In with the New

A new year is upon us, and Prime Engineering is ready to meet it. 2022 was a wild ride in many ways. But for Prime Engineering, its staff, and its clients, I think 2022, and certainly 2023, will be remembered for a fair share of blessings – blessings I’m confident will make the future exciting and rewarding for both Prime and our clients.

Looking Back and Going Forward

The biggest and most significant change from 2022 was the transition of Prime Engineering President Tom Gambino to his new role as Founder. Tom started Prime in his home 33 years ago and, through talent, integrity, and dogged determination, built the business into a nationally respected Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (A/E/C) firm.

In Tom’s place I have assumed the role of Prime Engineering’s President, a position I find both rewarding and challenging. Tom has been a pioneer and a leader in the A/E/C field, and I clearly have very big shoes to fill, but with the support of our wonderful team and clients, I know that Prime and the Stratus Team have a bright future.

What’s the Stratus Team? Well, that’s the second part of the story. Courtesy of an investment from private equity firm Godspeed Capital, Prime has become a leading partner in Stratus Team, LLC, a multidisciplinary engineering and architecture platform of companies. Today, Stratus consists of five firms providing a spectrum of services for clients. The partners that form Stratus include:

• Prime Engineering
• Austin Brockenbrough & Associates
• Ascent Engineering Group
• Zyscovich
• Morris + Associates

What does this mean for our clients? Several times the bench strength, several times the resources, and an array of entirely new disciplines under one unified corporate umbrella. From an Atlanta-based beginning, Prime and the Stratus Team now have 14 offices across the continental US, with further expansions planned in 2023 and beyond.

With this growth come opportunities and challenges. To meet 2023 head on and steer ourselves to where we need to be in a variety of new and expanding markets, we’ve promoted deserving employees across the platform, including:

• Chase Bailey, PE was promoted to lead Prime’s Industrial Group as its Director and Vice President. An electrical engineer by training, Chase has a demonstrated history of success in the food and beverage, steel, special alloys, coal, and natural gas industries.
• Kalyn Keeney, PE, LEED AP was promoted to Department Head of Prime’s Civil/Site Group. With 20 years of civil engineering experience, Kalyn has been instrumental in the success of Prime’s Infrastructure Department, and we’re excited to see her take this leadership role in 2023.
• As our Midwest footprint grows, we have hired Krista Meyers, PE to head our vital Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky office. Cincinnati is not only home base for the considerable body of work we do at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) airport, but also a hub for our expanding client base in industries including energy, food & beverage, and more. Krista brings a wealth of engineering experience coupled with project-management expertise for clean-design engineering, consumer-product, and packaging projects throughout the Midwest.
• Adam Weible, PE, PMP is now Prime’s Vice President and Director of Growth. Based in Huntington, Adam has extensive experience as a civil, structural, and process engineer across the industrial and energy industries. Adam is instrumental in helping Prime expand its footprint across markets including our transportation, industrial, infrastructure, and other portfolios.
• With our firm’s expansion, the task of bolstering Prime’s growing family of talented people grows ever more challenging, and so we’ve elevated Courtney Lutz as leader of Human Resources and Executive Assistant. Courtney tirelessly wears many hats and has quickly become indispensable to the Prime team. Courtney also serves as the Executive Assistant to Stratus Team, LLC’s Executive Leadership team.
• Brooke Lewis, CPSM was promoted to head Prime’s Marketing Department. Brooke has excelled in spearheading and refining Prime’s branding, business development, and corporate communications functions.
• The expanded roster and capability have allowed us to revamp our corporate structure. Each technical discipline now has its own Department Head, allowing disciplines like architecture, structural engineering, and electrical engineering to operate as stand-alone entities headed by a senior expert in the appropriate field. This change gives us far greater flexibility in combining disciplines to meet the challenges of the increasingly complex, multidisciplinary projects on which we work, letting us bring tremendous focus and synergy.

In the News

The coming year brings about a murky outlook for the world. We’ve all seen the headlines, informing (and sometimes direly warning) us of events domestic and international. All of these high-profile stories have a direct effect on our business:

• The topic that hits closest to home for most of us is inflation. It’s scary, no doubt. Prices have skyrocketed while in many cases wages have not risen to compensate. While inflation is expected to ease this year, consumers and businesses across the board have taken a hit to their pocketbooks as cash-strapped customers spend less. Prime has dealt with the same storms everyone else has, but we’re fortunate that in previous years we have made significant investments in critical technologies and refined our service delivery to be more efficient.
• The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine continues to dominate the news cycle. The conflict and the world’s response to it push oil prices upward, which will continue to have trickle-down effects in 2023. In response, Prime is aggressively expanding our oil & gas service offering, including a new office in the vital Texas region.
• In the petroleum market, the United States’ liquid natural gas (LNG) market has experienced significant volatility, riding on strong European Union demand for LNG given the fallout from the Russia/Ukraine war. With demand for LNG currently outstripping supply, we’re forecasting the opportunity to leverage our expertise to support the effort.
• 2022 also saw the debut of the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, intended to provide a massive overhaul of America’s transportation, communication, and utilities infrastructure. To date, more than $185 billion worth of project funds have been disbursed for projects ranging from roads and bridges to water distribution and reclamation facilities to new charging stations for electric vehicles. Prime is positioning itself to take the lead in designing facilities and infrastructure that put We the People’s money to good use.

In Conclusion

Regardless of how we grow or what change the new year brings, one thing I can assure you – a tenet to which I am passionately committed – is that, even as Prime grows in capability and footprint, it will never lose the personal touch that Tom Gambino was fervent about cultivating. Tom made his name in the industry with his non-negotiable Service Commitment to be personally available to each and every client. I am honored to continue this tradition – you can call me directly with questions or concerns about our service and I will respond personally and promptly.

And in the new year as in all years previous, we’ll maintain our 10 core employee values:

So while 2023 will undoubtedly usher in many new changes, our talented team will continue to provide excellent service to our customers, who serve the country’s and world’s most vital needs.