Top Design Firms
By Scott Blair

Welcome to Southwest Contractor's annual ranking of the top design firms. This year we have continued to improve the section to provide the most accurate and useful information to our readers in an easy-to-read format.

The information you will find on the following pages was provided by the companies themselves. We sent surveys to hundreds of architects and engineers in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, and received information on 148 companies, the most responses we have ever received. Thank you to all the companies who took the time to fill out the data.

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The Top 125 overall rankings are based upon each company's revenue for 2002 in the tri-state area. There are also state-by-state rankings, as well as rankings in various specialties, such as environmental and transportation.

This year we added several new specialty categories to better represent the diversity of the design firms in this region. You will find new rankings for the largest civil engineers, geotechnical, mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineers (MPE), surveying and project anagement.

The revenue for the largest 100 firms topped the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2002, despite the overall slump in the construction industry. Design activity is an excellent indicator for future construction activity, and if the 2002 revenue reported by these firms is any indication, we should now be within the beginnings of a stable growth period.

Arizona's top 20 design firms saw a 17.6 percent gain over 2001 revenue. "There is a lot of potential for work," said Brandon Parker, Arizona operations manager for the engineering firm MWH, which ranked 15th overall. "Though opportunities may have been limited due to a slowed economy, we've increased our presence in water, and our environmental and mining sectors have been strong, especially with reclamation of brownfields and aged mining operations. We are very positive for future growth. We have begun to realize the benefits of past mergers by responding to the industry's request for full service firms."

Nevada also saw a 17 percent increase in revenue amongst its top 20 design firms.
"We've gained market share in growth markets such as residential land development," said Dennis Waibel, senior vice president with Carter & Burgess.

"Meanwhile, we are holding steady in the more stagnant markets, including commercial and industrial. With the funding approved through Question 10 (a $2.7 billion funding initiative approved by Nevada voters last year), transportation and public works projects are gaining momentum throughout the Las Vegas valley." The company ranked 10th overall, and 5th in Nevada.

New Mexico even saw double-digit growth among the top 20 design firms. Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers, ranked No. 7 in New Mexico, has found growth in the hospital sector, as well as with the Department of Energy in Sandia and Los Alamos, according to John B Grapsas, executive vice president for the company. "What hasn't been very active is the commercial sector, and I don't see anything changing in the near future," Grapsas said. "With the region having slowed down in previous years, it resulted in layoffs. We've seen an increase in available engineers with great technical ability, so we've built up our team just as the industry as a whole starts growing again.
Now that our staff's abilities are maturing, it has helped us to do more technically superior work, which tends to get you noticed and give you repeat business. We've also developed key partnerships with other construction companies and owners, and have seen design/build become a significant part of our business."

For information on how your company can participate in future rankings, please contact Southwest Contractor at 602-631-3080.

The following companies with revenue under $750,000 were not included in the overall ranking due to space constraints.

$500,000 to $750,000 revenue: McKown Belanger Associates PC, West Consultants, Inc., Douglas Fredrikson Architects, Versar Inc., DARcor & Associates, Inc., Hayes Architecture/ Interiors Inc., Erickson & Meeks Engineering LLC, Kubota & Associates Engineers, Ltd., Sherman Group Inc., Designlink Architecture & Planning, Morfeld Associates, Kegel Engineering Consultants Inc. $500,000 and under: Arterra Inc., TMAD Engineers, DeBartolo Architects Ltd., Klein & Associates, Fielden & Partners, Sonoran Desert Designs, Sage Design Studios Inc., Parisella Architects.

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>Top Design Firms - Arizona
>Top Design Firms - Nevada
>Top Design Firms - New Mexico
>Top Design Firms by category