45 Years and Beyond

To commemorate our 45 years in business, we have published a series of articles and Facebook posts over the last 9 weeks that reflects our business, industries, and people. As a finale to the celebration, please enjoy the following post from our president, Jack E. Miller, PE as he reflects on the past 45 years of business, and thoughts on what the future may hold. 

Stress Engineering Services – 45 years and Beyond

Our recent anniversary articles and social media posts has described the evolution of Stress and the changes we have experienced since our founding in November 1972. We have now been in business for 45 years, and I have personally witnessed the Company’s growth and evolution for most of that time.

The vast majority of our growth has come about organically and as a result of individual innovations in engineering and client service that became larger as we adapted to our clients’ changing needs and found new ways to serve them. When we look back on our past growth and successes, we remind ourselves that virtually everything we pioneered during these 45 years has eventually been commoditized, and that we must continue to adapt to new challenges and develop new solutions.

The good news for us is that, no matter how much technology and commoditized approaches proliferate, there will always be a solid demand for engineering expertise and good engineering judgement to effectively apply technology to solve our clients’ most pressing problems. Stress is not a technology company; we are a solutions company.

As we move beyond our first 45 years, we see a formidable set of challenges facing the industries that we serve. Key challenges include aging infrastructure, regulatory hurdles, increased environmental scrutiny, safety awareness, and social responsibility. At the same time, new technology tools are becoming available such as the Internet of Things and better sensor technology. Nevertheless, these new tools and technologies, while exciting, will not solve problems or fix anything on their own without the corresponding engineering expertise to apply them and to interpret what they tell us.

I have never been more bullish about the Company for the years beyond 45 than I am today. The young, bright talent that we’ve been able to attract, combined with a superior group of veterans we have on board, make an unrivaled mix of talent and experience poised to continue our legacy of developing new and innovative solutions for our clients. Let’s tip our hats to the next 45!