Nelson, the acquisition-minded design, engineering, and space-management firm, is expanding its reach in the western United States by acquiring EHS Design, a Seattle-based architecture and interior design outfit with 21 associates and net fee billings this year of $3.5 million. The merger becomes effective on January 1.
This represents Nelson’s fifth merger or acquisition in 2014, during which the firm’s net fee revenue has increased by 60% to $65 million. Over the past 14 years, Nelson has merged with or acquired nearly 30 companies, and it currently has 35 locations and nearly 500 teammates around the world.
The EHS Design deal is a continuation of Nelson’s strategy to expand into new geographies, said John “Ozzie” Nelson, Jr., the company’s CEO. Nelson had a presence in the Seattle market, but will now have an office location there, whose day-to-day operations will be managed by Mindy Howard, one of EHS’s founders. Mia Marshall, a managing principal with EHS since July 2003, was named managing principal of the Seattle office, which will oversee the combined companies’ operations and business.
Jack Emick, one of EHS’s founders and its director of operations, will now focus on building and maintaining client relationships. As a result of the sale, “we will be able to reach existing and new clients on a national and international level, while offering an expanded array of services,” said Emick.
The terms of Nelson’s acquisition of EHS were not disclosed. EHS Design will operate as a division of Nelson. Both companies were founded in 1977. This is the second merger in EHS’s history; in 1992, it joined forces with Paul Seibert & Associates, a financial facilities design firm. Seibert, an EHS principal, will continue working with financial institutions and expand his responsibilities into retail environments in the U.S.
Related Stories
| Jul 19, 2013
BIM 2.0: AEC firms share their vision for the great leap forward in BIM/VDC implementation [2013 Giants 300 Report]
We reached out to dozens of AEC firms that made our annual BIM Giants lists and asked one simple question: What does BIM 2.0 look like to you? Here’s what they had to offer.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, DPR, Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
URS, STV, Wiss Janney Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, HDR top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Best in brick: 7 stunning building façades made with brick [slideshow]
The Brick Industry Association named the winners of its 2013 Brick in Architecture Awards. Here are seven winning projects that caught our eye.
| Jul 19, 2013
Construction lags other sectors, but momentum is building: JLL report
Although the construction recovery continues to lag other sectors as well as the overall U.S. economy, the industry is finally seeing a rebound. Commercial real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle recently released its Summer 2013 Construction Highlights report, which found that there are some sectors (such as energy and high-tech) driving demand for construction, while a few major cities are starting to record increased levels of speculative office building developments.
| Jul 19, 2013
Must see: 220 years of development on Capitol Hill in one snazzy 3D flyover video
The Architect of the Capitol this week released a dramatic video timeline of 220 years of building development on Capitol Hill.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Local Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Clark Group, PCL top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Local Government Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
STV, URS, AECOM top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Local Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, IBI Group top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.