ST. LOUIS and DES MOINES – The HFW Companies, a fast-growing professional services firm with a national focus on the architecture and engineering (AE) industry, has added another strategic growth partnership to its expanding portfolio, this time with INVISION, an Iowa-based planning, architecture, and interior design firm that has been serving the Midwest for more than a century.
INVISION represents HFW’s fifth strategic partnership in the past year as HFW forges ahead with its plan to develop a network of growth-oriented AE firms that share best practices, economies of scale, and unique areas of expertise, according to Michael Hein, AIA, PMP, chief executive officer of St. Louis-based HFW.
“We’re greatly impressed with the legacy of INVISION and its leadership, as well as its architectural and interior design talent in the education, health and wellness, cultural, and other sectors,” said Hein of HFW’s new strategic partner. “We look forward to working with them to accelerate their growth in the Midwest and leverage the expertise of our other strategic growth partners to achieve their own vision.”
HFW’s business model is designed to retain and leverage each partnering firm’s own brand identity, loyal employee base, and the allegiance of its project partners to build a nationwide “house of brands” network of AE member firms.
For INVISION, a design firm founded in 1914 that employs close to 75 professionals from offices in Des Moines and Waterloo, Iowa, this new partnership will support a growth trajectory that is expected to lead to greater opportunities for its staff and resources for our clients according to Brad Leeper, AIA, a partner with INVISION.
“Following significant strategic planning around exploring INVISION 2030, we identified growth and innovation as key drivers for our future, said Leeper. “We’ve been exploring a variety of growth strategies as a meaningful approach to achieve these goals. HFW brought a model to the table that was unique, allowing us to pursue these goals in a way we could not achieve on our own. They are genuine in their approach and have a sophistication to their partnerships that allow us to continue serving communities in more meaningful ways for the next 100 years.”
Based in St. Louis, HFW is an AEC industry professional services company investing in architecture and engineering firms that serve metropolitan and infrastructure markets and are open to aligning with partners for growth. Its member firms, grounded in technical excellence, solve the most critical problems facing the built environment, improving communities through creative design, engineering, and planning.