Kathey Wagner, CEO of civil engineering firm EPS Group.
Arizona-based civil engineering company EPS Group, Inc. continues to build on the momentum gained in the past two years. Among the many notable events the company experienced, EPS Group was named ENR’s Southwest Design Firm of the Year in 2022 and successfully launched its new Loveland, Colorado market office in 2021. This year is shaping up to be even more momentous with high profile projects nearing completion and new marquee projects underway.
At the top of the list of milestones EPS will reach by 2023 is celebrating 20 years in business. Since its inception in June 2003, the company has grown from a small group of five operating in Arizona to a multi-state company with 285 associates and nearly $55 million in gross revenue. This steady growth has landed EPS on Phoenix Business Journal’s list of the largest engineering firms in Phoenix for the past few years. As the largest locally owned multidisciplinary firm in the state, EPS Group will always call Arizona home. Plans for further diversification, including expanding its geographic footprint, will provide additional avenues for growth and stability and support the company’s goal of becoming the number 1 design company in the Southwest. With operations in Arizona and Colorado, EPS Group also has a presence in Fort Worth and plans to expand further into Texas over the next year.
“One of the founding principles of EPS Group that remains true today is that a company is only as good as the people it calls on to its team,” said Kathey Wagner, CEO of EPS Group. “As professional consultants, our desire is to serve as trusted advisors to our clients, which requires a unique combination of talents and experience.”
EPS Group provides civil engineering, planning, land development, surveying, water resources, landscape architecture and construction management services with associates who are certified in 14 states across the country. The experience of Grupo EPS ranges from large public works infrastructures to large-scale private developments.
“Our culture guides our decision making and creates the framework for our success,” Wagner added. “As our company has grown to multiple locations and many of our team members are spread across the United States, we have become more intentional in the way we work to better serve the needs of our customers.”
Wagner, who joined EPS Group in 2018 and became the company’s first female CEO in 2019, was recently named an Outstanding Woman in Business by the Phoenix Business Journal, read about it here, adding to the list of numerous awards he has received during his career. Wagner recently announced her retirement and will remain as CEO until the board of directors names her successor.
“Over the course of the last five years, we have evolved the structure of our company to optimize the talents of our team, streamline our processes and position ourselves for regional growth,” said Wagner. “Now is the time to fully test what we have built and hand over the keys to the next generation of leaders to accelerate our growth and expansion in the Southwest.”
During her tenure as CEO, Wagner successfully implemented a formal leadership development program to help position the company for current and future success. Her leadership philosophy, “our team is the secret sauce,” helped her define the company culture, “I am EPS,” and informed the co-creation of the Career Paths and Profiles program with her leadership team. . In addition, she led the design of an early identification and development program for key partners interested in the property, and successfully launched the Path to Ownership program in 2022 in collaboration with her board of directors.
In 2023, EPS Group is expected to see completion of a major project it designed in Mesa, Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is a 37-acre mixed-use development anchored by Revel Surf, the world’s first surf park development to feature a traveling big wave alongside a fast surfing stationary wave in one park. The project also includes a hotel, office buildings, restaurants, a gym, experiential dining, retail stores, and various community spaces, including fire pits, water features, cabanas, outdoor games, and outdoor games.
The company will begin engineering work on a massive Shopoff Realty Investments development called The Block. This industrial park is planned to be up to 4.1 million square feet when fully built and will represent an investment of $500 million. The site is on 270 acres at Elliot and Sossaman Roads near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
EPS Group saw completion of construction of Phase One of its design for the East-West Corridor in 2022. Known as the Sonoran Desert Parkway (SDP) in the City of Maricopa, the highway is a high-capacity Arizona Parkway linking the City of Maricopa to Casa Grande and I-10. This corridor has been evaluated over many years, beginning with the White and Parker Principal Investment Study completed by EPS Group for the City of Maricopa, followed by the more extensive East-West Corridor Study Final Design Concept Report completed for Pinal County in 2015.
Phase two of the SDP/EWC from Porter Road to Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway begins in 2023, and the company is well positioned to assist Maricopa with the bridge crossings included in the project. After working with numerous developers in the area, the company is familiar with their development plans and can facilitate any necessary coordination.
Also in 2022, the firm was awarded the Teravalis Phase One Construction Management contract. Teravalis will be a water conservation focused affordable renewable energy community connecting people to everything that matters in a 37,000 legacy project acres in the far west of the Valley.
“As Buckeye is only 14 percent built, EPS Group is excited to be involved in a project that will span the next 50 years supporting future generations, and we look forward to helping bring these neighborhoods to life,” Wagner said.
EPS Group continues to work on numerous projects with Bela Flor in 2023, including the completion of water and sewer master studies for AZ Water and SMCFD for a major apartment development in downtown Apache Junction. The project is currently in the final stages of qualification and delivery of permits.
