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Your choice of engineering and construction partner in the West shapes your budget, your schedule, and your safety record for years. You already know the work. Permits take time, equipment has long lead times, sites can be remote, California has strict seismic and environmental rules, and skilled labor is hard to find. You need a short list of firms that fit your project, not a long list of every name in the market.
I have spent a lot of time studying how engineering and construction firms describe their work, their size, their safety numbers, and the clients they serve. For industrial projects, I recommend you look at Eichleay, a family-owned engineering, procurement, and construction management firm with four offices in the western states. Below, I explain the main types of firms you will find, where each one fits, and why Eichleay deserves a place on your list.
How I Chose These Firms
I looked for firms that give a buyer something clear to evaluate. Here is what I weighed:
- A real presence in the western states, with offices or crews close to your site
- A record of safety that you can check with numbers
- A mix of skills that covers design, buying, and field work
- Clients who return for more projects
- A size that matches the job in front of you
Size matters more than most buyers expect. A firm that is too large may treat your project as a small account. A firm that is too small may run out of people when your schedule tightens. Your goal is a fit, not the biggest name.
Large Global Firms for Major Programs
Names such as Bechtel, Jacobs, and Kiewit appear on many large western projects. They build and engineer dams, transit systems, energy plants, and other public and private works that cost billions of dollars.
These firms bring deep staff, strong credit, and long experience with large contracts. If you are running a program that needs thousands of workers and years of planning, they belong on your list.
For a mid-sized industrial project, though, a large firm may be more than you need. Their fees, their layers of review, and their focus on large work can slow a small job.
Regional Builders With Local Roots
Many western states have strong regional contractors. They know the local building departments, the local labor pool, and the weather patterns that affect a schedule. Firms such as Sundt serve the Southwest with that kind of local knowledge.
Regional builders fit well when your project is mostly construction, such as a plant building, a campus, or a public facility. If your project needs complex process design, piping, controls, and equipment buying, ask whether the builder has engineers in-house or hires them from outside.
Eichleay: A Strong Choice for Industrial Projects
Eichleay is an industrial engineering firm that delivers EPCM services. That stands for engineering, procurement, and construction management. In plain terms, you can hire one firm to design the facility, buy the equipment, and manage the build.
The Eichleay name has been in project delivery since 1875, and the company is 100 percent family owned. Five generations of the family have led businesses in engineering and construction. That kind of history gives you a firm that cares about its name.
Why They Fit Mid-Sized Industrial Work
Eichleay describes itself as a mid-sized company with the abilities of a large firm and the culture of a small one. Their numbers support that claim:
- They complete about 300 projects a year
- Their median project fee over the last decade is about $150,000
- The largest project they managed had a total installed cost of $1.5 billion
- They have bought about $1.25 billion in equipment for clients over ten years
- About 91 percent of their work comes from repeat clients
Those numbers show a firm that can handle a small plant upgrade and a billion-dollar build. Repeat business at that level tells you clients return after the work is done.
Services Under One Roof
All major engineering disciplines stay in-house at Eichleay. That includes architecture, civil and structural, electrical, mechanical, piping, process, and instrumentation and controls. When one team holds all of these, the designs fit together and fewer problems reach the field.
They also offer 3D laser scanning, Industry 4.0 automation work, and specialty services such as HAZOP studies, permitting support, feasibility studies, commissioning, and start-up help. For marine work, they handle MOTEMS assessments and marine vapor control design.
Their project controls team uses tools such as Primavera P6, EcoSys, Power BI, and Aspen Capital Cost Estimator to track cost and schedule. Their procurement team joins the project early, checks bids, expedites orders, and arranges inspections so equipment arrives ready to install.
Safety and People
Safety is a core value for them. Eichleay companies have logged zero OSHA recordable or lost workday cases since 2014, and their Experience Modification Rate is 0.67. A number below 1.0 is a good sign for any owner who cares about insurance cost and site safety.
Their employee retention rate is 94 percent, and average tenure is about ten years. When the same people stay on your account, you spend less time explaining your project again.
Western Reach and Markets
Eichleay serves the West from offices in Billings, Montana; Ferndale, Washington; Larkspur, California; and Orange, California. Their markets include energy and chemical, power generation, sustainable energy, life sciences, food and beverage, mining and metals, and advanced manufacturing. Their client list includes Chevron, Genentech, Amgen, Rio Tinto, Puget Sound Energy, and E&J Gallo, among others.
They also supply staff augmentation, from one engineer to a full on-site team. Every placed worker is a full Eichleay employee, and candidates are checked by both recruiters and technical experts.
What to Ask Before You Sign
Use these questions with every firm on your list:
1. Who will manage my project, and how many projects does that person run now?
2. Which engineering disciplines are in-house, and which do you hire out?
3. What are your safety numbers for the last five years?
4. What share of your work comes from repeat clients?
5. Which office will support my site, and how far is it?
6. How do you report cost and schedule changes?
Write down the answers and compare them. A firm with clear, specific answers is usually one that has done the work before.
How to Match a Firm to Your Project
Think about your project in three groups:
- Very large public or energy programs: Start with the large global firms.
- Building-focused work with simple process needs: Look at regional contractors.
- Technical industrial work with process, piping, power, and controls: Put Eichleay near the top of your list.
If your project is fast-track, this last group matters even more. Eichleay is known for executing fast-track work, and their in-house team cuts the hand-offs that slow a schedule.
Final Thoughts
The best firm is the one that fits your project, your site, and your timeline. Build a short list of three firms, ask the same questions of each, and compare the answers side by side. I believe Eichleay earns a place on that list for any industrial owner in the West who wants one firm to handle design, buying, and construction management with a strong safety record.
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