TRAVERSE CITY, MI, Oct. 14, 2004 (PRNewswire) -- Wastewater treatment and the environment will benefit from a working relationship announced this week by two of northern Michigan's oldest engineering and contracting firms.
Gourdie Fraser & Associates (GFA) and Arms & Cole (A&C), both of Traverse City, disclosed a joint effort to design, build and operate wastewater treatment facilities. Both companies' focus is on small community treatment plants and decentralized systems as small as individual home systems.
"The alliance is a natural," explained Brett Gourdie, director of sales for GFA. "The turnkey approach will allow us to offer a better price by taking advantage of efficiencies. This is an ideal time to launch this relationship. Markets are emerging across the state and now we will be in a position to address them as fast track projects."
Arms & Cole will handle the mechanical/building side of the relationship said Scott Hardy, its president, while GFA will manage design, permitting and operations.
"The rationale is to provide sewer and water solutions that will protect environmentally sensitive areas throughout the state in a cost-effective and timely way," Hardy explained.
The two firms will cover the state, according to Marko Vukasovich, wastewater project manager for Arms & Cole for the past two years. Prior to joining A&C, he was a wastewater facilities' construction manager for Earth Tech, a Tyco International company building wastewater facilities in North America. An Ann Arbor native, he has a degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University.
About Gourdie Fraser
Since 1948 Gourdie Fraser & Associates has provided municipal, development and transportation consulting services to public and private clients statewide.
Its main office is located in downtown Traverse City. Over its sixty years, GFA has worked with local, state and federal agencies in over $l billion of capital improvement projects. Some of the firm's larger regional projects include Interlochen Center for the Arts, Boyne USA, Northwestern Michigan College and the Grand Traverse Resort.
About Arms & Cole
Formed in 1895 in Traverse City, the company is northwest Michigan's oldest mechanical contractor. From its headquarters here, it services a six county region of northwest Michigan and has a skilled team of professionals with over 150 years of mechanical contracting experience: HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) as well as plumbing systems. It has designed and/or built many of the area's major commercial mechanical installations, and worked on facilities from banks, schools and hospitals, to industrial plants, cold storage facilities and wastewater/water treatment plants.
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