Giffels Webster executed its first acquisition in recent memory when it bought Lathrup Village-based Clearzoning earlier this month.
The downtown Detroit-based infrastructure consulting firm plans to integrate the planning and zoning firm into its three offices across Metro Detroit to fill out its service offerings.
"Our vision is to continue to promote our diversity of projects," says Scott Clein, president of
Giffels Webster. "They type of balance we have enjoyed in our 60 years of existence."
Giffels Webster plans to absorb all of Clearzoning's nine staffers. Giffels Webster has hired 10 people on its own over the last year, bringing its total staff to 105 people occupying offices in Detroit, Oakland County and Macomb County.
The merger will turn Giffels Webster into a multi-discipline firm that handles everything from planning to engineering to consulting for infrastructure and construction projects both public and private.
"We don't like the work integrate, as in integrating the two companies," Clein says. "We are using the word harmony. We are trying to bring together two great company cultures."
Giffels Webster wasn't looking to acquire a company when the Clearzoning opportunity presented itself. Clein says his team decided to pursue it because the two companies' cultures are so similar and work well together.
"At the end of the day we are all trying to accomplish the same things," Clein says. "We’re just trying to get the job done."
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