News

Established Pacific Northwest Area Materials Engineering Firm Embraces Terracon Name

Mayes Testing Engineers adopts new identity to align with Terracon

SEATTLE – Mayes Testing Engineers, Inc., a leading provider of construction quality assurance services in the Pacific Northwest, announced its full transition to Terracon. The Mayes team provides special inspections, materials testing, condition surveys, and other materials consulting for owners, developers, architects, contractors, and structural engineers.

“We have enjoyed being a part of Terracon over the last seven years and offering our clients’ expanded capabilities throughout Seattle and the Puget Sound region and are now ready to continue as Terracon,” said Kevin Graham, principal and office manager of Terracon’s Materials office in Lynnwood, Washington.

Since joining Terracon in 2016, the Mayes team has continued to provide its core services in coordination with Terracon’s service lines. It complements the company’s environmental, facilities, geotechnical and materials capabilities to bring the office count to 80.

Mayes Testing Engineers, Inc. was formed in 1991 by acquiring Boss Testing, initially established in 1984. Locally owned and operated, Mayes is known as one of the largest providers of construction quality assurance services in the Pacific Northwest, with in-depth structural steel, concrete, soils, masonry, structural wood, asphalt, and non-destructive testing experience.

Earlier this year Terracon transitioned environmental health and safety training company, Argus Pacific, into its brand. The Seattle-based provider specializes in custom classes in asbestos, lead, mold, hazardous waste, emergency response, and numerous other occupational health and safety topics.

About Terracon

Terracon is an employee-owned multidiscipline consulting firm with more than 6,000 curious minds focused on solving engineering and technical challenges from more than 175 locations nationwide. Explore with us by visiting terracon.com.

Strategic Growth Inspires Terracon’s Key Organizational Changes

OLATHE, Kan. – Terracon, a leading national consulting engineering firm comprised of engineers, scientists, architects, facilities experts, and field professionals announces strategic organizational changes to support client service, innovation and project delivery as the company continues to grow.

A new growth organization has been formed within Terracon focused on client development, marketing, and innovation. Leadership promotions and changes include:

• Michael O’Grady, P.E., to chief growth officer. He is responsible for expanding Terracon’s client base, focusing on innovation development, positioning in the marketplace, and driving the client experience.
• Jason Kephart to chief technology officer. He leads Terracon’s efforts around the development of innovation and digital services including new client delivery technology and communication solutions.
• David Harwood, P.E., to senior vice president of business transformation. He is focused on driving efficiency and implementing solutions for challenges within Terracon’s organization and marketplace.
• Vanessa Zambo, CPSM, to chief marketing officer. She will continue to drive excellence in positioning Terracon through a variety of new and traditional marketing channels, further developing the value of marketing nationwide, and advancing the client experience.
• Don Dracon, MBA, recently joined Terracon as senior vice president of client development. He is responsible for developing and executing national client development strategies and ensuring those strategies are linked with local operational goals.

“The organizational and leadership changes we’re making will enable us to grow and transform how we meet changing market dynamics going forward,” said Gayle Packer, Terracon chair, president, and CEO. “We’re excited to continue elevating how we partner with our clients throughout the lifecycle of their projects.”

Terracon is an employee-owned, multidiscipline consulting firm comprised of more than 6,000 curious minds focused on solving engineering and technical challenges from more than 175 locations nationwide. Explore with us by visiting terracon.com.

Terracon Announces Don Dracon as Senior Vice President of Client Development

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Terracon, a leading provider of environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services, has named Don Dracon, senior vice president of client development. He will be responsible for business and client development strategy, national accounts and national business sector oversight, and collaboration with operations development staff to link company and operational client development goals.

“I’m excited to become part of Terracon’s team as we continue to build upon the company’s long history of success and continuous growth,” Dracon said.

Dracon brings more than 30 years of business development and operational experience in the public and private sectors, including professional and technical services, consulting and engineering, and construction. He earned a Bachelor of Science in marine engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master of Business Administration in marketing and finance from Rutgers University. He is based in Terracon’s Charlotte office.

Terracon is an employee-owned multidiscipline consulting firm comprised of more than 6,000 curious minds focused on solving engineering and technical challenges from more than 175 locations nationwide. Explore with us by visiting terracon.com.

Terracon Receives 2022 EBJ and CCBJ Business Achievement Awards

Environmental Journal Recognizes Firm for Multiple Achievements

SAN DIEGO (March 2023) — Environmental Business Journal®* (EBJ), an independent business research publication that provides strategic market intelligence to the environmental industry, has honored Terracon with multiple awards, including two from Climate Change Business Journal (CCBJ).

“In a rather tumultuous year of economic ups and downs in 2022, a number of companies set themselves apart with performance, transactions, or projects that merit special consideration. With energy transition, climate resilience, and new federal programs driving business, as well as traditional environmental market drivers in infrastructure, air quality, remediation, water, and wastewater, it is understandable that most companies report growing demand for technology and services,” said Grant Ferrier, editor of Environmental Business Journal and chair of the selection committee.

Terracon was recognized with EBJ awards for Information Technology: Project Delivery, and Social Contribution: Terracon Foundation; and CCBJ awards for Technology Merit: Wind Power Infrastructure, and Industry Leadership: Disaster Response.

“Terracon is honored to be recognized by EBJ and CCBJ for the outstanding work we’re providing for our clients and also our contributions to our communities,” said Lori Cathcart, Terracon’s director of corporate sustainability. “As employee-owners, we are always looking for ways to improve how we serve our clients, care for each other and the environment, and give back to our communities.”

