TEE HISTORY

The Engineering Enterprise began as a partnership between Charles Shalley and Dan Dibble in the spring of 1974. Both Chuck and Dan had extensive experience as electrical designers and, at the time, both were employed by the Oakland firm of Beamer/Wilkinson & Associates.
Chuck, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, had succeeded in passing the national qualifying examination to become a registered professional engineer in the state of California. He suggested that a partnership be formed to practice a brand of highly involved and conscientious engineering serving the architectural and contracting community in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The name for the new venture was chosen to represent the initiative of its founders and to connote traditional business virtues of personal commitment, pride of authorship and pursuit of excellence.

Sub-lease office space was located in a development at 600 Bancroft in Berkeley, CA, and the firm began operations on a very wet and dreary morning on the 24th of March 1974. The partnership relocated to 620 Bancroft Way in May of 1974 and added the first full time employee an Administrative Assistant.

The volume of business continued to grow, and it soon became apparent that additional skilled engineers were going to be required to meet client demands. Richard Kenney joined The Engineering Enterprise in 1976 and the office of Michael Gill & Associates was merged into the firm in 1977.

During its years in Berkeley from 1974 to 1984, The Engineering Enterprise amassed an impressive work record of notable projects for some of the Bay Area’s most prominent architects and clientele.

Early in 1984 the Directors of the Corporation began to explore the possibility of acquiring permanent quarters for the firm’s operations. In the course of the search it was learned that the historic Powerhouse building in Alameda’s Marina Village Development was available on a lease basis at rates comparable to those existing in Berkeley. Since the new space could be finished out to the Company’s specifications and afforded room to grow (as well as offering some unique qualities), it was decided to move operations to the present Alameda offices in October 1985.
From 1985 through 2000, The Engineering Enterprise flourished and continued to grow while maintaining its commitment to provide clients with a level of service unparalleled within the A/E industry.

In 2000, the Directors of the Corporation began putting together a plan to transition the leadership of the firm to a second generation of Principals, all of which had been promoted from within after working their way up through the organization. At the same time, Scott Wheeler was in the process of opening a Sacramento area branch office to capitalize on the rapid growth in that area.

By August of 2001, Chuck Shalley, Dan Dibble and Rich Kenney had each taken the new title of Emeritus Principal. The new leadership group consisting of Brian Smith, a Principal since 1988 who was named the new President of the firm, Kristina Martin, Scott Wheeler, and Jon Friedman who took over the day to day management of The Engineering Enterprise. Over the years, the leadership group has expanded, adding Leonard King (retired in December 2018), Keefe O’Toole, Andy Bell, David Johnson and Danny McKevitt as Principals of the firm.

In 2020, after being President of the firm for 19 years, Brian Smith took a different leadership role and Scott Wheeler was named the President of The Engineering Enterprise. Scott is the third person to hold the title of President in the 48-year history of the firm.

Recently, The Engineering Enterprise has expanded and opened offices in Santa Barbara and San Diego allowing us to more easily provide electrical engineering and low voltage design services for our clients in the Central and Southern California markets.

Since our inception, The Engineering Enterprise has sought and earned a reputation for skillful, innovative design; for punctual and accurate design execution; for sensitivity to psychological, sociological and aesthetic design concerns; and for a high sense of fairness and business acumen. In future years, we hope to maintain and strengthen our reputation as a quality firm offering quality service. Our future success in this endeavor will not depend so much upon our past history, as it will upon the talent and effort of our present staff. In this regard, we look forward with optimism!