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Glenwood engineers SGM win statewide recognition

Caitlin Causey
Post Independent correspondent
SGM co-founder Louis Meyer accepts the Colorado Companies to Watch award in June from Sean Nohavic, CCTW board chair.
Steve Peterson / TerraChroma.com |

Glenwood Springs engineering firm SGM has been named a 2015 Colorado Company to Watch.

Selected from an initial pool of more than 1,200 nominees statewide, SGM advanced through two rigorous elimination rounds before being named among the top 50 winners — and one of only three Western Slope companies to make the final cut.

“This is a true honor for a small firm,” SGM President Louis Meyer said of the company’s award. “We sincerely appreciate being recognized among an elite group of other companies that are making an impact in their communities, creating jobs and fueling Colorado’s economy right now.”



Colorado Companies to Watch is a Denver-based recognition presented by UMB Bank that, according to its online mission statement, seeks to “energize the state of Colorado by recognizing second-stage companies that are developing valuable products and services, creating quality jobs, enriching communities and creating new industries.” Second-stage companies are described as those that quietly fuel Colorado’s economic growth, possibly flying under the radar as they impact the communities in which they operate.

Meyer noted that although SGM has been a thriving local business for 30 years, many in the community are unaware of the range of services it offers. “We do many types of engineering,” Meyer said. “From civil engineering to energy issues to surveying and mapping, we offer high technology multidisciplinary services to both public and private entities throughout the Western Slope.”



Jenn Flentge, SGM’s marketing director, said the firm has had a hand in countless regional projects that compose the very fabric of Glenwood Springs and its vicinity. “It would be difficult to go somewhere in the valley without seeing or driving or walking on something that we’ve helped work on,” she said.

The firm employs roughly 60 individuals locally and about 30 more at satellite offices in Aspen, Gunnison, Grand Junction, Meeker and Salida. SGM also recently opened a brand-new office in Durango in order to help meet growing needs in the southwest corner of the state.

“The state of Colorado’s population is going to grow. There is no doubt about that. And with a rapidly expanding population,” Meyer noted, “we are looking at facing serious concerns regarding land use, energy, water resources, agriculture — and SGM is positioning itself to solve many of these challenges that we as a state will face very soon.”

An established reputation, job creation and a forward-thinking mentality: these are key reasons why SGM was considered for the award this year. Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association President Marianne Virgili was pleased to officially nominate the company as an outstanding example of local business ownership.

“I was privileged to nominate SGM as a Colorado Company to Watch,” Virgili said. “SGM was started by a couple of young engineers [Dean Gordon and Louis Meyer] after the oil shale bust in 1982. Louis and Dean found themselves out of a job. While they were low on money and work, they were big on talent. They built the kind of company they would like to work for and were generous with the employees and communities they served.

“To see a company born out of an economic collapse achieve the success that SGM has achieved is a lesson in the power of free enterprise,” Virgili said.

SGM has left a palpable imprint on the Western Slope over the last 30 years, and the company hopes to continue to shape western Colorado’s future for at least the next 30. In January, the firm will usher in a new generation of leadership when Warren Swanson, SGM’s current Water Services team leader, assumes the role of president.

“We are ready to meet the needs of a growing Colorado, and I feel we are recognized for having a real sense of purpose,” Meyer said. “We bring the best and brightest engineers from top schools around the country, and we are really helping to directly affect people’s quality of life here. We’re right in the middle of addressing the concerns that help keep this area a great place to live and work.”


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