our story
Building and Revitalizing our world since 1964.
History
SME Expands
1970s
- Ken Kramer, PE becomes majority shareholder at SME. Ken had a driving passion for building and revitalizing our world through insightful, economical, and practical engineering solutions. That passion continues to drive our firm today.
- SME’s first regional offices are added in Grand Rapids, MI and Bay City, MI.
- SME’s headquarters moves to Livonia, MI to accommodate growth of our team and the need for space for lab and drilling operations.
- SME begins working on the Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI.
Growing to meet our clients
2000s
- Ken Kramer, PE retires and Mark Kramer, PE becomes the President and CEO of SME.
- The Kalamazoo, Macomb, Traverse City, MI and the Indianapolis, IN offices are opened.
Building and Revitalizing
2020s
- SME’s Fort Wayne and Louisville offices open.
- Survey and Construction Engineering Inspection Services are added to SME’s offerings.
- SME helps revitalize the former Pontiac Silverdome into a new Amazon distribution facility.
- SME launches the Build+Revitalize podcast in 2021.
- SME is awarded the 2024 ACEC Michigan Firm of the Year.
- SME celebrates 60 years in 2024.
The meaning behind the SME logo
Purposefully derived from the nautilus structure, the SME logo represents converting natural materials into strong structures. This is similar to what we do every day!
The spiral shape showcases the insightful way SME is always moving forward and seeing beyond clients’ requests to view the overall needs of the project.
The warm color palette represents our passion for what we do.
The varying shades of blue represent the variety of our expertise.
The chunky ‘SME’ typeface solidifies and grounds the nautilus mark, like the foundation to a building.
Core Values
Integrity
Service
Performance Principles
OWNERSHIP
We must own our commitments - to tasks, projects, clients, job, self, and SME. Our personal commitment to own our responsibilities will motivate other team members to care and take ownership of their responsibilities.
RESPONSIBILITY
Along with ownership comes the need for each of us to accept individual responsibility for our work, our team, and our technical and professional growth. Shared responsibility means that no one is responsible.
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Paying attention to details is a critical part of everyone’s job and is critical for our success and the success of our clients. Avoid the tendency as we become more comfortable in our work or move to higher levels of responsibility, to think we no longer need to be concerned with details.
PRIORITIES
To properly manage our responsibilities and schedules, we must set priorities. This means applying self-discipline to ensure our focus is applied where and when it is needed and valued. We also must be willing to prioritize and say “no” before jeopardizing quality, reputation, or relationships.
KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON
Awareness, open communication, and diligence are key components for knowing what’s going on with our clients, projects and organization. Open lines of two-way communication are critical. Both the sender and receiver are responsible to verify accurate and effective communication.
HARD WORK
Serving our clients and supporting our teams requires hard work. Each of us must set a positive example of dedication that will motivate fellow SME team members to do the same. By maintaining a high level of effort, we will create a culture of commitment and achievement.
CHECKING UP
An essential element of carrying out an assignment is the need to check up on it before completion, then have it double checked by an independent, knowledgeable team member. Even the most dedicated and capable individuals benefit from peer-review.
FACING THE FACTS
Resist the natural human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. It’s not easy to admit that what we thought was correct did not turn out that way. Face the facts, make needed changes, and manage the outcome professionally.
