TZL 1533 (web)

TRANSACTIONS HOUSTON-BASED CIVIL ENGINEERING FIRM KUO & ASSOCIATES JOINS The HFW Companies, an expanding professional services firm in the architecture and engineering industry, has entered into a new strategic growth partnership with Kuo & Associates, a civil engineering and surveying firm serving Houston and Southeast Texas since 1985. KUO represents the eighth firm to join HFW’s growing national network of HFW Partner firms since HFW’s inception in 2020. KUO is the latest to become part of 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’re excited that KUO has joined us as one of our HFW Partner firms,” Hein said. “Over the years, KUO has built a strong and reputable legacy as a go- to civil engineering and surveying firm all over Houston and the surrounding areas, positioning itself for even greater potential growth ahead. As the most populous region in Texas – and one of the 10 most populous regions in the country, Houston continues to demonstrate a

tremendous need for new infrastructure and a great opportunity for KUO. We’re looking forward to providing additional support to KUO ahead as it meets that growing need.” KUO, which employs 35 professionals, provides civil engineering services across Southeast Texas, with a focus on water resource management, transportation, site development, and land surveying. The firm’s principals said they are looking forward to leveraging HFW’s expertise, as well as the bench depth of the growing portfolio of HFW Partner firms across the country. “As we work to strengthen our infrastructure design position in the market, we’ve been looking for a growth partner, and HFW is the right partner,” said Shaheen Chowdhury, PE, president of KUO and an employee of KUO for the past 31 years. “We can see a lot of synergies with HFW and the other partner firms, and we’re looking forward to collaborating in ways that will strengthen us across our operations and allow us to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead here in Houston.” KUO joins the ranks of a growing portfolio of AEC firms that now includes eight HFW Partner firms with locations

in Las Vegas; Kansas City; Chicago; Des Moines and Waterloo, Iowa; Charleston, Hilton Head, and the Midlands of South Carolina; Augusta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; and multiple locations in Florida. All are part of what Hein describes as HFW’s “House of Brands” concept. That is, a network of growth-oriented AEC 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. Chowdhury said he is looking forward to the collaboration with HFW and other partner firms. “We always have delivered quality work, with strong resumes, and good client relationships,” Chowdhury said. “I can’t wait, though, to see what we can do in this fast-growing region with additional resources and other strategic support from HFW and our new HFW Partners.” Based in St. Louis, HFW is a professional services company investing in architecture and engineering firms that serve metropolitan and infrastructure markets and are open to aligning with partners for growth.

break are. Clients won’t get called back. Things won’t get done. Your people will be waiting on you. You will be less responsive and therefore make yourself more vulnerable to competitors. Disconnect if you must but do so at your own risk! ■ Why would any firm owner worry about selling down below 50 percent ownership unless they thought they weren’t carrying their own weight? I frequently hear small firm founders make proclamations about how they will never own less than 50 percent of the ownership in their firms. What are they so afraid of? All I can think of is that either they fear other owners will think their rewards are excessive based on their contributions to the business, or that they don’t understand that a smaller piece of a bigger pie could not only be more valuable but easier to cash in on than what they have now. It has to be one of those two things. OK, my mind is cleared out now! If you have any thoughts for me on these or other topics of interest to owners and managers of AEC firms, contact me at mzweig@zweiggroup. com. I always enjoy hearing from our readers! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

MARK ZWEIG, from page 5

they think it was their own. That’s crap. When I go to the doctor I want to hear their diagnosis and treatment plan. They don’t need to pull that from me so I see it as my own. Let’s get from point A to point B with the least amount of unnecessary steps and the least missteps. That is what people pay experts for! ■ While pretty much everyone in our industry agrees that the ability to communicate effectively has a huge impact on one’s success, why don’t companies spend more time and money teaching their people how to write? I just don’t understand this – an essential quality for individual and firm success in the AEC business, and we do not do any training on how to do it better. It makes no sense. It should be a real priority. The opportunity is there for significant improvement. ■ Does anyone who is at the top of an AEC firm REALLY believe that disconnecting from your phone for extended periods of time will make you more successful versus less so in this business? I read a lot of this advice. Sure, we all want (and need) a break sometimes from the electronic tether. But don’t kid yourself about WHY you are giving yourself one and what the likely consequences of that

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 15, 2024, ISSUE 1533

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