By Joshua Burd
LAN Associates has continued its recent expansion with the opening of a new office in Vernon, in what will be the dedicated home of its growing surveying department.
Based in Midland Park, the architecture and engineering firm said Assistant Vice President Matthew Webb will lead the team of survey technicians based at 6 Warren Drive. He has overseen the department since 2009, spearheading a significant increase in new clients and scope of projects for a group whose services include construction stakeouts and topographic, boundary, right-of-way, utility and subdivision.
Licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and Connecticut, the surveying team also serves a wide geographical territory, according to a news release. The team continually prepares ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys for title companies on properties throughout every state in which its members are licensed.
“Our primary goal has always been about meeting our clients’ needs,” Webb said. “The progression and growth continue as a result of our team working together to meet and overcome the challenges we face.
“We are a tight-knit group, and we strive to provide our clients with high-quality surveys delivered within their transaction deadlines. This team focus has helped us build a roster of satisfied, repeat clients. Based on the growth of services provided to the department’s independent clients and the survey demands of LAN’s full-service projects born of other departments, the move into the new space became a necessity to maintain our level of service.”
LAN said its surveying department ran strong through 2020 and 2021, despite the challenges of COVID-19. In addition to being a key part of the firm’s full-service offering, the team works with large title service coordination companies and other industry professionals on substantial projects, often performing a dozen to up to 125 surveys for transactions involving a chain of service stations, storage facilities, warehouses, banks or fast-food restaurants.
“The surveying team has built a name for itself as a dependable source with state-of-the-art equipment to handle large scale engagements and has a reputation for accuracy and efficiency,” LAN President Ken Karle said.
This is the second time LAN has expanded into a new location in as many years. In 2020, the 57-year-old firm debuted an office in Voorhees, growing its footprint to five locations spread across three states.
The firm is now on track for continued growth with a substantial increase in project awards and workload for almost every in-house department across all territories.
“We have had to go on a bit of a hiring spree,” said Ron Panicucci, the firm’s CEO. “In the AEC industry large projects can span years from conceptual design to the day doors open. Analyzing market trends and mapping out internal projections is vital to planning so you can hit the ground running on designs once you are awarded a contract. Based on everything we are seeing, we are staffing up based on a large and steady increase in our contracted work backlog.”
