3 days ago
Parker: Project management firm Lauren Services continues growth with office in Houston
Four young engineers worked together for a Calgary firm with a good client roster of mainly oil and gas companies, attracting the attention of an eastern Canadian company. But when they merged, the four decided they were not happy with the new focus, so in 1979 they took the plunge and founded their own company.
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It is a fascinating story that began in space in a two-bedroom apartment in Charter Towers. Within six months of the launch, they needed to hire more people and relocate to the company's first 'real' office along 11 th Avenue S.W.
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Lauren Services has since expanded in services and staff — now numbering 100 in the Calgary head office and another 65 in its Vancouver and Kelowna, B.C., branch offices.
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Over the years, the company was acquired by CH2M Hill for four years and then as a Canadian subsidiary of a U.S.-based engineering firm, but remains today as Lauren Services — 100 per cent Canadian-owned — and run by one of the original foursome, Rod Phipps, the managing partner.
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Along with president Dustin Edgren and their teams, they run a leading mid-size firm, helping clients throughout North America bring big ideas to life through a full suite of engineering, procurement, and construction management services for traditional energy, transitional energy and industrial development.
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Proud to be a preferred place of employment, Phipps says Lauren has attracted some of the brightest and best professionals in the industry. 'They have helped build a reputation that combines technical expertise with personal integrity — where talent meets character.'
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Phipps says part of Lauren's DNA is being agile. 'We can move and shift quickly based on project needs. We aren't stuck in a bureaucracy of hierarchy that gets in the way of results.' He adds the company culture means Lauren can adapt, flex and jump on opportunities to meet objectives and solve complex challenges.
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Some of them have been distress calls from companies that were experiencing troubles due to other service providers falling behind with things such as scheduling, and asked Lauren to pitch in and rescue their projects.
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Keeping good relationships with clients has led to expansion into B.C. — work for a Calgary client in the Vancouver area was the reason for opening an office there.
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West Coast work has included project and construction management support for MEG's uploading expansion at Pacific Coast terminals in Port Moody and other port and terminal projects. When one of Lauren's partners moved to Kelowna, and after Fortis B.C. asked the company to help with a gas distribution project, it made sense to run an office there.
