Next time you see us it might be in your local grocery store instead of the job site. We’ve decided it’s not enough to hop on a plane to come visit. We want to be a member of the community. As part of our growth strategy, you will now find SSOE offices in St. Paul, Minnesota; Midland, Michigan; Washington DC; and Shanghai, China (see story on page 2). Our St. Paul office, led by David Smith, P.E., is a prime example of how our growth promotes your growth. One of the clients this office serves is Freedom Fuels in nearby Mason City, Iowa. Due to growing energy costs and environmental concerns, this emerging business in the biodiesel market stands at the brink of tremendous growth. Our creative project approach, including partners who help with financing and experts who help with process development, are making this investor’s dream a reality (read more on page 3). In addition, St. Paul serves local clients like Northshore Mining, a client and industry experiencing tremendous growth due to China’s increasing demand for iron (see page 2 for how we’re helping mining companies grow their operations safely). Continue Reading →

In addition to adding to our capabilities with nationally recognized talent such as Ed Royzman, we are also taking significant strides to maintain the experts we already have. SSOE understands we’ll only experience continued growth by nurturing and adding to the brightest professionals in the industry. To ensure we’re retaining the best, SSOE is expanding the reach of our ownership structure. This structure will add seven principals (see sidebar for a list of our new principals) and give more than 15% of our regular, full-time employees a chance to own a piece of the pie. Continue Reading →

Starting business operations in China involves navigating a complex process of bureaucratic requirements which are prevalent in emerging economies. Language barriers, remote locations with decision makers on several continents, cultural differences, and even time differences are bigger obstacles than most companies can navigate alone. With that in mind, SSOE brought on-board Enzo Colonna, managing director of SSOE China, who has over 12 years of experience managing projects and operations in China. SSOE China combines our familiarity with the domestic U.S. market and the business conditions motivating you to move overseas, with our knowledge of how to do business in China. This makes your move to China possible quick, easy, and cost-effective. From offices in both the U.S. and Shanghai our expertise leads you through the Chinese design and construction project delivery process, which is even more demanding than in the U.S. The Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) project delivery method is how 95% of projects are completed in international markets. SSOE China has established relationships—that means you don’t have to spend your time searching for and evaluating partners. We have the relationships, expertise and the systems all in place. That’s one stop shopping. Continue Reading →

LEED™, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a voluntary standard for the design of sustainable facilities sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. Earning LEED™ certification – especially at the Gold level – means a business is extremely serious about safeguarding the environment. The lengthy LEED™ certification process rates buildings in six major categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, construction materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design processes. Honda of America received a Gold LEED™ Award for their Central Utility Building, the utility plant providing power throughout the Honda campus in Raymond, Ohio. Since Honda R&D Americas Inc. develops innovative technologies in environmental protection, performance and safety, its buildings utilize the latest “green” technologies as well. The award-winning structure, known as Building 10 on Honda R&D’s Central Ohio campus, supplements the original utility plant providing power now and into the future while meeting the goal of providing an energy-efficient utility operation within an energy-efficient building. Continue Reading →

The time has now come where the pretty pictures translate into tangible benefits to our clients. “The biggest benefit from Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology is that it allows us to do investigation faster – to provide design options quickly and more thoroughly,” explains David Semproch, architect. “Design is about continuously searching for the best answer from many possible solutions. Building Information Modeling allows us to harvest a lot more information sooner, providing key details that influence other design decisions.” Continue Reading →