Celebrating 10 Years of Dynamic Growth at Lauren Vancouver

As Lauren Service’s Vancouver office celebrates its 10^th anniversary in December, Dustin Edgren and Fletcher Evans reflect on their humblest of beginnings in a shared workspace with two desks. While Lauren’s Calgary roots date back to 1979, the engineering firm was truly in start-up mode in British Columbia back in 2014.

“We had two desks and no windows. We really had to hustle, it’s not like the phone was ringing off the hook,” recounts Fletcher Evans, vice-president of business operations. “We soon realized we needed an office if we wanted to be taken seriously.”

They opened their first “real” office at Pender and Granville streets, and yes, it even had windows. Dustin Edgren, president of Lauren, recalls the early days working on their first big project, a river crossing for Spectra Energy, now Enbridge.

“For us, it’s always been about relationships. Every new project was based on a client having trust in us and appreciating our approach, and we were grateful for every opportunity we were provided,” Dustin says. “We developed a reputation for getting things done under some less-than-ideal circumstances. We had to be scrappy and innovative, and we’ve kept that mentality.”

Rod Phipps, a Lauren founder and managing partner, recalls how the company saw opportunity to expand its footprint into the BC market. Already well established in Alberta, “we believed in the potential to get a foot hold based on our proven track record as well as the reputations Dustin and Fletcher brought to the table,” Rod says. “It turned out to be a great business decision and a turning point for Lauren.”   

As projects grew, so did the Vancouver team. From early joiners like Terry Brar to Christina Clark to Theo Leung to Steve Bergen and Graham Pavlik—Lauren Vancouver attracted young and dynamic talent with a shared interest in building something special. Those early employees are still with Lauren today, contributing as senior leaders who are helping to shape the modern era of the full-suite firm.  

A second office move brought the BC team to its current space on Burrard Street, followed by the opening of a third Lauren location in Kelowna last year. Today about 40 engineers and specialists call Vancouver their head office.

“It doesn’t matter where we are located, we all have the same goals and mindset,” says Fletcher, who adds Lauren hires talent based on the right combination of experience and personality. “Our culture and our values define us as an employer and differentiate us in the market, so we’ve been deliberate in our approach even as we’ve now grown to more than 150 people company wide.”         

Lauren continues to grow its portfolio of innovative projects across traditional and transitional energy, encompassing a variety of energy sources and technologies. Recent project highlights for the Vancouver team includes a partnership with Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) on the Salvus to Galloway pipeline remediation project transporting natural gas from Summit Lake to Prince Rupert in British Columbia. As well, the team provided project and construction management support for the FEED/detailed design and construction phases of the MEG Unloading Expansion project at Pacific Coast Terminals in Port Moody, BC.

While there can sometimes be a little good-natured rivalry between offices when it comes to hockey pools, Dustin says Lauren is “one team, one mission” more than ever before as specialists collaborate across clients and geography.