy of Harrisburg, Pa., in 2020 and GeoConcepts of Ashburn, Va., in 2017.

Terracon is an employee-owned consulting engineering firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states. Terracon currently ranks 22nd on Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.

Terracon Announces Innovation in Remote Site Selection

Stage1 reduces risk by streamlining geotechnical and environmental conditions research

OLATHE, Kan. — Terracon is pleased to announce it has further enhanced Stage1; its innovative site-selection tool to now include environmental and geotechnical condition assessment. Stage1 combines Terracon’s extensive project data, compiled over its 50-plus year history, with environmental and geologic data sources from more than 700 public and private map sources, and curates it with the local experience of professionals from more than 150 offices to provide remote, site-specific site research without the cost, time and risk associated with intrusive exploration and investigation.

“Stage1 is Terracon’s way of maximizing the value of data in site selection and design,” said Mike Covert, P.G., national director of environmental services. “Adding environmental considerations to Stage1 allows our clients to quickly gain more knowledge of a potential project site, earlier in their evaluation, ahead of traditional due diligence.”

With the addition of environmental considerations Stage1 streamlines site selection into three key areas: geotechnical, subsurface environmental, and natural resources which includes cultural resources and historic places, wetlands and waters of the U.S, and protected species.

Stage1’s collaborative, fully online experience allows users to begin researching sites at no cost. Within five days of placement of an order, depending on project size, clients gain a deeper understanding of potentially significant issues which may impact development, a site rating of constructability, and recommendations for the next steps included within a Smart Work Plan.

"We’re driven to enhance excellent consulting with technology to improve upon the way we do business. At Terracon that means integrating our experience with vast data resources to improve our client’s experience,” said Vic Donald, P.E., national director of geotechnical services. "Looking creatively at the challenges our clients associate with site selection, we’ve developed a fast, low-cost solution for understanding both geotechnical and environmental factors, and it’s helping them make better, more informed decisions before traditional exploration begins.”

Clients in all sectors appreciate Stage1, particularly those in power generation and transmission looking for solar and wind sites, and in general building, especially when looking for data centers, warehouses, technology-based and multi-family sites. When a site is selected, Terracon professionals remain partners, guiding the environmental due diligence and geotechnical field exploration necessary for construction.

Terracon is an employee-owned consulting engineering firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states. Terracon currently ranks 22^nd on Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.