Longevity is a hallmark to quality organizations…and a prime example of that is here in the heart of Michigan's Great Southwest with a company that is now 70 years old, yet growing like a teenager. Wightman & Associates is marking it's 70th anniversary milestone this month, and looking back on its rich history.
In 1946, America was still celebrating the end of World War II. The post-war economy was bright. The births of the suburbs and Baby Boomer generation were just getting started. That same year, a young engineer/surveyor by the name of G. L. Wightman took his career in a new direction; a direction that created a company legacy still going strong seven decades later in the form of Wightman & Associates, Inc (WAI).
November marks an important milestone for the architectural, engineering, environmental and surveying services firm as it celebrated its 70th anniversary on November 8, 2016. The company, which got its start as a one-man operation in a small office in the Commercial Bank building in downtown St. Joseph, has grown into a company of more than 100 employees with three southwest Michigan locations in Benton Harbor, Allegan, and Portage.
Matt Davis is President of Wightman & Associates. He says, “Many things have changed in 70 years, but one thing has not. G.L. Wightman’s commitment to quality service and professional integrity lives on in our dynamic team of problem solvers who are dedicated to helping our clients achieve their goals.” He adds, “We know we wouldn’t be where we are today without each and every one of our clients, so the recognition of this landmark moment in our history is really about them.”
As team members looked back on the history of the company, they shared notable events from the company’s history which include:
- The first location move for the growing company occurred in 1958 when Wightman moved his business and its 11-member staff from the Commercial Bank building to 615 Elm Street in St. Joseph.
- G.L. Wightman sold the business in September 1971 to a group of businessmen headed by Maurice Rushlow, a local engineer/surveyor who had worked for Holland Construction Company. The new owners renamed the company Wightman & Associates, Inc. Rushlow became its second president, and Wightman stayed on for several more years.
- In 1974 the growing firm moved from its Elm Street location to 920 Broad Street, St. Joseph, where over time three residential homes were converted into professional offices. That same year, Tom Deneau joined the company as a project engineer. Deneau quickly became an instrumental figure within the company, eventually going on to become the company’s third president.
- Wightman & Associates Inc. established its presence in Allegan in 1987 with the purchase of a survey office that became the affiliate office of Wightman Moored, Inc, and later renamed Wightman Jones, Inc. The office has since consolidated into the WAI parent company and has 12 staff professionals working out of that location.
- The addition of affiliate office Wightman Ward, Inc. in 1993 brought the company to Portage. That office, too, has since consolidated into the WAI parent company and has 20 staff professionals based there.
- In the year 2000, the company purchased and relocated to the current facility at 2303 Pipestone Road in Benton Harbor – part of the former Auto Specialties Corporation site and, prior to that, Clark Equipment. Following Rushlow’s death that same year, Deneau took over as president of WAI.
- Under Deneau, WAI began consolidating several affiliate offices it acquired during the 1970s and 1980s into the parent company to provide a broader range of services outside of Berrien County. The final office consolidation was completed in June of 2015 when Wightman Environmental was brought into the Wightman & Associates, Inc. fold.
- Matt Davis took over as Wightman & Associates’ fourth president in March 2015. With the company since 1994, Davis has honed special areas of expertise in identifying, acquiring, and coordinating project funding for clients, as well as the development and preservation of Tribal lands.
- Wightman & Associates, Inc. was named the 2015 Large Firm of the Year by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan (ACEC/M). The Firm of the Year award recognizes the company’s strides in management, company growth, community involvement, and overall excellence.
- Leaders from Wightman & Associates, Inc. have held the elected position of Berrien County Surveyor for more than 60 years. G. L. Wightman was appointed to the office in 1953 – a position he held for 23 years. When Wightman chose not to run for re-election in 1976, Maurice Rushlow successfully ran for the position. Following Rushlow’s death in 2000, John Kamer was appointed to his unexpired term — a position Kamer has successfully been re-elected to ever since and currently holds.
- The company also employs the Kalamazoo County Surveyor Gary Hahn and Allegan County Surveyor-Elect Kevin Miedema.
Wightman & Associates, Inc. is a civil engineering, architectural, survey, and environmental services firm that has been serving Southwest Michigan and Northern Indiana since 1946 with offices in Benton Harbor, Portage, and Allegan, Michigan.
The photo below shows a number of Wightman associates celebrating the 70th anniversary recently in Benton Harbor.
