N. Phila. civil-engineering firm seeks to expand footprint

Louis A. Rodriguez, president of Rodriguez Consulting, is shown here in front of the storm water management system he designed for the Taj Deed Development Condos, located at 4th and Oxford Streets, in Philadelphia PA, Oct. 23, 2014. Staff Photographer / Jessica Griffin

LOUIS RODRIGUEZ, 46, of Williamstown, N.J., is president of Rodriguez Consulting, in North Philadelphia. The Chester native founded the civil-engineering firm in 2007. It's the 54th-fastest-growing inner-city business on the 2014 Inner City 100 compiled by the Massachusetts-based Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.

Q: How'd you come up with the idea for the biz?

A: I was working for the Philadelphia Water Department and noticed a lot of work was outsourced to private firms. I also saw the challenges some larger companies were having meeting minority-participation goals in city contracts. I left the city and worked with Pennoni Associates before starting my own firm.

Q: How'd you finance it?

A: Out of my own pocket. I also had an investor who was a client at the time. It was about $50,000 altogether.

Q: What's the biz do?

A: We do civil engineering and specialize in design (land development), infrastructure (water and sewer storm water) and geospatial solutions, a fancy term for mapping and land surveying.

Q: The biz model?

A: We sell hours. Our rates could range from $50 an hour to $200, based on who's doing the work. Our largest projects would be in the $100,000-to-$150,000 range.

Q: Some clients?

A: The Water Department is our top client. On the private side, we've done work for Pennoni and Urban Engineers, two of the largest regional engineering firms. And we've worked for the federal government. Right now, we're probably 75 to 80 percent government and 20 to 25 percent private.

Q: The value prop?

A: I see us as a Navy SEAL-type group of elite, skilled individuals with experience working in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Florida and even overseas. The bottom line is you're getting a former Philadelphia Water Department manager at a price that's affordable because our overhead is less than bigger firms.

Q: What's been the biggest challenge growing the biz?

A: People and money. Our people could work in Center City one week, and next week it could be Tacony. Engineering is a profession where, unfortunately, it's all too common for a client to say we'll pay you when we get paid. I have a great relationship with my bank.

Q: How big a biz is this?

A: We have 22 full-time employees, and we're projecting $1.9 million in revenue this year.

Q: What's next?

A: We want to increase our private work and the geographic region we serve. When we started it was primarily Philadelphia and South Jersey, and now we're working in D.C. and Maryland.

Source: Philly.com