Two notable structural engineering firms are combining forces.
San Francisco-based Degenkolb Engineers and Michigan-based Ruby+Associates announced a purchase agreement and acquisition that took effect Nov. 1. Degenkolb has taken on Ruby+Associates' 55 employees and, with the acquisition, now has more than 330 employees in 10 offices across the country.
"I have known leaders at Ruby for more than a decade, and we have partnered in different aspects of our business for multiple years," said Degenkolb President and CEO Stacy Bartoletti, who is keeping his role post-merger. "Our cultures align around giving opportunities to our employees and providing exceptional client service. The combined firm will grow more together than each firm would have on its own."
Ruby+Associates is now known as Ruby+Associates, a Degenkolb Company. Tricia Ruby, its CEO since 2011, is a principal and group director at the newly combined firm and will remain in charge of its Michigan staff. Her father, Dave, founded the company in 1984; it has primarily focused on steel construction and construction engineering. The firm holds engineering licenses in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces. Degenkolb's acquisition of Ruby+Associates' geographical reach expanded its footprint beyond the western United States for the first time since its 1940 founding.
"We are both proud of the firms that we've built," Tricia Ruby said. "Our people are invested in our identities. The opportunities that this will provide to our existing employees and new hires are incredible. There will be flexibility in location, in markets to serve, and in clients to work with in the future."
Ruby appeared in the September edition of the Modern Steel Construction Field Notes podcast.