Mergers
HDR Acquires Maintenance Design Group
"From the moment we began meeting with Varo’s leaders, we knew that together, we would create an even stronger and more diverse organization with greater opportunities for our team members and the ability to serve our clients even better," says Darin Anderson, Salas O’Brien chairman and CEO.
Omaha-based HDR recently acquired Maintenance Design Group (MDG), a firm that specializes in the planning and design of vehicle and fleet operations and maintenance facilities. Going forward, MDG will do business as HDR | Maintenance Design Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
MDG employs close to 40 professionals in offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Houston, Baltimore and Nashville.
Founded in 1995, Maintenance Design Group is known for industry innovations such as designing a 250-bus maintenance facility with a 100% drive-through maintenance bay and designing upper-level work platforms for light-rail facilities that provide safer places to work.
“MDG’s innovative approach to facility design makes them a perfect fit for HDR,” said Eric Keen, president and chief operating officer for HDR. “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the operations and maintenance facilities market, and MDG's strengths in facility planning and design complement our asset life-cycle approach to infrastructure development.”
Keen added that the relationship is not new. “We have worked together to serve transit clients for more than a decade, and we are pleased to welcome everyone at MDG to the HDR team.”
The two firms have collaborated on numerous projects, including the Sun Link Streetcar in Tucson, Arizona and the Kansas City Streetcar, which recently was verified Envision Platinum by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. KC Streetcar is the first transit project to achieve the designation.
“We will be able to serve new clients and offer a wider range of services to our current clients,” said Don Leidy, MDG managing principal. “It’s also important that HDR shares our values and offers opportunities for employee-ownership and professional development.”
Leidy will join HDR as vice president and managing principal and will continue to lead the HDR| Maintenance Design Group team. Co-owners Ken Booth, Mark Ellis, Jon Holler, Steve Radomski and Darren Pynn will join HDR as senior facility design managers.