Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era; May 2, 2012
by Tim Mekeel

Having taken a step back during the recession, a small engineering firm has recovered and taken a step forward.

Providence Engineering Corp. has expanded by acquiring and renovating the former Just Cabinets building at 10 Eisenhower Blvd.

Completion of the $700,000 project, which replaces smaller leased space on South West End Avenue, was announced Wednesday.

“The building industry is not out of the recession yet. It’s still soft,” said Dan Fichtner, Providence founder and president.

“We’ve done well because we’re so diverse,” tackling jobs from tiny to substantial, giving Providence hundreds of jobs a year, he said.

The subjects have been as small as a damaged building column and as sizable as Lancaster Bible College’s new Student Learning Commons.

Despite the wide scope of work, Providence saw hard times during the recession, as have nearly all firms tied to the building industry.

Its Lancaster work force, which numbered 22 employees before the recession, was cut to 14. For those remaining, pay was cut and two a month were idled on a rolling layoff.

Finally, helped by that diverse approach, business began to improve two years ago. The Lancaster work force has been enlarged to 25.

That caused Providence to outgrow its 7,000-square-foot leased space at 117 S. West End Ave., the former Slaymaker Lock building.

“We had to add people to meet our workload, but we had them working in conference rooms. That’s not the best place to put them,” Fichtner said.

So after 12 years on West End Avenue, Providence turned to the former Just Cabinets building. Its 9,000 square feet solved the space problem, while keeping Providence on the same side of town. Providence funded the project with a Small Business Administration 504 loan through the Economic Development Co. of Lancaster County.

Fichtner, a professional engineer, started Providence in the basement of his Providence Township home in 1992.

Providence provides structural engineering to architects and industrial-building design leadership to contractors and owners.

Besides its new East Hempfield office, it has offices in Muncy and State College, bringing its total work force to 28.

© 2004-2012 Lancaster Newspapers