Just Right

The recession-generated metamorphosis in the engineering industry has squeezed firms like Karins Engineering Group.

That's because the industry, especially on the boom-and-bust Gulf Coast, has mostly split in two: On one side there are big firms, like Edmonton, Canada-based Stantec, which acquired Naples-based Wilson Miller in 2010 and now has hundreds of employees statewide. On the opposite side is the small army of engineering firms with one to three employees that dot the Gulf Coast.

That leaves Sarasota-based Karins in a relatively lonely spot, with 30 employees. The firm specializes in civil, structural and mechanical work. “There aren't many like us in the middle anymore,” says David Karins, founder and president. “There used to be a lot.”