Mission/Values/Vision
Overview
Staff
Why Choose Us
History
Open Book Management
Draper Aden Associates’ philosophy of providing engineering and design services is embodied in our mission statement, which reads:
We exist to help our clients succeed. To do this, we will:
- Understand our clients’ business
- Provide a full range of quality services
- Make the best use of our clients’ resources
- Use appropriate technology
- Be there when our clients need us
- Have a great work environment
- Be successful ourselves.
Our Corporate Values
Our purpose is to apply our collective expertise for the benefit of others. To do this, we embrace the following core values:
- Integrity
- An Employee-Focused Environment
- Client Care/Service
- Teamwork
- Financial Strength
Our Corporate Vision
Building upon our core values and the talents of our employees, we will seek continual improvement in all aspects of the firm, proactively promote responsible growth, and become the respected “firm of choice.”
Draper Aden Associates is a leading 200-person consulting engineering firm with over 33 years of experience in planning and engineering design for both public and private clients. Our offices are located in Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Hampton Roads, and Richmond, Virginia. Services include civil, environmental, geotechnical, and structural engineering; surveying and subsurface utility engineering; site planning and engineering; solid waste management; transportation planning; landscape architecture, construction administration services and municipal operational consulting. We are dedicated to the success of our clients and to achieving the highest levels of professional expertise.
Draper Aden Associates’ trained professionals are experienced and knowledgeable in a wide range of engineering consulting services. Our experience and knowledge have enabled us to grow into one of the top engineering firms in the Mid-Atlantic. Engineering News-Record listed us as one of the Top 500 Design Firms in their April 24, 2006, issue. For two consecutive years, Trenchless Technology listed us as one of the Top 50 trenchless engineering companies in North America. Additionally, our company was ranked number 13 in Virginia Business magazine’s 2006 List of Leaders for architectural and engineering firms. Draper Aden Associates offers a growing range of integrated services that enable us to take any project from initial concept to planning, financing, design, construction, and operation. Our firm’s core services are based on the following teams: |
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- Civil/Utilities Engineering
- Ecological Services
- Environmental Services
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Site Planning and Engineering
- Solid Waste Management
- Structural Engineering
- Surveying
- Subsurface Utility Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
Draper Aden Associates also provides some unique specialty services that are integrated into our core services. These include:
- Alternative Wastewater Treatment Systems
- Construction Administration and Observation
- Environmental/Computer Modeling
- Funding Assistance
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Geological/Hydrogeological Services
- Landscape Architecture
- Materials Testing Laboratory
- Stormwater Management Design
- Sustainable Design
- Telecommunications Engineering
- Water and Sewer Rate Analysis
Since 1972, Draper Aden Associates has served a variety of clients, including municipalities, industries, utilities, land developers, higher education facilities, professional service firms, architectural firms, solid waste companies, contractors and builders, state and federal agencies, and private owners. Our clients respect our experience and reply on our responsiveness to their specifications and timetables.
Draper Aden Associates employs a diverse group of civil, environmental, geotechnical, solid waste, structural, and transportation engineers; as well as geology, hydrogeology, and environmental science professionals. We strive to provide the highest levels of expertise by recruiting, training, and rewarding exceptional professionals and technicians in each of our specialty areas.
Our firm is structured to ensure we can leverage our resources to satisfy our clients’ unique needs and requirements.
Our current staff of 200 includes registered Professional Engineers; registered Professional Geologists; Engineers-In-Training; licensed Landscape Architects; and Licensed Surveyors.
Draper Aden Associates recognizes that each client is unique and each project requires careful planning and understanding.
All Draper Aden Associates employees are highly trained, experienced, motivated and have the ability to work together as a team. Advanced computer and AutoCAD systems, as well as the latest computer software and information management systems support our staff. Our commitment to technology allows us to add value and quality to the services we offer our clients. We take pride in our ability to offer new and innovative alternatives that satisfy our clients' engineering challenges.
Draper Aden Associates began as the partnership of Joseph C. Draper, LS and William A. Aden, PE in 1972 in Blacksburg, Virginia. Since our beginning as a five-person engineering, surveying, and planning firm, we have grown to over 200 professionals in four regional Virginia offices – Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Hampton Roads, and Richmond.
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, steady growth marked the firm's development, with new disciplines being added as new specialists joined the firm. The firm has consistently adhered to its original objectives, and enhanced its staff by adding experts in utilities engineering, transportation engineering, structural engineering, site planning, ecological services, environmental services, geotechnical services, landscape architecture and solid waste management. As the firm grew, offices were opened in Richmond in 1985; Charlottesville in 2001; and Hampton Roads in 2002, allowing us to better serve our Virginia clients, and the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
By honoring our commitments to our clients and implementing structured plans to diversify our client base and expand our professional staff, Draper Aden Associates is recognized as a leader among consulting engineering firms across the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
- Client Oriented - Client service means exceeding expectations by listening carefully to your unique project concerns every step of the way, and putting the best minds to work to create the right total solutions.
- Multi-Disciplined – From strategic planning to project closeout, Draper Aden Associates enables you to rely on us for numerous in-house services.
- Experienced – We hire the best and create teams to better serve your needs. It is vital for project success to assign personnel to tasks for which they are properly qualified and competent.
- Responsive – This is a key element of our business. As a service industry we must live up to your expectations relative to communication and responsiveness.
- Top Ranked – Draper Aden Associates Engineering News-Record listed us as one of the Top 500 Design Firms in their April 24, 2006, issue. For two consecutive years, Trenchless Technology listed us as one of the top 50 trenchless engineering companies in North America. Additionally, our company was ranked number 13 in Virginia Business magazine’s 2006 List of Leaders for architectural and engineering firms.
- Established – With 33 years’ of experience, we have learned how to maintain a productive and dynamic business, ensuring our continuation for years to come.
Open-book management is not only a technique, but a way of thinking that actively involves Draper Aden Associates’ employees in the financial life of the company. Our financial status, excluding pay information, is fully shared with our employees, who then become active participants in a coordinated effort to optimize future financial performance. Each month, and in each office, key financial documents, such as income and cash flow statements and balance sheets, are shared with employees for review and discussion.
Our senior management is committed to an open operating environment. By opening our books and sharing financial information--both the good and the bad--we find that employees spend less time worrying about job security and more time helping the company grow and be profitable. The overall advantage of our successful open book management program is that our staff thinks of themselves as business persons and they know what the numbers mean. As a result, they work together toward the same goals. They are equipped with the knowledge of improving the company, organizing and managing themselves in a way that corresponds with our company’s strategic goals.
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