News

Gaboury Honored with Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 Award in Central Midwest

OLATHE, Kan. --- Ernst & Young LLP announced David R. Gaboury, P.E., president and CEO of Terracon, a winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2013 Award in the Central Midwest at a gala event at the Sheraton in Overland Park, Kan., on Thursday, Jun. 20, 2013.

The award recognizes outstanding high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

"This is a great honor because it recognized the collective success of our more than 3,000 associates nationwide," said Gaboury.

Gaboury joined Terracon in 1997 as executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer, and was named president and CEO in 2002. Gaboury has more than 20 years of experience as an engineer with expertise in environmental, geo-environmental, and water resources engineering. He is a graduate of the Harvard School of Business Advanced Management Program and holds a master's and bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Massachusetts at Amherst, respectively.

When Gaboury joined Terracon, the company was a successful Midwest consulting engineering firm. The entrepreneurial opportunity and challenge for him at the time was to increase Terracon's success and profitably grow the firm to become a national leader in its industry. As an outside hire, Gaboury's first challenge was to strike a balance between showing appreciation for the firm's previous successes and bringing in his new ideas and vision. This was accomplished by developing strong relationships within the company and building consensus around the strategic direction of the firm through the development and implementation of clear, concise strategic plans.

The entrepreneurial building blocks that Gaboury used to consistently and profitably grow the firm included building and strengthening Terracon's existing services while adding adjacent service lines; emphasizing the balance of internal and acquisition growth; building a core competency of identifying, making, and integrating acquisitions; and developing corporate services consisting of best in class corporate functions (e.g., information technology, legal, finance, and accounting, etc.). He also emphasized a concept that Terracon field offices were the "clients of the corporate office" and should be treated as such, through timely response to requests, quality corporate support, and other various other activities that contributed to the success of these offices.

Gaboury has also built a future entrepreneurial strategy for continued success that is outlined in Terracon's five-year Strategic Plan 2017. The plan includes three key parts that include expanding adjacent service lines related to the company's core service lines; emphasizing employee safety, wellbeing, and engagement not as a mere business strategy, but based on genuine care and concern for employees and their families; and expanding Terracon's business presence outside the United States. He also established and regularly emphasizes Terracon's purpose of "Delivering Success to Employees, Clients, and Communities."

Gaboury and the nine other winners in the Central Midwest will now go on to compete at the national level. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the National Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on Nov. 16, 2013.

About Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year^®

Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award recognizes the significant contributions of entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 167,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential. For more information, please visit ey.com.

About Terracon

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities services from more than 130 offices in 39 states nationwide. Terracon currently ranks 38th on Engineering News-Record's List of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, please visit: www.terracon.com

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Consulting Firm Awards Grant to the University of Utah-Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health to Expand Online Graduate Certificate Program

In commemoration of Utah Workplace Safety Week, the Terracon Foundation will present a $12,000 grant to the University of Utah-Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH) to assist in expanding the organization's online occupational safety and health graduate certificate program.

The grant will be presented to RMCOEH by Donald Marano, president of IHI Environmental, a Terracon Company, on Friday, June 28, at the AFL-CIO Convention taking place at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City. The timing of the grant award during Utah Workplace Safety Week is quite relevant according to Marano, who has had a close working relationship with the RMCOEH in various capacities over the past 33 years.

"This funding will contribute to the future safety of workers by providing online educational tools for the health and safety students of today, who will be the practitioners of tomorrow," Marano said. "The program will also advance our profession by giving students more alternatives to learn about various occupational hazards, solutions to these challenges, and proactive measures for prevention of injury and illness in the workplace."

Marano added that the grant will support the RMCOEH program in issuing graduate certificates in Occupational Safety and Health through online courses to individuals desiring to expand their knowledge and skills in their fields of expertise. These certificates will include ergonomics and safety, industrial hygiene, occupational health, and general occupational safety and health.

The creation of a graduate certificate program for studies related to occupational and environmental health and safety provides the opportunity for individuals who are working in these or related fields to obtain increased information and training to improve their skills at a pace that will generally fit their schedule and while continuing to work full-time.

In addition, the students who take courses for the program will be permitted to apply the course credits they successfully complete toward a Master of Science degree in the future. University of Utah Professor and RMCOEH Director Dr. Kurt Hegmann acknowledged the importance of the award.

"We are very excited about receiving this grant from the Terracon Foundation, as it will provide much needed support for faculty time to convert our industrial hygiene courses to a distance-based format," Hegmann said. "We are also very pleased about extending our long-term, symbiotic relationship with IHI Environmental to their new parent company, Terracon."

