Jacques Whitford Proud to be Headquartered in Halifax
The global economy has given Canadian companies unprecedented access to global markets, exporting knowledge across Canada and around the world. Such is certainly the case with Jacques Whitford. In 1972, Hector Jacques and Mike Whitford founded a geotechnical-engineering firm based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They hit the ground running, signing 10 clients in a matter of days and registering their first profit in just four days.
In the three decades since then, the firm has diversified substantially, becoming a North American leader in environmental, engineering, scientific and planning disciplines, with a focus on challenges in the natural and built environments. Built on a model of employee ownership, Jacques Whitford now headquartered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has more than 1,000 employees, with 40 offices across Canada, in the United States and internationally. Its expertise in diverse and demanding sectors such as oil and gas, real estate, mining, commercial, industrial and government services has led Jacques Whitford teams into more than 65 countries working with clients in the Middle East, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Russia, China and Southeast Asia.
Those factors combine to give Jacques Whitford a wealth of experience, establishing it as a global leader in its field and garnering numerous accolades. Recent awards include the National Pinnacle Award for Innovation from BOMA (Building Operators and Managers Association), the Corporate Achievement Award (with greater than 500 people) from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, and the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy Award of Excellence for Research and Technology Development.
With a history typified by steady growth and advancement, Jacques Whitford was a logical fit for SmartBusiness. The Greater Halifax Partnership's innovative, customer focused business retention and expansion initiative aims to determine what issues are impeding business growth and then solve them. To do that, SmartBusiness account executives are meeting with 700 businesses this year.
When the Partnership met with Jacques Whitford, they discovered several key ways they could work together. First, the Partnership looked at the economic footprint that a local head office such as Jacques Whitford has on our community. This economic impact analysis helps demonstrate the importance of keeping head offices in the region, even as companies expand into other markets and export their knowledge around the world. Briefing key community stakeholders on the added value of keeping head offices such as Jacques Whitford is a key component of creating a viable community. One of the objectives of SmartBusiness is to create the most competitive business climate in Canada, and by communicating the issues to the broader community; this helps create an environment where everyone prospers.
And no matter how business grows, Jacques Whitford has never lost sight of the basics that started it all. “We are proud to be headquartered in Atlantic Canada and working together with the Greater Halifax Partnership to grow our economy,” says Bob Youden, CEO. "Exceptional service is the path to our success. It begins with a genuine interest in understanding who our clients are--their businesses, needs and objectives--how they think and what they care about. That’s smart business.”
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