Traditionally, the colors green and cobalt grey are not viewed as complimentary to one another. The hues simply don’t mix. They are in fact as different as a lush, lime lawn and an ominous ashen sky. However, an environmentally conscious engineering company is attempting to change this perception.
Founded in 1986, under a different title, Cobalt Engineering grew in ways expected and unexpected. Through the years, this evolvement prompted the company to not only change its name, but to also create new positions; positions that cater to the booming need for alternative energy sources. Jobs such as Sustainability Specialist and LEED Services Coordinator spearhead the firm’s campaign to implement eco-friendly procedures. And, with 160 employees and more on the way, an Internal Operations Department was put into action.
The Cobalt Way
Scattered throughout offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Kelowna, Burnaby, and Prince George, and maintaining a global influence that ranges from North America to Asia, Cobalt Engineering is expanding in an age when others are rapidly folding. Indeed, the industry’s annual National Association of Industrial Offices Commercial Real Estate Development Association and Properties (NAIOP) and Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) conferences are becoming less crowded. Yet the Canadian-based independent business continues to generate income by focusing on commercial markets and ways to create “innovative and sustainable design,” says CEO, Edward Smith.
Smith, a 21-year veteran in the engineering industry, began as a mechanical engineer in various areas of the United Kingdom, where he learned the value of good marketing. Working with that knowledge, he has implemented a thorough model. After re-branding in 2005, the company became involved in a number of monthly and quarterly programs. Cobalt now relies on an in house sales and marketing team. The firm produces
publications like Rules of Thumb for Building Systems, which provides an insight into systems and concepts of an integrated, open-minded design approach for its clients. In addition, Cobalt hosts continuing education events including the Client Seminar Series, which is accredited through professional architectural institutions across Canada. Client satisfaction is also a top priority, but not the only one.
The Cobalt Culture
If one is lucky enough to work for the company (as it was just named to the prestigious “Canada’s Best Workplaces for 2009” list by The Great Place to Work Institute Inc. as published in The Globe and Mail) it is likely that he or she was referred, responded to an ad placed in a myriad of different publications, or was hooked during a presentation put on by the company at a local college. Still, Cobalt Engineering does employ outside recruiting agencies to assist with the process of finding the perfect candidate, though it also develops employees in its education program. Once the candidate is selected, he or she is privy to an extensive training where the company’s protocol is explained and an introduction to company-specific tools such as “The Brain” is also made.
Implemented just last year, and championed by Mr. Smith, The Brain, which operates on in house principles, is a program that allows any employee to access Cobalt’s past project history. It was designed to serve as a model so that current projects can be done in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible, thereby allowing more time to be spent on innovation and, so far, it has proven to be extremely beneficial.
Letting the Work Speak for Itself
For Cobalt’s clients, numerous award-winning triumphs are just one of the benefits of partnering with Cobalt Engineering: From Crestwood 8 (BOMA BC Toby Award), to the Discovery Parks Trust (BC Hydro Power Smart Excellence) to the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. The latter was a recipient of the prestigious Governor General’s Medal in Architecture - the highest Canadian architectural award given. Cobalt is also the firm behind Millennium Water, the Athletes Village for the upcoming Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games, which Vancouver will host in 2010. The city’s aquarium is another one of the company’s gems.
As discussed, Cobalt Engineering is a leading force in the sustainability movement. Discovery Green Building in Burnaby, BC, is a prime example of this, being touted by critics as a “flagship,” due to its innovative design through the use of variable refrigerant flow (VRF). The system, which uses simultaneous heating and cooling, exact temperature control, and total heat recovery, combines natural lighting strategies and an Encelium lighting control system that offers better lighting quality and remarkable efficiency. Results have been fruitful: An estimated 40 percent reduction in energy consumption below baseline standards. All of this, and a state-of-the-art water conservation effort, which is founded upon extensive storm water management, indicate that it is only a matter of time before this already decorated company receives yet another accolade.
And For Our Next Act…
So what does the future hold for Cobalt Engineering? Continued growth and evolution, with a new office in the Los Angeles area - its first on American soil.