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TRANSACTIONS THE HFW COMPANIES LANDS STRATEGIC GROWTH PARTNERSHIP WITH DALLAS-BASED CIVIL ENGINEERING FIRM KFM The HFW Companies, an expanding professional services firm in the architecture and engineering industry, has finalized yet another new strategic growth partnership in 2024, this time with Dallas, Texas-based civil engineering firm KFM. Established five years ago, KFM already has grown to 75 employees, with offices in Dallas and Austin, Texas. More than 90 percent of its business currently stems from private development clients across the state who seek KFM’s civil engineering design expertise in retail, mixed-use, single-family, multifamily, industrial, and office development. In addition to civil engineering, KFM offers land planning, landscape architecture, and due diligence services. KFM represents the ninth AEC firm to join HFW’s growing national network of HFW Partner firms since HFW’s inception in 2020 and the third Texas-based AEC firm to join. HFW’s long-term vision: to build a preeminent network of AEC legacy partners across a national footprint that provides a gateway to accelerated growth and leverages its partners’ collaborative expertise, according to Michael Hein, AIA, chief executive officer of HFW. “We’ve been watching the principals of KFM build their business for some time, and we’re tremendously impressed by

their drive, expertise, and a dynamic work culture that clearly motivates their team,” said Hein. “KFM has a strong reputation across Texas for its private development work, setting itself up for enormous future potential to expand into other metropolitan areas of Texas and beyond, as well as for new growth opportunities in public-sector engineering. As KFM’s new growth partner, we’re looking forward to supporting the firm’s efforts in pursuing those opportunities.” KFM, meanwhile, has approached the HFW partnership opportunity as a deal that will allow KFM to more strategically build a sustainable and client-focused engineering practice that protects its clients’ interests and strengthens those relationships, according to Jim Knight, PE, one of three founding principals of KFM. The other founding principals include Charlie Fowler, Jr., PE, and Josh Millsap, PE. “We see ourselves as sophisticated and discerning with regard to our business relationships,” Knight said of KFM. “Our new partnership with HFW will allow us to access greater resources, from productivity and management perspectives, to build even stronger relationships, better absorb changes in the economy, continue to meet client expectations, maintain good quality control, and even improve our time to delivery.” KFM joins a growing portfolio of AE firms that also includes locations in Las Vegas;

Kansas City; Chicago; Des Moines and Waterloo, Iowa; Charleston, Hilton Head, and the Midlands of South Carolina; Augusta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; Austin, Texas; and multiple locations in Florida. The HFW Partner firms comprise what Hein describes as HFW’s “House of Brands” concept. That is, a network of growth-oriented AE firms sharing best practices, economies of scale, unique areas of expertise, and business development opportunities, while continuing to build their own legacy brands in their own regions and beyond. Even as HFW has invested in KFM, Knight said he also views the new partnership as an investment by KFM in HFW as well, thanks to the HFW Partner network. “We see this partnership as an investment by KFM in the collaborative strength and potential of the growing HFW Partner network,” Knight said. “We’re excited to leverage this partnership to expand our opportunities for new growth here and across the network.” HFW is an AEC industry professional services company investing in architecture and engineering firms that serve metropolitan and infrastructure markets and are open to aligning with partners for growth. Its portfolio of partner firms, grounded in technical excellence, solve the most critical problems facing the built environment, improving communities through creative design, engineering, and planning.

credentials, you can check the official websites of the institutions or organizations that issued them, or contact them directly. You can also ask the applicant to provide proof of their credentials, such as transcripts, certificates, or portfolios. 5. Poor writing and grammar. A resume is a professional document that should showcase the applicant’s communication skills and attention to detail. If the resume is poorly written, with spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors, it may indicate that the applicant is careless, lazy, or incompetent. It may also suggest that the applicant did not write the resume themselves, or that they used a poor-quality translation service. To avoid hiring someone with poor writing and grammar skills, you can use online tools that check for errors, or ask the applicant to complete a writing test or assignment. Kevin Brown is chief people officer at AE Works. Contact him at kevin@aeworks.com.

KEVIN BROWN , from page 7

service is not necessarily a deal-breaker, as long as the applicant can explain what they did during that time and how it relates to their career goals. For example, some applicants may have taken a break to pursue further education, volunteer work, personal projects, or family responsibilities. However, if the applicant has a long or unexplained gap in service, it may raise some questions about their work ethic, motivation, or professionalism. You may want to ask the applicant to clarify what they did during the gap and how it affected their skills and qualifications. 4. Credentials that look too good to be true. Some applicants may try to impress you with credentials that look too good to be true, such as prestigious degrees, awards, or publications. While these credentials may be genuine, they may also be fabricated, exaggerated, or irrelevant. To verify the credibility of the applicant’s

THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 20, 2024, ISSUE 1538

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