MSI Engineers is navigating a path of measured growth and expansion while the industry at large grapples with growing complexity in the market. 

The Spokane-based engineering and consulting company operates out of the fifth floor of the Legion Building, where a staff of 18 occupies 6,500 square feet of office space, at 108 N. Washington, in downtown Spokane.

In the eight years since the Journal last caught up with MSI Engineers, which is the trade name of Meulink Stauffenberg PS, the company has grown despite facing labor shortages, growing project costs, and limited equipment availability, leaders of the company explain. In that time, MSI Engineers has launched a new out-of-state office, added a specialized division to its services, grown its workforce, and transitioned its leadership structure after founder William Meulink retired in 2019.

The transition was the first of many impactful decisions at MSI Engineers, the executive team says.

"We're not growing just to grow," says Ben Jennings, principal at MSI Engineers.

Meulink's retirement marked the beginning of a new leadership model at MSI Engineers that transitioned operations from a hierarchical structure, with Meulink at the helm, to a more democratic and collaborative model where all of the company's partners share an equal responsibility and have an equal say regarding the company's direction and major business decisions, says Natalie Johnston, principal at MSI Engineers.

The leadership team is now comprised of four principals including Johnston, Jess Stauffenberg, and Aaron Donnelly, all of whom are mechanical engineers; and Jennings, an electrical engineer. The executives say that a key strategy for the company has been an intentional focus on diversification of clients, markets, and perspectives.

"We learned from the pandemic that we were very reliant on schools," Stauffenberg says. "It was kind of easy for a while, and then the pandemic hit and they went away, and that's when we knew we needed to diversify and not have our eggs in one basket."

Before the onset of the pandemic, Stauffenberg says MSI Engineers averaged about 12 school-related engineering projects annually. The current market demand has shifted, however, and the company handles one or two school projects a year currently.

MSI Engineers' portfolio is steadily diversifying with more health care projects, such as ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, and behavioral health facilities, Donnelly says. 

Additionally, the company handles more multitenant residential, industrial, and municipal projects. Some of the current projects MSI Engineers is involved with in the Spokane area include the $21 million Falls Tower, a 12-story, 38-unit condominium building underway at 630 N. Lincoln, overlooking the Spokane River; a $15 million Spokane County operations building office development at 1303 N. Cedar, in Spokane; and a $9 million Spokane Regional Emergency Communication Center relocation project at 12809 E. Mirabeau Parkway, in Spokane Valley.

Montana expansion

MSI Engineers has adapted to a regional shift in work outside the area with the opening of a new office in Missoula, Montana in late 2024. Expanding services to Montana made sense for several strategic reasons, explains Stauffenberg, including allowing the company to enter a less competitive market compared to Western Washington, and the ability to leverage existing network connections in the area.

"There's not that many engineering firms in Montana, so it's kind of easier to break in there," says Stauffenberg, adding that Montana-based clients have a preference for working with local service providers. "They don't want to hire somebody from Washington. Now that we have a firm there, we can easily get work." 

The new office serves the entire state of Montana and North Idaho, and has grown from one to three employees since opening, Stauffenberg adds.

The company is expanding and growing in other Inland Northwest markets as well.

Behind activity in the Spokane area, the company's second biggest market is the Tri-Cities and Yakima Valley, Washington region, where some opportunities for school projects remain available. Recent projects MSI Engineers has handled in the area include the new $27.2 million Washington State University Taylor Sports Complex, in Pullman, Washington, and multiple rural school upgrade projects, explains Donnelly.

In a significant move to diversify business, MSI Engineers launched an electrical engineering division in 2022 to meet an "obvious need in the market" for electrical engineering services, Donnelly says.

A crucial factor was finding the right person to lead the department, which has been a struggle for the company and many other engineering firms to find skilled workers. Despite this, the electrical department has grown to five employees in three years of operation, notes Johnston. 

"We're still hoping to keep growing the electrical department and growing the office," she says.

MSI Engineers' specialties previously were focused on mechanical and plumbing engineering services. With the addition of electrical engineering, MSI Engineers adds value to its clients—mainly architects and property owners—who now can engage only one subconsultant instead of three separate subconsultants, simplifying project management, says Stauffenberg.

Jennings explains that the electrical engineering department is responsible for designing the electrical infrastructure plans that electricians follow to install power, lighting, standby power generation, fire alarms, and some other low-voltage data systems inside of buildings.

"Electrical has been pretty successful," says Donnelly. "They've created some growth within the company."

The leadership team declines to disclose the company's annual revenue, however Stauffenberg says 2024 was a record year financially for the company. 

Donnelly adds that last year's revenue was about 20% above the company's peak revenue in 2020. 

"This year looks pretty much on par," Johnston says of business so far in 2025.

Looking ahead, MSI Engineers expects business to become increasingly costly and complicated in order to meet Washington state's building energy code standards, which are impacting project equipment costs, influencing equipment choices, and shifting the company's role to include more education and guidance to clients.

"Trying to accomplish traditional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning without the use of natural gas kind of complicates things. As engineers, we have to become more knowledgeable, and then we become kind of a resource for other people to help guide them through the complexities," says Donnelly.

Navigating market complications has been made easier with a collaborative company culture that differentiates from traditional corporate norms, executives say. A family-like work environment is cultivated through personality-based hiring strategies that prioritize fun, teamwork, and connection, all of which contribute to an enjoyable work environment.

Collaboration and relationship building has translated to long-term client relationships as well.

"A majority of our work is repeat business with architects and owners," says Stauffenberg.