Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. (DBF), an award-winning architecture, engineering, and surveying firm headquartered in Salisbury, Md., is celebrating 40 years in business. DBF has been providing professional consulting services across the Mid-Atlantic region to over 4,000 clients since its inception in 1983.
To kick-off the firm’s celebrations, DBF announces that they have acquired Environmental Resources, Inc. (ERI), a Selbyville-based environmental sciences firm. This is the firm’s second acquisition, following the 2007 acquisition of Andrews, Miller & Associates. The acquisition, which was made official on Jan. 1, 2023, expands the firm’s capabilities to include environmental consulting and ecological management services. As part of the firm’s strategic growth efforts, this acquisition supports another meaningful advancement for the firm and its client.
“DBF and ERI have a lengthy and successful working history. Our firms have collaborated on over 450 projects throughout the last 30 years. DBF staff have worked with ERI staff members Thomas Nobile and Edward Launay who are environmental scientists with decades of knowledge and expertise in environmental sciences and natural resources management. We’ve had the pleasure of working alongside them and have a phenomenal working relationship. Environmental science and civil engineering go hand-in-hand. Many of our projects begin with data collected by environmental scientists. Our disciplines work together to minimize environmental impacts with most any projects we take on. The cultural and strategic fit between our companies just makes sense,” said Ring Lardner, President of DBF.
ERI offers a wide range of environmental services including, but not limited to, wetlands delineation, mitigation of wetland impacts, habitat analysis, wildlife management plans, water quality surveys, soil mapping, percolation testing, and regulatory permitting related to these areas. This strategic acquisition will once again grow DBF’s in-house services and portfolio of work, offering its clients an expanded catalogue of services under one roof.
“Joining DBF was a decision made in the best interests of ERI, DBF, and our clients. This combining of the firms will advance our technical and service capabilities and will assist in providing our clients with harmonious design solutions,” said Edward Launay, Principal of ERI. Although internal operations will be merging, the firm will now do business as Environmental Resource Insights, A Division of Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc.
Today, DBF is led by president Ring W. Lardner, PE, and principals, W. Zachary Crouch, PE, Jason Loar, PE, Michael E. Wheedleton, AIA, LEED GA, and Jamie L. Sechler, PE. With the acquisition made official, DBF now has over 100 employees who provide a diverse set of specialized professional services. The firm’s services now include civil, municipal, structural, traffic and coastal engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, GIS mapping, surveying, construction inspection and administration, and environmental sciences.
“The DBF and ERI team have both provided exceptional professional services to our neighbors for decades, and we will continue to do so well into the future. We welcome our new team members and are ready to help our clients achieve even more success with this partnership,” said Larder.
Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc., is a full-service architectural, engineering, and surveying firm with offices in Salisbury and Easton, Maryland, and Milford, Delaware. For additional information about DBF, visit www.dbfinc.com.
