Twenty-nineteen marks the 15th year of business for Engineering Solutions. Founded in March 2004 in Harrisonburg, VA, we have grown to a company of 14 employees and 3 locations. We work on projects in Central Virginia and beyond, with licenses in 16 states.
When starting the company, Brian Koerner wanted the chance to lead. Over the years, he has gotten to not only lead, but also to foster other leaders.
“Watching my team develop and grow professionally has been very rewarding,” said Brian. “When we first started, I handled everything. Now, as we’ve brought in more people and they’ve taken on leadership roles, I’ve been able to find a good balance.”
(Photo of Brian Koerner, in the early years of ES.)
Work-life balance is a value that the whole team shares, and it’s something Brian instilled from the very beginning.
“I wanted to create a company culture that valued employees as professionals but also as people with families and interests outside of the office,” Brian said. “I believe our success is due in part to the energy everyone is able to bring to their work because of the balance they have outside of it.”
Valerie Hill, one of the first engineers in the Charlottesville office when it opened in 2014, says she has had training opportunities over the last five years that have made her work more fulfilling.
“I recently earned my P.E. and was able to go to a conference in Chicago for continuing education last year,” Valerie said. “These advancements are important to me, because I feel like I’m getting better at what I do and am able to grow within the same company.”
Michael Gennaro joined the team last May after graduating with his bachelor’s degree and has become the first employee to take part in the company’s tuition reimbursement program.
“I’m able to work full time and at the same time, I’m completing my master’s in Structural Engineering online,” Michael said. “Having the company’s support and the tuition reimbursement program made this possible for me within a year of graduation.”
In addition to education and training, community service is another priority for the company. In 2018, Engineering Solutions instated a new policy that allowed each team member to take eight paid hours to volunteer locally.
“We are always looking for ways to give back as a company, whether it’s hosting a happy hour to benefit local charities or a pro bono project in one of our communities,” said Brian. “We created this policy because we also wanted to make it doable for our individual team members to find an organization or a cause they care about and give back to it.”
While the milestone of our 15th anniversary is a great occasion to reflect on our past successes, it is also a chance to look forward.
“I’d like to continue diversifying our skill set and our team,” Brian said. “We are always looking for opportunities to expand to other locations and grow within our existing markets. Overall, the last fifteen years have been a huge blessing for me. I’m so grateful for how far we’ve come and am excited to see what’s next.”