Explore how AKS has grown over the years.
Since 1996, AKS has grown with intention. What began as a single office has evolved into a multi-state team, expanding our services, opening new locations, and building lasting partnerships along the way. Each year, we challenge ourselves to think bigger, work smarter, and raise the standard for what we deliver.
Our growth isn’t just about scale. It’s about strengthening our expertise, deepening relationships, and responding to the changing needs of the clients and communities we serve. As we look to the future, we remain focused on innovation, collaboration, and creative solutions, continuing to create lasting impact wherever we work. We have no plan to slow down and are energized by the opportunities ahead!
AKS opened in 1996, with a handful of employees in one (very blue!) office. The first AKS location was in Sherwood, OR, and later moved to Tualatin, Oregon, to accommodate growth. In its early years, the company provided Civil Engineering, Consulting Arborist, Forestry, Land Surveying, and Water Resources services for a variety of underserved private clients.
When AKS opened its doors in 1996, we offered the following services: Civil Engineering, Consulting Arborist, Forestry, Land Surveying, and Water Resources.
Civil
- Site design
- Grading
- Utilities
- Stormwater
- Streets
- Site infrastructure
Consulting Arborist
- Tree inventory & assessment
- Tree protection & removal plans/specifications
- Tree & landscape appraisal
- Arborist observation during construction
Forestry
- Forest management planning
- Timber cruising & appraisal
- Timber sale design, layout, & contract supervision
- Wildfire risk analysis & mitigation
Land Surveying
- Robotic total station surveying
- 3D laser scanning
- GPS control surveying
- Flood elevation surveying
- Construction staking
Water Resources
- Water treatment & distribution
- Wastewater collection & treatment
- Stormwater & flood control
- Pump station siting & design
- Pipeline rehabilitation
Originally called “Burger Wednesday,” Wednesday Lunch started as a simple gathering of the team enjoying lunch together, sometimes to talk shop but mostly to connect and unwind. Today, Wednesday Lunch is one of our longest-standing traditions and a powerful example of our commitment to staying connected.
What started as a small tailgate at Oregon State University has now evolved into one of our favorite ways to connect with clients, coworkers, friends, and family. Good food, a great game, and time together are what it’s all about!
AKS doubled its location count to two! The Vancouver, Washington office was AKS’ second location, and brought both Land Use Planning and Landscape Architecture services into our offerings.
AKS added the following services: Land Use Planning and Landscape Architecture.
Land Use Planning
- Site feasibility & due diligence
- Land use entitlements
- Master planning
- On-call city & county planning
- Long-range planning
Landscape Architecture
- Planting & irrigation plans
- Monument & interpretive signage design
- Streetscapes & pedestrian facilities
- Recreational athletic facilities
- Trails, open space, & park master planning & design
- Certified playground safety inspector (CPSI) services
Our annual client appreciation event, the Crawfish Brew & BBQ, hosted by our Tualatin, Oregon office, began in 2008. This fan-favorite event now brings employees and clients from all offices together for an evening of connection over crawfish (and ribs, ice cream, mac salad…).
AKS’ third location opened in Oregon’s capital city of Salem. At a time when many firms were chooing to downsize, AKS took the opportunity to expand into southern Oregon. This new office enabled AKS to grow its business along the I-5 corridor and better serve clients in the area.
AKS added the following services: Natural Resources and Hydrographic Surveying.
Natural Resources
- Wetland & water delineations
- Federal, state, & local wetland permitting
- Fish, wildlife & botanical studies
- Critical area habitat assessments
- Wetland & stream mitigation design & monitoring
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation
- Expert testimony
Hydrographic Surveying
- Bathymetric elevation mapping
- Nautical charting
- Underwater infrastructure integrity
- Scour detection
- Bedform migration & riverbed morphology
- Marine geophysical surveying
Peterson Engineering Consultants joined AKS! Current AKS team members based out of the Salem, Oregon, office, relocated to the Keizer, Oregon, office previously owned by Peterson Engineering. This allowed the companies to pool resources, expand their municipal clientele, and diversify.
