Henderson Engineers realizes there’s more in a name than it thought

Maybe Shakespeare believed names weren’t important, but in business they matter.

Henderson Engineers Inc. has entered a rebranding process to rename all services under its prime name, Henderson.

After taking a step back to look at their brand, firm executives unveiled a new business structure in early July. The engineering firm brought all of its building system design services under the Henderson brand.

These services included Impact Illumination for architectural lighting, Fire Dynamics for fire and life safety, and Collective Tech for technology. They no longer hold separate divisions within the company.

Henderson Engineers also changed the name of its wholly owned construction management company from Outcome Construction Services to Henderson Building Solutions.

The company found that its brand name, Henderson, held more power than highlighting its various services.

“When we initially came up with these divisions, we thought it would be a differentiation and it would show what we specialized in,” said President and CEO Rich Smith. “But what we came to realize later is the name and the reputation that the parent company really had held the most power and trust within the industry, so in the end it made sense to bring them back under that one Henderson name.”

The multidisciplinary engineering firm’s headquarters are in Lenexa with offices around the United States. The company focuses on construction for sports, health care, grocery and retail clients. It recently reached a staff of more than 700 employees.

The engineering firm has revenues of $115 million and has completed projects for Walmart; Nike; Whole Foods; Verizon; Golden 1 Center, which is the home of the Sacramento Kings; and the AT&T Center, which is the home of the San Antonio Spurs.

One of its ongoing projects includes the largest sports project being designed and built in the United States right now, which will be the $2.6 billion Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park shared by the Rams and the Chargers football teams.

In a town rich with engineering companies, Henderson is ranked No. 4 and has been ranked nationally as a mechanical, electrical and plumbing giant.

“You know, it’s almost like we are a reflection of Kansas City,” Smith said. “We are proud, we are hardworking, we get the job done and we don’t spend a lot of time talking about ourselves. I think that’s a reflection of being an engineer and also being from Kansas City.”

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Henderson Engineers realizes there’s more in a name than it thought."