Malcom McLaren, founder and CEO of McLaren Engineering Group, speaks last year at the grand opening of the firm’s new office in Woodcliff Lake. — Courtesy: McLaren Engineering Group
By Joshua Burd
The head of a Woodcliff Lake-based engineering firm has been named a finalist for EY’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year award in New Jersey.
Malcom G. McLaren, founder and CEO of McLaren Engineering Group, is among more than 30 nominees statewide for the prestigious business award. The distinction recognizes entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
McLaren founded the firm in his basement in 1977 and has gone on to design and engineer a host of bridges, structures, waterfront destinations and entertainment venues throughout the country, according to a news release. The birth of the practice came after McLaren, a young scuba diver, spearheaded the concept of the “engineer-as-diver” profession.
“I started McLaren Engineering Group when I was 25 years old, performing underwater inspections on bridges and offering structural engineering services for buildings,” McLaren said. “Four decades later, I’m proud to say that we have engineered over 15,000 projects around the world.”
The firm last year opened its new 57,000-square-foot headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, which has the capacity to grow to 250 professionals. It already employs more than 250 people in 11 offices, which also include regional hubs in New York City, Albany, Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Today, McLaren Engineering Group serves 10 key markets including arts, entertainment and exhibits; education; energy; government; health care; industrial; ports, coastal and waterfront; public infrastructure; real estate development and transportation, the news release said.
“It is an honor to be named as a finalist alongside these inspiring New Jersey entrepreneurs,” McLaren said. “These are industry leaders and determined individuals, all of whom are making a difference in their respective markets.”
McLaren was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges, the news release said. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 20 at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick and will be qualified for EY’s national awards, which are later this year.
