MTE’s first project was known as Valeriote Place, a residential subdivision located in the City of Guelph.

The first letter issued by MTE was dated July 11, 1985 and was addressed to Terry Hearn, P.Eng. of the Engineering Department at the City of Guelph. It was sent by our founder Bruce G. Scheifele, C.E.T. Interestingly, the letter is on thin yellow paper (carbon copy), the predecessor of the “CC” now commonly used in email communication.

It’s hard to write about 1985 without the primary focus being on the people who were essential in the founding of MTE. Bruce Scheifele founded MTE in July of 1985 and at that time was joined by Ron Beatson and Gary Honsberger. When Bruce named the firm “More Than Engineering”, he did so because he wanted his clients to know that MTE would always strive to provide the right solution while working together to ensure that their overall project objects were met.

Bruce deservedly retired in 2005 and we will always be grateful for his vision all of those years ago. Ron retired from MTE just last year after 34 years of dedicated service with the company, and Gary still enjoys working for MTE today!

Stanley Park East is a 125-lot residential subdivision located off Lackner Boulevard in Kitchener. In 1986 the subdivision was being developed by Hallman Construction, which at the time was being led by Lyle Hallman who was renowned for his philanthropy. It was this generosity that inspired Bruce Scheifele to also build a reputation for MTE as community-focused organization; a legacy that we still epitomize in 2020.

Hallman Construction is now guided by Lyle’s son Jim Hallman, and is still a very charitable organization. We’re proud to still be working for them on projects across Waterloo Region.

This week reveals that municipal proposals have always been a part of our business.

In 1987 we submitted a proposal to the City of Kitchener for inspection services for the construction of streetscape improvements on King Street. It was advertised in the newspaper, we obtained the paper RFP documents from City Hall and we submitted a typewritten proposal.

Today we receive notification of RFPs through various online platforms, we download the documents from the City’s procurement website and we submit them electronically.

Oh how things have changed (including hourly rates)!

It didn’t take long for our founder, Bruce Scheifele, to start thinking about expanding. In 1988, with the hiring of Angelo Innocente, MTE’s journey as a multi-service engineering firm started to take shape. Angelo focused on work with clients in the public sector. One of the first projects he managed was the construction of hydro ducts and pull boxes for Kitchener Wilmot Hydro along Ottawa Street from Fischer-Hallman Road to Westmount Road. Angelo retired from MTE in 2011 and certainly helped shape what MTE is today.

In 1989 we designed our first pumping station for the City of Waterloo. The Malabar Road Sewage Pumping Station was needed to support residences and development in the area of University Avenue and Lexington Road. The station had two submersible pumps, a forcemain and a stand-by diesel generator.

Our contribution to Ira Needles Boulevard goes back much further than roundabouts. Back in 1990, we started a project with the Region of Waterloo to survey and provide the preliminary design for what was to be a brand-new roadway.

At the time, the street was envisioned to have traditional intersections at Highland Road, Victoria Street and University Avenue. However, several years later our team completed the detailed design of the modern roundabouts that can be found along Ira Needles Boulevard today.

In 1992 we were the civil engineers on a team led by Mmmc Architects who designed the Greenwood Court long-term care home in Stratford. We still design many long-term care and retirement facilities today; many of them with MMMC as well!

This was also when we made our first branding change; transitioning the colour of the logo from orange to teal.

Our project from 1993 shows us how plans can change over time. This site at the corner of Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road in Kitchener started as a townhouse development. Over the years the vision for the property was amended. Plans were updated to include commercial and office space, and then low-rise residential.

Today the site is under construction and will become two apartment buildings, one 12 storeys and the other 8 storeys.
In 1993 we were the civil engineers on the project, however, today we are not only providing civil engineering, but also structural and environmental engineering services.

Our client has also changed over the past 30 years. Today we are working for Northview Apartment REIT on a design and construction team that includes Melloul Blamey Construction and ABA Architects.

Green on the Grand is a 23,000 ft², two-storey office building that was designed by a team that included SRM Architects, Enermodal Engineering, Ian Cook Construction, and MTE as the civil and structural engineers.

It was the first green office building in Canada and in 1996 became our new office. The design followed the Waterloo Region Green Home standards; it pre-dated LEED and similar rating systems that are used today. The team set out to create a building that had lower energy and environmental costs than conventional commercial buildings, while also promoting a healthy internal environment.

A pond at the front of the building was designed as a stormwater management solution, a cooling tower and a natural wildlife habitat. Rain water from the roof drained directly to the pond, and the mechanical system emitted excess heat into the pond which then dissipated through evaporation.

The building features laminated strand lumber beams and columns and was constructed almost entirely of wood as engineered wood is a renewable resource and is energy efficient.

In 1997 we completed a Schedule B Class EA for the City of Kitchener for the extension of Eastforest Trail and the Detweiler Greenway in Kitchener. The purpose of the EA was to identify a preferred solution for a new roadway and a naturalized channel. As with many municipal projects in Waterloo Region, collaboration with the Region of Waterloo is key. On this project our Region contact was Dave Hallman. Years ago Dave made “the switch” to consulting and works within our Municipal Division today.

In 1999 construction of the extension of University Avenue began. The project would extend the City of Waterloo’s corridor from Wismer Street to Woolwich Street. Our municipal engineering team designed the new road, which included incorporating combined bike and horse carriage lanes, retaining walls, traffic signals and a large box culvert to accommodate a crossing of Colonial Creek.

Furthermore, this project was one of the first projects in the Grand River Watershed that involved a newly adopted policy for harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat (HADD).

