Acquisition boosts engineering capabilities in the North.

• Position: CORPORATE PROFILE

Hatch Mott MacDonald has staked its presence in Northern Ontario through its acquisition of Engineering; Northwest Ltd. (ENL) of Thunder Bay.

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Building on a 10-year relationship between the two firms, new and existing clients in the region can expect to see a wider range of services offered with greater technological capabilities.

Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) is a full-service global engineering firm with 2,200 employees across North America engaged in massive infrastructure, transportation and environmental engineering projects.

The consulting firm was formed in 1996 by Mississauga-based Hatch and Mott MacDonald of Croydon, U.K.

With a specialty in the transportation market--including highways, bridges, tunnels, rail, transit and aviation--the company has grown primarily through organic growth to become experts in water, wastewater and environmental services.

Together with Engineering Northwest, the two companies have collaborated on multiple projects in Northwestern Ontario, such as bridge and infrastructure contracts for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Canadian Pacific Rail and Cliffs Natural Resources.

Established in 1995, Engineering Northwest has project flags flying from Kenora to Wawa, and north to Hudson Bay.

With a focus on providing civil engineering services to clients in the government, industrial and private sectors, ENL has specialized in municipal engineering, transportation, landscaping and marina development, water supply and sanitation, environmental, electrical and instrumentation, and computer technology projects.

"It seemed a good fit corporately," said Gerald Buckrell, president of Engineering Northwest, of the acquisition announced in late May.

"We started talking and it took a while to come to fruition, but we are pleased with the outcome and excited about the future. We did a few more jobs together every year and it was a good relationship. MTO and our other clients liked the work we were doing and we were able to bring the projects to a successful conclusion."

"The match up really developed between the two groups over time," said Mark Armstrong, principal engineer with HMM and practice lead for environment for the firm's Canadian business unit.

"We both brought strengths to the table and they helped us to successfully work together over the last 10 years."

Besides its field of expertise, ENL brings an impressive Rolodex of municipal contacts and experience in project and...