When times are tough you need your friends to help you through the crisis. This current recession has been tough on engineering companies. Potential clients have had a tendency to hold on to their money until the recovery begins. In today’s markets that recovery is taking a lot longer then usual.
The numbers are down across all sectors of the economy, and the turn around, well at best is stagnant. Land development and the construction industry have seen a massive reduction in projects. If you are like most engineers in the private sector you have definitely filling the pinch.
Already for most engineering firms the time has come to start creating new products and services to market in non-traditional markets. These engineers are using a business agreement that has not always been used to its fullest potential in our profession. Joint Ventures or Alliances is nothing more than banding together with other like minds and technologies. Groups of engineers, architects, contractors, and others have begun to form formal groups to create new business opportunities.
Joint Ventures or Partnerships have been traditional used to propose on large government contracts. In fact, the government has encouraged smaller firms to band together. The federal government has termed this type of arrangement as partnering. Usually architectural and engineering firms have teamed together to propose on A/E contracts.
Due to the poor economic conditions, engineering firms are now finding new ways to joint venture with other types of companies to create new business opportunities. You can now find engineering companies partnering with manufactures to produce new products. Environmental engineering firms are partnering with construction companies to offer remediation and clean-up services.
So why is a Joint Venture an option in tough economic times? Well the truth is that Joint Ventures are a good op