The New York-New Jersey region’s growth has taken Maser Consulting along for the ride, with the Red Bank, N.J., design firm reporting regional revenue of $86 million in 2016, up 23% over the previous year. Kevin L. Haney, president and chief operating officer, credits the firm’s long history of wide-ranging service offerings for the uptick. “Diversification has always served the company well,” he notes.
Maser specialties include civil and site architecture, energy and power, transportation, and infrastructure design work. Haney reports a “notable increase” in projects in the latter three sectors for the firm, which was founded in 1984 and now employs 600 in 21 U.S. offices.
Large design projects in New York and New Jersey during the past year include Legoland in Goshen, N.Y., Burlington County Bridges toll plaza in Burlington County, N.J., reconstruction of the West Front Bridge in Monmouth County, N.J., and replacement of the 8th Street bridge in Wallington, N.J.
The West Front Bridge project involved reconstruction of an 488-ft-long curved steel girder bridge that consisted of six 80-ft-long spans supported on pile bents and pile-supported abutments. Maser provided construction inspection and contract administration during reconstruction of Bridge S-17 on County Route 10 (West Front Street) over Swimming River in Red Bank and nearby Middletown.
The federally funded project included construction of approach embankments and retaining walls as well as minor roadway widening, improvements to decorative features such as lights and brick panels, and concrete sidewalks on either side of the bridge. Approach embankments confined by steel sheet pile retaining walls were also added to lessen the impact on wetlands and adjacent properties.
Haney says its new locations and technology services will fuel future growth, with a push into mobile LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and expanded use of drone services. Maser Consulting recently ventured into unmanned aviation in a partnership begun in February with Pulse Aerospace, a Kansas-based developer of helicopter UAS platforms.
“Pulse Aerospace is the clear leader in UAS technology, and we see their platforms being instrumental in our development of quantifiable UAS sensor technology workflows,” Mark Pitchford, the firm’s national director of UAS technologies, said in an online announcement. He added that the vendor “will adapt pricing models to meet the needs of both industry and public agencies.”
When equipped with LiDAR scanners, drone survey data can be combined with information collected from terrestrial and mobile scanners to boost survey mapping for various types of projects. When integrated with sensor technology, the data also supports services provided by the firm in power, oil and gas, environmental, emergency response and asset management sectors.
Wayne Booth, deputy county executive for Orange County, N.Y., describes the firm as “responsive and innovative in providing customized solutions, with our best interest in mind with every project.” Maser, which has had a professional relationship with the county for more than 10 years, now is providing services for two dams in Newburgh, N.Y., that include safety inspections and reporting, geotechnical investigations and repairs. The firm also is designing 14 emergency radio towers to upgrade the county’s public safety radio system, which Booth says is “perhaps one of the most important projects” on which it and Maser have teamed.
In addition to providing client service, Maser Consulting employees volunteer at Habitat for Humanity, provide pro bono services to community groups and support an array of other local efforts, all coordinated through its recently formed Maser Consulting Foundation.
