CRW Engineering Group: 25 years of success: this engineering firm has spread its wings across the state, and has generated about

CRW Engineering Group has its fingerprints all over Alaska and its silver anniversary cake as well.

The Anchorage-based engineering firm celebrated its 25th year of doing business with and in the state in April. They are quite proud of their accomplishments and their employees, founder and principal owner Willem Van Hemert said.

"We wanted to establish a good work environment for the people who are employed here," said Van Hemert. "I believe we have accomplished that goal and more."

CRW Engineering Group LLC was formed in 1981 in Anchorage by Van Hemert, who is leaving his position early next year after a quarter-century of leading the firm.

"It was never my primary goal to become the biggest engineering firm around," recalls Van Hemert. "I never really wanted to be the largest one around here. I just wanted to maintain a sense of family within this company.

"I thought we would be somewhat successful or we'd have to close the doors. We started out with one contract, one secretary and a draft engineer," said Van Hemert.

Van Hemert also recalls somewhat of a humorous situation in the early years of the business.

"We shared the same address on Fourth Avenue as the Alaska Bush Company (a local night club and bar famous for its strippers)." We would get their mail and they would get ours," laughed Van Hemert.

From its humble beginnings, CRW Engineering has now flourished from a staff of three to nearly 50 fulltime employees.

The emphasis at CRW Engineering is on civil infrastructure projects, including transportation, water and wastewater systems, parks and trails, fueling facilities, site development and storm-water collection and treatment systems.

"One of the more unique projects for us was helping to install the artificial turf at the Anchorage Football Stadium in 2000," said Van Hemert. "We were under a real challenge to get it finished by the time football season began. And we made it."

The company features a full range of services from planning through construction management. This diverse company also provides civil and electrical engineering, as well as land surveying and mapping.

Projects have run the gamut for CRW, which include designing improvements to the Old Glenn Highway from the south end of Lower Fire Lake to Ski Road in Peters Creek to Elmore Road improvements and Whittier water and sewer upgrades.

CRW Engineering and the Municipality of Anchorage are resuming the design for the Kincaid Park Access Road from the entrance of Kincaid Park to the Nordic Ski Club Bunker. This roadway is a much-used corridor to access Kincaid Park, one of Anchorage gems for outdoor enthusiasts. Tourists, residents, school children, and folks training for ski and bike races use Kincaid Park Access road year-round.

CRW Engineering provided design for 5 miles of new bike trail through the Campbell Creek Greenbelt. The project included five new bridges and several retaining walls. The firm worked hand-in-hand with permitting agencies to reduce environmental impact.

Two years ago, CRW and the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), with funds from the Denali Commission, teamed up to work in Kwethluk, a Yupik community of approximately 700 near the Kuskokwim River, where residents rely on subsistence for survival; on hand-hauled water for drinking, cooking and bathing; on honeybuckets for sewer; and on fuel-oil stoves and diesel generators for heat and electricity.

Through the major efforts of CRW, the community of Kwethluk now has a 439,000-gallon tank farm to replace the storage tanks that had outlived their useful service and threatened to leak fuel into the nearby rivers.

Another notable project that has CRW's fingerprints is the E Street (Anchorage) project. This is a key north/south corridor running through the heart of downtown, providing a direct link between the Alaska Railroad depot and Ship Creek, the Delaney Park Strip, and everything in between. The idea is to bring a better business connection between activities along the corridor.

"I know I have some big shoes to fill," said incoming Managing Partner Mike Rabe of the outgoing Van Hemert. "But we have some outstanding technicians and staff and a great opportunity to further our growth. We hope to employ around 65 in the next four years."

Grow it has. Van Hemert estimates that CRW's first-year earnings were around $800,000. Today the firm's income has generated nearly $7.5 million. Van Hemert says about half of its workload is in the Anchorage Bowl and its other half in the villages around the state.

Leah Boltz, marketing director for CRW Engineering, says partial success for the company comes from repeat business. "We have clients who come back because they trust us and the community recognizes that."

"A key to our longevity is making sure we serve our clients, having the best technical help and then our construction reputation," added Van Hemert.

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