The first official Camp AKS was hosted! Beginning as a small beach-side gathering among company owners, the event was formalized and evolved to include all staff, bringing employees from all our offices together for our annual company retreat. Throughout the event, we invested in our team by providing educational sessions and time for team bonding. It’s one of the many ways we build a company where people feel seen, heard, and empowered to lead, no matter their role.
While AKS had performed Construction Management work for clients prior to 2017, we defined the department by hiring key team members who would be focusing solely on that discipline. AKS added the following service: Construction Management.
Pre-Construction Services
- Initial feasibility studies
- Cost estimation & budgeting
- Value engineering
- Procurement & bid packages
- Permitting & approvals
- Design QA/QC
Active Construction Services
- Site management & supervision
- Owners’ representative services
- Quality control inspections
- Jurisdictional inspections
- RFI & submittal management
Post-Construction & Project Finalization Services
- Final inspection & punch list
- As-builts
- Contractor closeout
- Warranty bonding management
- Final project handover
- Land development construction liaison
Through a partnership with Devtech, AKS opened its fourth location in Bend, Oregon! This partnership expanded AKS’s presence in the Central Oregon market while allowing the team to continue supporting mutual clients seeking additional services. Additionally, Devtech brought Construction Inspection expertise, further strengthening AKS’s service offerings.
AKS added the following service: Aerial Surveying. The Aerial Survey work AKS does is not to be confused with Aerial Photography. Instead, our team’s services produce spatially accurate data tied to real-world coordinates and are supported by professional survey standards.
Aerial Surveying
- High-resolution ortho imagery
- High-density LiDAR data
- Classified LiDAR point clouds
- Digital elevation & terrain models
- Earthwork cut/fill volumetric analysis
- Infrastructure inspection
SR-Design, a Beaverton, Oregon-based firm that was founded in 2001, joined with AKS to combine resources and better serve clients. One of the main benefits seen by AKS was the ability to establish a plot plan and lot fit team, which strengthened our ability to evaluate individual lots, ensuring building plans fit within site constraints.
AKS added the following service: Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
GIS
- Database management
- Digital cartographic production
- Asset management data collection & integration
- ArcGIS online web map & web app development
- 3D modeling & animation rendering
- Siting analyses
- Story map development
AKS had the opportunity to partner with Solmar Hydro, Inc., a Portland-based hydrographic surveying company that specialized in hydrographic surveys of rivers, waterways, and reservoirs. In addition, this opportunity allowed AKS to purchase its equipment and bring on some of its talented, specialized team members to build our in-house hydrographic surveying department.
This annual client appreciation event began in 2022 and was a way for employees, clients, friends, and family to celebrate shared successes. Gathering over food and drinks and under the sun, folks still enjoy coming together for some summer fun today!
AKS added the following services: Structural Engineering and Materials Testing.
Structural Engineering
- Residential & light structural projects
- Tenant improvements & low-rise construction
- Commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities
- Seismic retrofit & strengthening
- Equipment anchorage & specialty structures
- Site amenities
Materials Testing
- Structural high-strength grouting
- Structural concrete testing
- Pre-stressed concrete testing
- Soil testing
- Aggregate laboratory testing
- Nuclear density testing
- Sieve analysis of aggregates
- Soil/aggregate proctors
Through a partnership with Tenneson Engineering Corporation, AKS opened its fifth and sixth locations in The Dalles, Oregon, and White Salmon, Washington. Tenneson was established in 1952 as Wall & Tenneson and traditionally served small communities east of the Cascades with a variety of services: Civil Engineering, Land Surveying, Structural Engineering, Land Use Planning, Water Rights, and Construction Support.
Based in the Tri-Cities region of Washington state, our Kennewick office became our seventh location and cemented AKS’ presence in Eastern Washington, as requested by multiple clients.
