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FEBRUA RY 2018 | 7 WSP Canada WSP Canada is helping shape the communities of tomorrow by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI E ngineers are renowned for solving the world's most pressing problems, designing large-scale solutions to incredibly complex challenges, and making a significant contribution to the Canadian economy. As the engineering sector continues to experience rapid growth across the country, it is more essential than ever for innovative engineering leaders to develop solutions to reduce costs, improve product quality and stay ahead of ever-changing compliance requirements. As one of Canada's largest professional services firms, WSP Canada has proven time and again that it is without a doubt a leader in its field. Made up of a network of technical experts and strategic advisors that includes engineers, technicians, scien- tists, planners, surveyors, environmental specialists, and other design, program and construction management professionals, the team prides itself on being problem- solvers who evolve, improve, modernize and excel; constantly working toward shaping the communities of tomorrow and helping societies thrive sustainably. So where and when did it all begin? WSP was born in 1959 in Quebec City with two engineering services firms: G.B.C.M. Ltd. and Les Consultants Dupuis Côté, Inc. In 1987 the two firms merged to become Groupe-Conseil Solivar Inc., and acquired two more companies at the beginning of the 1990s, thus establishing its multidisciplinary approach. In 1993, geographic expansion began with the acquisition of three firms in Montreal and a company name change to Genivar. The company's growth from the '90s was fairly explosive as Genivar acquired at least 30 firms between 1993 and 2006, establishing operations all across the province of Quebec. The company soon set its sights west and entered the Ontario market. "Between 2006 and 2012, over 60 firms were added, and Genivar became one of the largest professional services firms in Canada, with offices in all prov- inces," explains Olga Dupeyron, communications manager. In 2012, an opportunity arose to acquire WSP Group PLC; a multidisciplinary consultancy based in London, England, creating a professional services firm with 15,000 employees working in 300 offices worldwide. Two years later this led to the company adopting WSP as its brand. In 2014, Focus Group Holding Inc. joined the corporation, strengthening its presence in the province of Alberta, and in 2015 it acquired MMM Group, one of the largest privately-owned engineering consulting firms in Canada. Today this growth continues as the company recently announced the acquisi- tion of Opus International Consultants Limited – a global professional services firm headquartered in New Zealand, but with significant presence in water/ wastewater, geomatics, and transportation and infrastructure asset management in Canada – adding another 400 employees here in Canada and bringing the total number of employees to around 42,000 worldwide. While trying to take in how dramatically the two small engineering firms evolved may be a little overwhelming, it is obvious this is quite the achievement in under 60 years. So what can be attributed to the company's immense success? "Our growth is owed to embracing and empowering the four cornerstones of our business: our employees, our clients, our operational excellence, and our expertise," explains Dupeyron. "Around the world, our employees work with clients every day to pro- vide technical, design and management services to meet their needs on projects of different scale and complexity. For WSP, providing outstanding client care is a business imperative and differentiator." The senior management team has led both organic and acquisition growth opportunities in Canada and beyond. When you consider its leadership team, it's easy to understand why WSP has gained such an impressive reputation. Among them are Jennifer Verellen, director of rail systems engineering in Canada and recent recipient and sole-Canadian of the Top 40 Under 40 professional as voted by Mass Transit, Naeem Farooqi, the mastermind behind WSP's initiative in advancing cleaner, lower emission vehicle research, Bruce Belmore, elected international VP of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and Olivier Joyal, VP of environment and participant of the 2017 Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference. Studio Bell, Calgary, AB

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