London Inc. May-June 2023 - 16

Upfront Engineering Services
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
Marking 50 years, a structural engineering firm doubles down on collaboration
to fabricate a framework for growth
FOR FIVE DECADES, the engineers at Gray & Fick have
designed structures of all shapes and sizes, working with
architects and builders in London and beyond.
Now, setting the stage for the next 50 years, they have
reworked their own structure and adopted a new name to
highlight the changes.
name changed to Gray & Fick. It developed a speciality for
designing multi-storey buildings but handled those large
projects with a team of half a dozen or fewer people.
" I was employee number eight when I joined, " Palmer
recalls. He and Travis Parker left Concentric Engineering
to join and help transform Gray & Fick four years ago.
" We are now up to 23 employees, "
Palmer continues. " Bill was
looking for a way to grow the firm
and maintain the core values it had
always had. "
The answer to that challenge is
Co-elevate (www.co-elevate.ca).
During lengthy conversations among
all team members, Palmer says the
firm identified eight core values it
wanted to maintain and strengthen.
At the same time, it needed to develop
scalable systems that would support
and propel the kind of growth the
firm anticipates.
" Hierarchies form almost natu
 Co-elevate's Dylan Dowling, Taylor Keck, Travis Parker,
Steve Desjardine, Adam Palmer and Bill Fick
" WE'VE INTRODUCED A FORCED
COLLABORATION SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE
WE CONTINUE TO WORK IN TEAMS, NO
MATTER HOW MUCH WE GROW " -Adam Palmer
The new name - Co-elevate - is the product of many
months of discussions about how the firm will operate in the
years to come. It represents much more than a rebranding.
" The name reflects our philosophy of collaboration, " says
Adam Palmer, one of three principals. " We operate in teams,
without hierarchy. "
The new structure is also designed to accommodate
the firm's unprecedented recent growth. In 1973, Fred
Gray hung out a shingle and created Gray & Associates.
Bill Fick joined him in 1985, and six years later the firm
16|londonincmagazine.ca|MAY / JUNE 2023
rally in engineering firms because
the engineers have to stamp the final
designs, " Palmer explains. " They
have the personal responsibility,
and that can change the relationship
between the engineers and everyone
else at the firm. We are dead set
against that. We've introduced a
forced collaboration system to make
sure we continue to work in teams, no
matter how much we grow. "
In addition to its continued
multi-storey expertise, the new firm
has strong connections in the Arctic.
Three engineers each have more
than a dozen years of experience working in the permafrost
environment. Palmer is licensed in Ontario, Nunavut and
Manitoba - the latter is a new certification that will help
the firm expand its footprint into that province.
The firm has also reorganized itself by creating a new civil
division, which will focus on land and water issues, while
the existing structural division carries on with what firm
has always done.
" We're ready for growth and ready to provide whatever
services our clients require, " Palmer says.
CHRISTOPHER CLARK
http://www.co-elevate.ca
London Inc. May-June 2023

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