Stantec’s professional consulting services include the traditional design disciplines of planning, architecture, interior design, engineering, surveying and mapping. Founded in 1954 by Dr. Don Stanley, Stantec began as a one-man consulting operation based in Alberta, Canada, and remained focused on municipal water and wastewater projects for most of its first two decades. Through a series of carefully planned acquisitions, the company has grown to be a market leader, with 3,500 employees operating out of 40 locations in North America and the Caribbean. Over the last half century, it has broadened its scope of operations to include project management, economic analysis, performance engineering and project validations. Stantec has completed more than 40,000 projects in 80 countries around the world. It is a public company, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol STN.
Stantec serves five distinct markets: buildings, transportation, the environment, the industrial sector, urban land and management systems. It offers services in all phases in a project’s life cycle, from planning and design to construction and maintenance. Public works projects represent about 35 percent of Stantec’s business in Nevada.
Although two-thirds of its Nevada revenue comes from engineering, the company engages in a broad range of other kinds of consulting. It has biologists, archeologists, geologists and other diverse professionals on staff. Its consulting projects have included: an inventory for the Nevada Department of Tourism of all sites in each rural county that might be of interest to travelers; consulting work on whether particular projects or events (including President George W. Bush’s inauguration) complied with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and a project for the University of Alberta in Edmonton, to monitor how its facilities are aging and to schedule capital improvements as needed.
Stantec came to Reno five years ago when it purchased SEA, the largest engineering firm in Northern Nevada, which was founded in 1954. In 1997, Stantec established a Southern Nevada presence and in October 2001, it merged with Pentacore, an 11-year-old Nevada engineering firm with over 200 employees. Stantec currently employs 150 people at its Las Vegas office and an additional 100 in Reno. Tim Terrill, PE, is the Stantec vice president in charge of the Las Vegas branch, and Frank Alverson heads the Reno office. Stantec’s Las Vegas operations have expanded so quickly that it will be moving into a new headquarters this month. Comprised of six buildings in a campus-style office park, the new facility replaces nine leased buildings spread out throughout the city.
What is the secret of Stantec’s success? “I believe our success lies in how Stantec is set up,” said Terrill. “Our technical people must also have business sense. Stantec values leadership skills and strong accounting backgrounds, and it has developed a network of policies and procedures to manage human relations. It lays out a strategic plan and then executes it.”
Recent Stantec Projects in Nevada
Fairfield Timeshare, Las Vegas. Engineering services, civil improvements and landscape design for a two-building, 17-story timeshare project, which included rerouting a large natural wash around the proposed buildings.
Southern Highlands Master-Planned Community, Henderson. Planning and development for a 2,000-acre community with three residential villages, a commercial village, an 18-hole golf course, parks, trails and infrastructure.
Charleston Heights Water Facilities Improvements, Las Vegas. Demolition of a reservoir and three pumping stations, and design of a new 20 million-gallon reservoir and two pumping stations inside the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.
Boulder City Water Delivery Improvements, Boulder City. Professional planning, design and construction services for improvements to the city’s water supply system, including plans to meet projected demands within the next 30 years.
I-15 Widening, Sahara to Charleston, Las Vegas. On-site construction inspection, bridge inspection and material testing, submittal and shop drawing review, electrical inspection and as-built survey.
Las Vegas Beltway, Hualapai Way to Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas. Construction management and administration of approximately 2.5 miles of Beltway, including quality assurance inspection and materials testing.
Pyramid Lake Junior/Senior High School, Nixon. Structural engineering, civil engineering, geotechnical, surveying and landscape architecture services.
Washoe Valley Wetlands, Washoe Valley. Design for a 600-acre wetland at the south end of Washoe Lake, including levees, irrigation and tailwater ditches, turnout structures, access roads and culverts.
Stead Hydrologic and Hydraulic Master Plan, Reno. A master plan for Stead, Nevada, including a hydrologic analysis and model of existing conditions and future proposed conditions.
New Nevada Museum of Art, Reno. Survey, geotechnical, entitlement processing, building plans for civil and landscape design.
Geiger Grade/Toll Road Realignment, Reno. Construction drawings for the realignment and widening of Geiger Grade and Toll Road for RTC and NDOT.
Sparks Marina Special Assessment District, Sparks. Preliminary design plans and assessment engineering.
ArrowCreek Bridges, Washoe County. Professional engineering services for three bridges at the golf community of ArrowCreek.
Sparks Boulevard Extension, Sparks. Engineering and associated services for an arterial extension project.