Terracon acquired local consulting firm of 33 years, IHI Environmental, during early 2013.

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials and facilities services from more than 130 offices in 39 states nationwide. Terracon currently ranks 38th on Engineering News-Record's List of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, please visit: www.terracon.com.

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New Chief Information Officer Announced as Predecessor Retires After 14 Years of Service

OLATHE, Kan. -- Terracon Consultants, Inc. has appointed Jason Kephart as the company's new Chief Information Officer (CIO). Kephart will begin his tenure in early July replacing current CIO, Frank Milano, who will retire after 14 years of service with the company.

Outgoing Milano has made tremendous contributions to the firm. As the company's first CIO, he built the Terracon Information Technology (IT) Department from a few individuals to a team of more than 50.

After Milano made his retirement announcement in late February, Terracon conducted an applicant search to find the person best suited to serve in this critical role. The company also considered internal employee applicants for the position that included Kephart. After screening and interviewing several candidates, Kephart was chosen as Terracon's new CIO based on his enthusiasm, proven track record at Terracon, strategic direction for the IT Department, and vision for partnerships with operations.

Kephart earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Western Michigan University in 1995 and began his IT career that same year in Detroit, Mich., as a Systems Engineer for Electronic Data Systems. He spent the next eight years leading software development teams in the Kansas City area for Advanced Business Consultants, Quilogy, and Sprint.

Kephart joined Terracon in 2004 as Application Services Manager and was later promoted to Technical Services Manager in 2009. In this role, he provided technical and management oversight for the infrastructure architecture, network administration, and desktop support functions of Terracon's IT department. During this time, Kephart worked alongside Milano for nine years helping making key decisions related to the growth and development of IT at Terracon. He also earned an MBA from Baker University in 2010.

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities services from more than 130 offices in 39 states nationwide. Terracon currently ranks 38th on Engineering News-Record's List of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, please visit: www.terracon.com

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Terracon and Dunkelberger Engineering and Testing Join Forces to Expand and Enhance Service Offerings to Clients

OLATHE, Kan. --- Terracon Consultants, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Dunkelberger Engineering and Testing, Inc., based in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Founded in 1994, Dunkelberger provides geotechnical engineering, construction materials and inspection, environmental assessments, and building inspection services. Client sectors include aviation, infrastructure, government, commercial real estate, power, and solid waste. Dunkelberger has additional offices located in Fort Lauderdale, Port St. Lucie, and Sarasota.

"Joining with Dunkelberger adds to our expertise and enhances our current service offerings," said David Gaboury, P.E., president and CEO of Terracon. "The depth of their experience will bring more value to our clients in Florida and nationally. We are excited to have them become a part of Terracon."

Terracon is retaining Dunkelberger's 60 employees and will continue operations as Dunkelberger, a Terracon Company.

"For nearly 20 years, Dunkelberger Engineering and Testing, Inc. has maintained its reputation as a highly trusted engineering consultant in providing services to our clients in South Florida," said Doug Dunkelberger, P.E., president and CEO of Dunkelberger. "We fit very well with Terracon, both strategically and culturally, and together we'll be even better to serve clients throughout Florida. This merger also reunites us with familiar colleagues and friends that were formerly Nodarse and Associates, a Terracon acquisition in 2011. I'm excited about the depth and strength of our Florida team, and look forward to our future with Terracon."

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials and facilities services from more than 130 offices in 39 states nationwide. Terracon currently ranks 38th on Engineering News-Record's List of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, please visit: www.terracon.com

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Terracon Named #38 on ENR's 2013 Top 500 Design Firms List

OLATHE, Kan. --- Engineering News-Record (ENR) ranked Terracon #38 on its 2013 Top 500 Design Firms list, moving up from #39 in 2012, showing Terracon's consistent performance above industry average.

ENR annually surveys the construction industry to determine the 500 largest U.S.-based engineering, architectural, and environmental design firms. The rankings are based on design-specific revenue generated by each company.

Terracon's total revenues were $395.6 million for 2012. Terracon's top four sectors (Commercial/Retail, State/Local Government, Industry/Agriculture, and Institutional) accounted for 73 percent of revenues in total. Revenues from the State/Local Government Sector were up more than 26 percent in 2012.

In 2012, Terracon acquired three highly-reputable companies in the United States. IHI Environmental, Liesch Associates, Inc., and Earthtec, Inc. joined forces with Terracon, adding nine offices and more than 130 employees to strengthen and expand services.

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities services from more than 130 offices in 39 states nationwide. For additional information about Terracon, please visit www.terracon.com.

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