AMHERST – As large-scale solar installations are planned on the Hampshire College campus, an Amherst-based environmental consulting company is ensuring placement of these photovoltaic arrays will not harm wetlands and other natural resources.
In similar work to protect the environment from damage, New England Environmental Inc. assists in managing the Campus Pond on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, and helps utility company Eversource in efforts to keep power lines functioning.
Now, 30 years after the company was formed to deal with the increasing regulations in both Massachusetts and the region to protect and promote the health of wetlands and wildlife, New England Environmental is entering a new era following its recent acquisition by SWCA Environmental Consultants of Phoenix. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“SWCA has a strong reputation for high-quality service and sound science that aligns well with our vision,” said company founder Michael J. “Mickey” Marcus, who with his wife Julie Marcus will lead the Amherst office on Research Drive,
Marcus, 61, said he and Julie, 54, had been approached several times over the years to see if the company could be acquired, but had never liked any of the offers until deciding that SWCA, with 850 employees at 31 offices across the country, was the right one.
“We like being an independent, science-based organization, and SWCA is an independent, science-based organization,” said Julie Marcus, who will be the office director in Amherst.
Founded in 1986 and based in Amherst since 1988, New England Environmental has provided environmental consulting and engineering expertise for big and small companies and has handled everything from large hydro projects on the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers to additions to single-family homes.
The company also has been a long-time consultant for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, assisting in trail management, and has helped companies with resource extraction, such as timber and gravel, and assessing and helping clean up sites that have contaminated soil, groundwater or indoor air.
SWCA, which formed in 1981, does much of the same work as New England Environmental, dealing with local, state and tribal regulations and ensuring minimal impact to resources through planning, zoning, surveying and permitting,
Joseph Fluder, the chief operating officer of SWCA, said there are many common elements between the two companies.
“NEE has been successful for a long time with strong leadership and repeat customers,” Fluder said.
He added that SWCA has been focused on growth in the last decade, doing more projects in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“We weren’t planning on moving into New England, but there is some overlap of service and clients,” Fluder said. “We felt like it was a cultural fit between the staff here in Amherst and SWCA.”
“They were looking for an East Coast connection, and we were looking for a larger geography,” Mickey Marcus said.
The acquisition will mean more work can be done out of Amherst with respect to air quality and emissions, as well as preserving cultural resources. The combined company can also tap two dozen archeologists and five to 10 cultural resources professionals based at SWCA’s previously closest office in Pittsburgh.
“It’s very unique for a firm to be our size and to provide natural and cultural resources consulting,” Fluder said.
Mickey Marcus said many of the 30 or so employees he has hired have been with New England Environmental for years. They will have new opportunities that exist with a larger company.
“This gives us the ability to do our jobs better,” said Marcus, who will be director of business development for the company.
In fact, one of the benefits for the nearly 30 employees at NEE is expanding the territory in which they work. One employee recently went to San Francisco area to work on a project, getting to work side-by-side with professionals 3,000 miles away.
“That’s a great thing for our staff,” Julie Marcus said.
All the staff was retained at their current salaries, and each employee will be offered ownership in the company.
Julie Marcus said a lot is being done to make sure the company continues to function smoothly during this transition period, including details like new letterhead showing that New England Environmental is now a division of SWCA.
“My primary goal is to get us fully integrated into SWCA,” she said. This includes conversion of information technology and launching new accounting systems.
“We are doing our best to keep all our scientists out in the field or at their desks,” Julie Marcus said.
New England Environmental will continue to have student interns, relying on the local colleges to provide those interested in pursuing such consulting as a career.
“SWCA appreciates that model as well,” Fluder said.
Both Julie and Mickey Marcus have three-year contracts and will remain with the company until at least 2019, and then reassess their employment, though both are confident they will continue to enjoy the work.
“We will not be ready to retire after three years,” Mickey Marcus said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
