North American design firm Stantec has signed a letter of intent to acquire SHW Group, a leading architectural, engineering and planning firm with four offices in Texas. The acquisition is expected to be final in May. SHW’s education planning, design and engineering services to higher education and K-12 clients will reinforce Stantec’s existing education expertise, Stantec said in a news release May 6.
“Having SHW join Stantec bolsters our emerging presence in Texas and Michigan,” said Stantec president and CEO Bob Gomes,” and will also help diversity Stantec’s buildings practice by growing our education sector in an expanding U.S. market.” Founded in 1945, SHW has grown to nearly 300 employees and eight offices nationwide. In addition to offices in Plano, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, SHW has four offices in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. The firm’s clients include Texas A&M University, the University of Texas, Michigan State and the University of Michigan as well as the University of Virginia and Villanova University. SHW also has an expansive K-12 portfolio, having completed major building programs for numerous school districts in Texas, Michigan, Virginia and Maryland.
SHW is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top 10 education design firms, including No. 1 in Texas by Engineering News Record and No. 2 in the U.S. K-12 market by Building Design & Construction’s 2013 Giants 300 Report. Upon completion of the acquisition, Stantec’s team will total more than 180 in Texas, and the firm will have more than 1,000 buildings consulting professionals across the U.S. Betty Dillard bdillard@bizpress.net