Long-time area engineers reflect on industry changes

Over the years, they have measured their success in small increments - buying the firm's first truck - moving out of an attic to the first real office space - spending $10,000 on the firm's first PC.

Now with 76 employees and offices in Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley, Christopher L. Borton, president, and Thomas E. Lawson, vice president and director of operations, of BortonLawson say their ability to adapt to changes in their industry has allowed them to grow.

Projects on the docket include the design of the new $60 million Great Wolf Resort and Indoor Water Park in Monroe County; overseeing the design and construction of PennDOT's proposed South Valley Parkway in Lower Luzerne County; and improving automation controls for Sanolfi-Aventis, a pharmaceutical company, all helping establish Borton-Lawson as a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary architectural and engineering firm.

The company has revenues of $7 million annually, and divisions including buildings, civil, industrial and transportation.

Borton, a Luzerne County native, attended Penn State's WilkesBarre and Harrisburg campuses, graduating with a B.S. in water resource management in 1977. His work at Smith Miller & Associates, Wilkes-Barre, took him to Johnstown during the flood recovery there in 1978, and provided a variety of engineering experience until his decision in 1988 to open his own firm.

"I was pretty tough to convince," Lawson says of Borton's offer to become a partner in the new venture. Lawson, from South Wilkes-Barre, was a fellow Penn Stater, earning his B.S. in Civil Engineering in the early 1970s. He had spent five years working with the Army Corps of Engineers on Wyoming Valley flood recovery, two of those spent in Baltimore, followed by time at Smith Miller & Associates and The Quad Three Group when Borton's offer was extended.

What has changed most since they started their partnership is time spent on management of the firm. "We both started out in our own disciplines of engineering and spent the first few years handling several projects at a time; doing calculations by hand," Borton notes. "As the firm grew and technology evolved, less time was spent on calculations, and more on overseeing the complex web of project coordination, including the hundreds of pages of permit documentation now needed for any development project. We are now more involved with the 'big picture.' "

Lawson notes, "We are dealing with multiple regulations at the state, local, federal and county levels - all of which are very time-sensitive. It makes the management of each project more complex, yet vitally more important."

"It used to be that when you went to a doctor, they took care of every type of ailment," Borton says. "Today, there are specialists for nearly everything. The same is true for engineering. We started in civil engineering and land development, but soon added mechanical, electrical, surveying, architecture, environmental and transportation specialists and automation for manufacturing - things we used to subcontract out. By bringing specialists in-house we created a full-service team. "The two report that their staff training budget is four times the national average and they work hard to keep everyone at the forefront of their disciplines.

Lawson says the firm is constantly challenged with efforts to find the right people to hire, and currently has four key positions available. "We aren't just looking to fill a job with a body. We are always on the lookout for people who are willing to give their time and talents back to their community."

Practicing what they preach, Lawson is chair of the WilkesBarre Chamber of Commerce board of directors; previously chaired the chamber's Transportation Task Force; and also served as the first chair of the Diamond City Partnership. He also serves on the board of the Wilkes-Barre YMCA and the Urban Studies Center at Wilkes University.

Borton has been a member of the Penn State Wilkes-Barre advisory board since 1995, serving on the development, planning, academic and executive committees. He is on the national board of directors of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the only national organization devoted exclusively to the business and advocacy interests of engineering companies. He has also served as president of the West Side Jaycees and Wyoming Rotary and has previously been a member of the Council of College Misericordia.

The two have many projects which they know will have a lasting impact, including flood control pumping stations along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre, an effort that earned the ACEC top award in the state. Under direction of the Housing Development Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania (HDC), the firm carried out the Pine Street neighborhood revitalization project in Hazleton that resulted in the construction of 24-single family homes in a previously blighted area, and recently won a statewide award.

They also supported a project involving Penn State students working on mitigating storm water damage in Mexico.

"We've done extensive bridge work in Luzerne County handled waste and storm water management in numerous municipalities, and are working with the City of Wilkes-Barre to correct the city's antiquated street lighting problems," Lawson adds. "I took a pay cut to come back to this area from Baltimore more than 20 years ago. I wanted to be back with my family. Chris and I both believe in this area and are working hard to see the potential of this region fully realized."