Black-owned engineering firm in West Palm Beach breaking barriers with new headquarters
By Jade Jarvis
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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — Black workers make up just 5% of the engineering workforce in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center, and the percentage of Black-owned engineering companies is even smaller.
One West Palm Beach-based firm is breaking down those barriers by building an even bigger legacy.
In just a few months, the construction site at Beacon Circle in West Palm Beach will be transformed into a state-of-the-art headquarters for ECF Engineering Consultants.
“We are constructing a 20,000 square foot facility to accommodate our main office,” Everett Fennell, the founder and CEO of ECF Engineering, said.
The firm provides technical, electrical, and mechanical support for companies and agencies like FPL and the Port of Palm Beach.
It was founded in West Palm Beach and its unique not just because of the work they do, but also because of the people doing that work.
“We have a very diverse staff that really represents the community we live and work in. We’re proud of that. We’re proud of not only the ethnic diversity, but the fact that the firm president is a woman,” Fennell said.
President and COO Shauna Fennell Hawkins is Fennell’s daughter, and important representation in a field where not just Black people but also women are underrepresented.
“I’m a behind the scenes person, but I did realize that my position is unique and that it was important that I be more at the forefront, to show our black women that its attainable,” Fennell Hawkins said.
With locations in Atlanta and Sunrise, they’re hoping to grow their business with this new building which Fennell said will help grow their workforce by 10%.
“We’re very proud of this building because as an engineering firm, we self-engineered the project ourselves. So, it will have a lot of energy efficient features in it,” Jerold Parrott, the director of building Services for ECF Engineering, said.
Even though the industry is dominated by majority white institutions, Fennell said ECF’s success has come in part through partnerships with other minority firms and he hopes they’ll be an inspiration for other black men and women to enter the engineering field.
“We feel based on our success others can find a way to replicate what we’ve done. We do work with others; we do mentor others and support others who are pursuing their dreams. But — it’s just been a great opportunity. We’ve been blessed to be in a position to create what we have,” Fennell said.
Fennell said he expects to move into the new building by the third quarter of this year and jobs have already been posted.
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