The nice thing about renovating an office for a company of consulting engineers is that all of the changes are guaranteed to be structurally sound.
The new offices of Crozier Consulting Engineers at 57 John St. W. in Bradford have been extensively renovated – transformed from the cubbyholes and small rooms of a former law office, into an open work space that includes offices, drafting tables and a board room for meetings with clients.
It is Crozier Consulting Engineers’ fourth office. The first opened in Collingwood in 2004. Since then, the company has expanded, opening offices in Milton, Toronto, “and now Bradford,” said Marketing Manager Shannon Harvey. “Bradford is second to Milton, as the fastest-growing municipality. We wanted to get in the game early.”
The office opened its doors in May. On July 25, Crozier Consulting Engineers held the official ribbon-cutting, with garden party attended by staff, members of the Bradford Board of Trade, client representatives, and Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Rob Keffer.
The company’s clients range from Strathallen Group, currently developing lands at County Road 88 and Highway 400, to local property managers and home-owners.
“We do everything, from as big as the civil work for Strathallen, to a custom staircase,” explained Harvey.
The office currently houses a staff of five engineers, including Jim Koutroubis, professional engineer, senior project manager, and office manager for the Bradford branch.
Koutroubis, former director of engineering services for the Town of Newmarket and recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, left that position after 13 years to take a “once in a lifetime” family trip to Greece. When he returned, he was recruited by Crozier, to “mentor some new kids coming up, and open some offices.”
Koutroubis is enthusiastic about the ‘Crozier Way.’ “We’re ‘client first’ oriented,” he said, committed to working with clients, municipalities and conservation authorities to find engineering solutions, including new types of “Low Impact Development” (LID) that really work.
So much of what was embraced in the early days of LID “might not work in five years,” Koutroubis warned. “As engineers, we have to learn what works, what doesn’t work… We try to lead the way.”
It was a sentiment echoed by company founder and Principal Chris Crozier. Accepting congratulations from BWG Mayor Rob Keffer on the opening of the Bradford office, he said, “Bradford’s really important to us. We’ve been talking about Bradford for three years. We see South Simcoe as a really big part of our future.”
Crozier noted that the Collingwood office, which started with only a handful of engineers, now has a staff of 65. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “Our plans are very big for Bradford.”
And, he promised, the “dozens of employees” who will live and work in the community, will also be involved in community activities, from minor sports and the Board of Trade, to charities like Big Brothers Big Sisters. “They will play a little part in the growth of the community,” he said.
“It’s great that you’re here, an engineering company in this town where so much is happening,” said Mayor Keffer.
C.F. Crozier & Associates Consulting Engineers, located at 57 John St. W., provides pre-engineering assessments; site servicing (water/sanitary mains, drain and road) system design; stormwater management design; structural, mechanical and electrical design; transportation planning; construction contract administration and review, and other engineering services. Contact 905-952-3111, or [email protected] or Shannon Harvey, [email protected].