Permit Surveying, Inc., located in Richland, Washington, partnered with AKS, further strengthening AKS’ surveying capabilities and enhancing service offerings for regional clients. PSI had been a trusted surveying firm since 1993, focusing on serving municipalities, federal agencies, ports, and private landowners. AKS team members previously based in our Kennewick, Washington office, relocated to the former PSI office, bringing their experience and client relationships into a unified space.
CPH consultants, a firm that supported a variety of public infrastructure and site development projects, partnered with AKS, giving us the opportunity to open our eighth and ninth locations in Kirkland, Washington, and Wenatchee, Washington. After having multiple clients request that AKS expand into the Puget Sound and Central Washington areas, this merger opened that opportunity.
Lancaster Mobley, a Portland, Oregon-based firm that specialized in Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning services, joined forces with AKS. The two firms had worked together on projects for over a quarter of a century prior to the merger, and the formal partnership helped streamline operations for shared clients. This partnership also introduced the tenth AKS location, allowing us to hit double digits!
Energy Project Solutions, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an additional Phoenix, Arizona, location, was welcomed into the AKS team as their eleventh and twelfth offices! Spurred by a mutual need for diversification and growth, EPS merged with AKS, enabling AKS to enter the growing energy market.
AKS welcomed three Medford, Oregon-based firms at once: Construction Engineering Consultants, Inc., CSA Planning, Ltd., and Marquess & Associates, Inc. This collaboration strengthened AKS’ ability to serve clients in the region while honoring the legacy and expertise of these companies. With the addition of new Medford teammates, AKS has expanded into Electrical, Geotechnical, and Mechanical Engineering; Plumbing; and Special Inspections services.
All three Medford firms will later come together under one roof, eventually forming AKS’ thirteenth location.
AKS added the following services: Electrical Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Plumbing Design, and Traffic Engineering.
Electrical Engineering
- Lighting system design
- Power distribution system design
- Low-voltage and communication system design
- Energy management system design
- Photometric analysis and modeling
Geotechnical Engineering
- Geotechnical investigations
- Geohazard analysis & mitigation
- Infiltration testing
- Pavement design & assessments
- Retaining wall design & assessments
- Forensic evaluations
- Soil special inspections & testing
Mechanical Engineering
- Heating, ventilation, & air conditioning system design
- Chilled water system, steam system, process piping, & exhaust system design
- Building load analysis & modeling
Plumbing Design
- Plumbing system design
- Domestic water, sanitary sewer, vent, & natural gas piping system design
- Propane system equipment selection & piping design
Traffic Engineering
- Transportation system planning
- Intersection control evaluations
- Parking management plans
- Transportation impact studies & transportation safety studies
- Traffic signal & street lighting planning & design
AKS continues to grow in Southern Oregon with the acquisition of L.J. Friar in Medford. As AKS’ fourth acquisition in the Medford area, L.J. Friar will eventually join the other three local teams acquired in 2025 under one roof. Founded in 1973, the firm will support the continued growth of AKS’ survey services in the region with its surveying expertise.
MEC provided electrical engineering and building information modeling (BIM) services for data centers, industrial, high-tech, commercial, institutional, water and wastewater, and pump station projects. The firm is known for its work for the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and leading data center owner, as well as its design-through-prefab capabilities with BIM.
AKS has merged with Lanktree Land Surveying, allowing AKS to open its fourteenth office location. Lanktree’s expertise included boundary, topographic, subdivision, construction, and land title surveying, supporting a range of residential, private development, infrastructure, and military work. This partnership strengthens AKS’ presence in the Puget Sound market and expands our surveying capabilities throughout the region.
AKS added the following services: Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Environmental.
BIM
- Modeling
- Model-to-field layouts
- Lighting & device coordination
- Data extraction & quantity takeoffs
Environmental
- Phase I environmental site assessments
- Phase II environmental site assessments
- Phase III environmental site assessments
- Underground storage take evaluations
With the addition of Klein & Associates, located in Hood River, Oregon, AKS has opened its fifteenth office location and further strengthened its surveying and civil engineering services in the Columbia River Gorge region. Established in 1983, KA brings an exciting breadth of local experience to the AKS team.
