Design Driven
SAXONBURG — Etzel Engineer & Build is a design and construction company with a goal of making projects go as efficiently as possible.
“We do work all over the country,” said Regis Etzel, company president and founder.
Much of Etzel Engineer's work is with computer centers, Etzel said, such as data centers used by Comcast in Pittsburgh.
But the company also built an addition for the Gaiser Addiction Center in Butler and did work for Lutheran SeniorLife in Adams Township and the Linwood Crest senior living development in Greensburg.
It also has done work on cable television head-ends, telephone switch rooms and other technology-related facilities. These buildings require special features such as heavy duty air conditioning, wireless fire protection and extra generators.
These are systems that companies cannot afford to have fail. Such infrastructure can cost millions.
Etzel Engineer & Build works on a best practices approach which, according to the company's website, “leads to enhanced project performance, enabling us to effectively embrace safety, quality, schedule, and owner satisfaction in a cost-effective manner.”
This allows the company to keep its costs as close to the projected price as possible.
“We get hired to do design and build, which causes a reduction in cost,” said Etzel. “With standard architecture and engineering, they bid out, which causes a lot of back and forth,” Etzel said.
Etzel has more than 30 years of engineering experience.
He got started in the field, he said, with his family's construction company. That led him to become an electrician, which he did for about 10 years before joining a Butler architectural firm for the next 10 years of his career.
While there, Etzel earned his license as a professional engineer, and he eventually went on to lead the design-build division of a Pittsburgh firm.
In 2007, he started his own business that focused on building a wide variety of facilities.
Etzel is affiliated with the Design-Build Institute of America, the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania and the Construction Management Association of America.
His staff also has significant experience. According to the company's website, its “project managers are either professional engineers or construction managers with over 100 years combined of both field and office experience.”
In addition to Pennsylvania, Etzel Engineer has done work throughout the Midwest and New England.
While it has had consistent growth, Etzel said he wanted to keep the company based in Saxonburg.
Etzel credits his employees' work ethic and their expertise in the field for his company's growth.
“We have consistently seen 15 percent growth every year,” he said.
Eagle staff writer David Means contributed to this report.
<b>Address</b>: 205 W. Water St., Saxonburg<b>President and owner</b>: Regis Etzel<b>Employees</b>: 18<b>What it does</b>: Design and construction company<b>Website</b>: www.etzelengbld.com
