The A List Engineers

Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer diversifies for its clients

Richard Bub knows exactly when Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer & Associates Inc. hit its peak.

The Milwaukee Art Museum project was the company’s crowning achievement, said Bub, the company’s president and CEO.

“The structural design of the building took us to the very edges of what could be done,” said Bub, who joined the firm in the 1970s. “It’s a testament to what we have tried to do for 47 years.”

The structural engineering on the museum would have been enough of a challenge, but GAS also had to figure out the cable-supported bridge that spans Lincoln Memorial Drive on Milwaukee’s shoreline as well as the landscape architect’s wall of water concept.

Bub said the work the firm has done since on projects such as the Illinois Toll Way System might not invoke the same sort of pride as that surrounding the museum job, but it’s at the heart of GAS’ growth.

“Barrels on the freeway make my heart flutter,” he said, because it means more work in which the firm can be involved.

Over the years, GAS has diversified and grown. The company opened its doors in 1961 as a structural engineering firm. In the mid-1970s, it branched into municipal, transportation and wastewater issues.

Today the firm provides engineering for sports and recreation facilities, bridges, transportation, health care and everything in between.

The company’s physical growth has matched its expanded services. In the 1980s, geographical diversification began as services were added by purchasing other firms. GAS now has eight offices across the country, with the most recent addition coming from the acquisition of a mechanical engineering firm in Orlando, Fla.

“We continue to look for services to meet our clients’ needs,” said Bub.

The desire to provide clients with “one-stop shopping” has been the driving force behind GAS’ growth and development.

Bub noted that continued geographical diversification is increasingly necessary in the industry because the enrollment in academic engineering programs across the country is just not what it once was.

“We have to employ economies of scale,” said Bub, “and share work between locations to take advantage of the talents and staff that we have.”

— Lisa Loerzel