LEGACY

Allen Williams had a dream: to strike out on his own and open an engineering firm. In 1978 that dream became a reality when he opened a mechanical and forensic engineering firm in Edmonton, Alberta. He envisioned that a multi-disciplinary firm was the model for the future. Our firm soon created civil and structural departments followed by geotechnical, environmental, and eventually electrical, building science, and municipal planning services. He believed in employee ownership and a healthy work/life balance, which are still part of our firm’s core values. Allen was an ethical man and demonstrated this first and foremost in his business and personal life.

What Allen was most interested in was building a family. He assembled a trusted team of successful individuals including Steven Sutton and Rhonda Quirke. Steven and Rhonda were not only highly skilled, but also like-minded in their sense of family, business ethics, and integrity. They treated staff like family and it was not lost on us. Their enthusiasm was contagious. They walked the talk by providing superior service and communication and building strength within the staff through mentoring and leadership.

One of Allen’s dreams was to pass the firm down to his son, Reagan. In 2005 Reagan became President and with their combined leadership, the firm reached 170 employees across five regional offices. They had a high level of commitment to providing our clients with the most efficient and cost effective engineering solutions, while also ensuring they received timely, quality service. Allen and Reagan were actively involved in the lives of their staff and our families, both as mentors and friends. Working with them was an honour and privilege. They inspired us with their work ethic and they saw greatness in us. They empowered us to innovate and achieve success by reaching our full potential.

In 2008, Reagan’s long time friend and colleague, Phil Allard joined the firm as CFO, and was helping build the company to become one of the most successful locally grown businesses today. Phil was dedicated to making the most of the opportunities life has to offer and succeeded in everything he undertook.

The impressive rise from a one man firm in 1978 to a multi-city, multi-disciplinary corporation in 2009 was thanks in large part to Allen and his trusted advisors.

We are proud to work for Williams Engineering and we are proud to keep their legacies alive.