It was the year Harry Houdini died and Marilyn Monroe was born. The Sun Also Rises was published, and the U.S. observed the first Black History Week (later to become Month). Dole harvested its first pineapple, and Chrysler produced the first Imperial.

It was 1926 - the year that Harvey P. Jones started the H. P. Jones Company, later to become known as Jones & Henry Engineers. Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, the professional design firm boasts of being one of Northwest Ohio’s most enduring engineering firms.

“We are excited to have reached this milestone,” states Steve Wordelman, P.E., current President of Jones & Henry. “It is because of our loyal clients and dedicated employees that Jones & Henry continues to thrive. Our founder, Harvey Jones, would be so proud of what he started.”

Indeed. From the first project taken on by the firm – a multi-million dollar municipal improvement project in West Palm Beach, Florida to a Water Treatment Plant in Bucyrus, Ohio that was started last year, Jones & Henry Engineers has tackled over 7,000 projects for some 930 clients since the company was founded.

One of the earliest projects for the City of Toledo was the Sewer Improvement Program. That project included storm sewer lines for the City and metropolitan area, a major primary sewage treatment plant, and the piece that was the most dramatic challenge - the Maumee River Tunnel. The tunnel required that a six foot diameter, 3,000 foot long tube be placed sixty feet below the River. Sandhogs burrowed 20 feet a day from both sides of the River, and when they met in the middle some six months later, they were a mere quarter of an inch off; impressive by any standard.

Since those early days, Jones & Henry has experienced steady growth. The firm has designed sewer, water, and storm systems for such communities as Ada, Lima, Tiffin, and Sandusky, Ohio. Its work in southwest Ohio resulted in Jones & Henry’s first branch office in Cincinnati in 1983. Another branch office followed in Michigan in 1984 to better serve that State’s clients, including the Cities of Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Adrian. The company has since opened offices in Fort Wayne and Carmel, Indiana.

When asked how Jones & Henry continues to be successful, Wordelman points to several different aspects. “Our specialization in the design of water systems has allowed us to develop a deep knowledge and understanding of the best solutions. We stay on top of the latest developments, so we can give our clients the ideal design for their situation. In addition, many of our employees – the source of our expertise – have stayed with the firm for years. We have 82 water specialists with an average of 25 years’ experience. That's pretty remarkable in this day and age.” Katie Wambo, P.E., a civil engineer who joined Jones & Henry in 2007, says “The interesting clients, the friendly staff, and the unique projects are all reasons why many of us have remained committed to the firm.”

Examples of some of the innovative solutions utilized by Jones & Henry over the years include plastic media nitrification towers at the Lima, Ohio Wastewater Treatment Plant, believed to be the largest installation of its kind when it was constructed in 1976. In Kalamazoo, the firm used the largest wet oxidation sludge treatment process in the world to treat a challenging mixture of sanitary and industrial waste. In 1986, Jones & Henry designed a Water Treatment Plant for a condominium community located on the shores of Lake Erie. This plant was the first in Ohio to use pressure filters to treat a surface water source and granular activated carbon polishing filters.

In the 1990's, the City of Montpelier brought Ohio's first vacuum sanitary sewer system on-line. Designed by Jones & Henry, the project separated an area of combined sewers and eliminated two combined sewer overflows. In Sidney, Ohio, a 2.0 MG composite elevated water storage tank was constructed - again, the first of its kind in the State.

The turn-of-the-century saw a continuation of Jones & Henry’s acumen. Improvements to the biosolids handling and processing in Carmel, Indiana resulted in an Outstanding Award in 2006 from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The improved process utilizes pre-digestion pasteurization and the plant’s existing anaerobic digesters to create Class A biosolids. In addition to the award, the process was added to the “Best Practices” database for the National League of Cities. Other awards bestowed on Jones & Henry include a National Clean Water Act Recognition Award for a sewer separation program for the Village of Metamora, Ohio; an Outstanding Achievement in Water Quality Improvement Award, presented by the Water Environment Federation, for improved water quality of Swan Creek as a result of combined sewer overflow (CSO) storage tunnels; and an Honor Award for North Baltimore’s Sludge Dewatering Facility presented by the ACEC.

So how will this award-winning firm celebrate its 90th year, a major milestone in its history?

“We are having a party for our employees in October at Imagination Station,” says Wordelman. “This will give us a chance to see who the truly creative people are among us,” he jokes. “But seriously, while we are excited about observing our 90th anniversary, we are also busy looking ahead to the next decade. We recognize that we must continue to change and evolve in order to continue to be successful. So we will be focusing on the future as well as commemorating our past.”

Contact: Homer Wilson (419) 473-9611
hwilson@jheng.com