EBJ Awards

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Project Delivery

Terracon was recognized for Terracon Compass,  a real-time/on-time project delivery tool that enables clients to quickly find and view specific data to make timely, informed decisions about their projects. Advantages of Terracon Compass include tracking project milestones, viewing project site data and findings in an interactive GIS viewer, access to uploaded development and construction plans, and access to hundreds of publicly available GIS data layers to visualize conditions at a project site. Compass also enhances Terracon and client project team collaboration, along with preliminary and final deliverable access, viewing, and download. 

SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION: Terracon Foundation was recognized for awarding nearly $4 million to support education, the built and natural environment, and equity since its inception. The year 2022 was the firm’s most charitable to date, with more than $480,000 awarded in grants, matching gifts, and scholarships—all championed by Terracon’s employee-owners.

CCBJ Awards

TECHNOLOGY MERIT: Wind Power Infrastructure

Terracon’s engineering team was recognized for meeting the challenge of climate change by designing the next generation of wind foundations in partnership with Power Generation and Transmission (PG&T) leadership. The GripTerra pier foundation is the preferred sustainable choice for wind energy. Using patented and patent-pending designs, Terracon’s Pier and Anchor foundations install faster and with less concrete and excavation than traditional spread foot foundations.

INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP: Disaster Response

Terracon was recognized for disaster leadership both before and after Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, 2021. In the days prior to landfall, Terracon’s Disaster Leadership Team was already working diligently to anticipate clients’ needs and bolster their resiliency. Before the storm hit, multiple processes were underway, including approximating the storm’s path of damage, geographically staging instruments and equipment, assessing available qualified personnel, and preparing clients. On the day after landfall, team members assessed the damage to Terracon offices and the homes of Terracon personnel and addressed the immediate needs of clients and partners. In all, 41 Terracon employees from 19 Terracon offices provided various critical services.

The 2022 EBJ and CCBJ awards will be presented live and in-person at the EBJ Business Achievement Awards banquet at Environmental Industry Summit XXI on March 22-24, 2023, in San Diego, along with CCBJ Business Achievement, Lifetime Achievement, and 50-Year Company anniversary awards.

Environmental Business Journal has been published since 1988 by Environmental Business International Inc., an independent research and publishing company focused on the environmental and climate change industries.

* Environmental Business Journal® provides strategic market intelligence to executives and investors in 13 business segments of the environmental industry, including environmental consulting & engineering, remediation & industrial services, water & wastewater equipment, air quality & pollution control equipment, hazardous waste management, resource recovery, solid waste management, water/wastewater infrastructure, renewable energy, and environmental instrumentation & information systems.

About Terracon

Terracon is an employee-owned multidiscipline consulting firm comprised of more than 6,000 curious minds focused on solving engineering and technical challenges from more than 175 locations nationwide. Explore with us by visiting terracon.com.

Building the Bridge to the Future with Innovations and Talent

Our present is the future that was once envisioned. While we can sometimes anticipate the future with some precision, other times important innovations have not been anticipated at all. The accuracy of predictions can vary as much as individual opinions, but we know for sure that what engineers do today directly impacts what actualizes tomorrow.

So which ideas and practices will be the ones that determine the direction of the future? It’s the ideas and innovations that surface now that will bridge the gap into what’s next and to the next generation.

We can confidently anticipate that tech solutions for exploration will continue to evolve and multiply. At Terracon, we are continually looking for new ways to solve the issues impacting current projects, while anticipating future challenges. These innovations include pavement technology solutions and a new family of wind turbine foundations using earth-friendly design.

Pavement Technology Solutions

Pavement repairs can exhaust maintenance and capital budgets and drain resources. This is why we leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create pavement management solutions that allow us to dramatically improve our understanding of pavement conditions. We can more efficiently plan for maintenance and rehabilitation strategies to proactively meet clients’ short- and long-term goals. Timely, accurate, and sufficient data is integral to our pavement solutions. Terracon utilizes digital data collection and AI to create a customized data-driven pavement management strategy that helps clients optimize their budgets and mitigate future risks.

Answering Wind Power Demand Sustainably

Wind energy is a growing renewable alternative for power generation and transmission Terracon’s approach helps clients optimize wind energy project design and minimize risk, saving time and money. In the past five years, Terracon has supported more than 1,800 wind projects across 38 states.

Terracon’s GripTerra^SM family of wind turbine foundations are designed specifically to address today’s 3 to 6 MW land-based turbines, utilizing earth-friendly designs which reduce both materials and construction time, offer re-powering and design life extension solutions, and reduce the overall carbon footprint of projects.

Building our Workforce

One way we get to the future is through experienced people in the engineering ecosystem mentoring the next generation. This includes engineers as well as those working in design, construction, technology, field work, scientific discovery, laboratory science, and more, all taking the time to share their knowledge. Every year Terracon seeks promising talent from colleges across the U.S. for internships in their fields of interest.

While outreach to today’s younger students will remain important in the future, the rate of population growth in the U.S. and other countries is projected to decline sharply. This will translate into major labor shortages in A/E/C, as well as entire economies.

At Terracon, we’re continually investing in the next generation of engineering by supporting events and programs that engage young people early to the wide array of career possibilities that engineering can offer. For several years, we’ve been executing an annual event with nearly 200 Girl Scouts in the Kansas City area that provides hands-on opportunities to explore the world of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math). Every year Terracon’s internship program attracts dozens of promising university and college students for 12-week periods of paid training with some of our brightest minds. Internships are available at our offices in most states, and offer benefits including a dedicated mentor, company-paid training for industry certifications, hands-on lab and field experience, and the opportunity to build skills in project and business management.

This is an exciting time to be in the A/E/C industry, and engineering is at the forefront. Every innovation is taking us forward one day at a time.