For over 20 years we have worked with Bingemans on various projects at their 80-ha recreational park, a popular destination in Kitchener that was started by the Bingeman family in 1960. In 2000 we were involved in the early stages of a massive re-development of their flagship facility, which involved a reconstruction of their internal road and servicing systems, as well as an external road extension project for the City of Kitchener, which would become known as Bingemans Centre Drive and is the current address for our Kitchener office.

Since then MTE has provided engineering, environmental and surveying consulting services to support various expansion and renovation projects at Bingemans. Our most recent assignment involved structural engineering services to support their new drive-in theatre.

2002 was the year that MTE began the first of many projects in support of development at the Waterloo Region International airport. Our first contribution was the design of a wastewater pumping station for the Region of Waterloo that would support construction of a new terminal building at the Airport.

Over the past 18 years our team has continued contributing to the design and construction of the terminal as it grows and progresses. Currently, our team is working on projects related to the future expansion of the Airport as a whole.

2002 was also a year of growth for MTE. During this year we opened our Burlington office to better serve clients in the Hamilton and Halton Regions. Today that office is a team of over 65 engineering, environmental and surveying professionals. 

We started designing the Williamsburg subdivision in 2003. Our client, Schlegel Urban Developments, envisioned this 600-lot subdivision to take on a small town feel by incorporating a main street with fronting commercial properties. We were responsible for the engineering design, obtaining the various land development approvals, and construction services.

2005 was a big year for MTE! We moved into a new office in Kitchener on Bingemans Centre Drive, and rebranded and updated our logo.

We were not the only ones moving into a new home on Bingemans Centre Drive in 2005. MTE was a member of the Melloul-Blamey Construction Inc.'s design-build team, providing civil and structural engineering and surveying services for Brick Brewing’s new facility. Today they are better known as Waterloo Brewing, and we continue to provide them with engineering expertise. We recently provided civil and structural engineering services to support an expansion of their facility, which added a larger retail store, taproom and a small batch brewhouse, as well as expanded their warehouse and production facilities by 65,600 ft².

By the time Bruce retired there were nearly 100 employees, including Adam Hewson, Kayam Ramsewak, Kurt Ruhland and Paul Slater who joined MTE in 2005 and are still part of the team today.

In 2006 we began designing Activa Sportsplex; a City of Kitchener recreational facility that features two NHL-sized ice arenas, a four-lane indoor oval walking track and multi-use spaces. Our team was responsible for the civil engineering design, which challenged them with meeting stormwater design criteria that satisfied the guidelines of both the City and the Grand River Conservation Authority, as well as LEED certification. The team also created a grading solution that carefully integrated the facility within an existing forested area.

In 2008, RIM, now known as BlackBerry, was starting their ascent as a leader in the smartphone industry. One of their flagship projects was the development of a corporate campus in north Waterloo; a 37.5-ha site that includes four office buildings and parking structures. MTE was retained early in the project to work with the design team.

After submitting for site plan approval in early 2008, a Master Plan was developed, addressing all aspects of the project including building design, public spaces, and sustainable development, taking into account access, circulation, servicing upgrades and relocations, and utility services.

A significant civil engineering component of the project was the creation of a roundabout at the site entrance, which required a retrofit of an existing stormwater management pond.

The four- and five-storey office buildings were constructed using structural steel with pre-cast concrete exterior wall panels and curtain wall glazing. The three parking structures were built using reinforced, poured-in-place concrete. MTE’s structural group provided the engineering design services related to all of these structures.

Throughout the project, the team was met with many design challenges and time constraints. MTE’s engineering staff endeavored to solve any issues using their technical expertise and by implementing innovative solutions.

Before and after our involvement on this project, MTE worked with Blackberry on the design and construction of their facilities across Ontario.

In 2009, MTE started designing the site and building that would become home to the City of Kitchener’s Maintenance Facility. Today this facility serves as a multi-use operational centre for the City’s Public Works and other departments. The goal of the project was to bring together all of the Municipality’s previous sites. This was accomplished by giving a new lease on life to the former BF Goodrich manufacturing facility and transforming it into a 300,000 ft² building that is more efficient and less costly for the City to operate.

MTE was retained by the City to provide civil, environmental and structural design services on the project and some key aspects of our role included:

• • Topographical survey of the existing site conditions;
  • Structural design for renovations and additions to the existing manufacturing building, as well as the new salt storage facility;
  • Civil design for the site grading and servicing, including coordination with the proposed Wabanaki Drive extension; and
  • Stormwater management design with consideration to mitigate impacts to the Hidden Valley wetland, Grand River and the wellhead protection area.

When the Waterloo Regional Police decided to develop their Division 3 Station, MTE was retained to provide civil, structural and environmental engineering services in support of the 45,000-ft², state-of-the-art facility.

Our team was brought on this project early in the design phase to obtain a Record of Site Condition and provide engineering design of the site grading, servicing and stormwater management. While completing the structural design, we were able to reduce costs by identifying suitable methods to re-use the former building’s foundations and design the building with enough energy efficient measures to qualify for LEED Silver certification.

The station was designed to meet specific policing needs, including the addition of both an underground parking garage and sealed-off garage, a large training and meeting room, offices for victim services, interview rooms, a gym, and a 150-spot parking lot.

After completing a Phase One Environmental Site Assessment in 2012, our team continued to support the environmental clean-up of the former Budd Canada site in Kitchener up until it was primed and ready for redevelopment.

Our initial investigation of the 80-acre site identified several areas of potential environmental concern, leading our team to further assess the site conditions. Our team approached the challenge of the site’s size by assessing the property as separate parcels identified by their redevelopment plans as parkland, industrial, commercial and stormwater management plots.

We provided expertise in site engineering design, construction tendering, structural demolition, environmental and infrastructure decommissioning and other disciplines as required by the developer. As a result, we’ve been able to produce a comprehensive remediation plan for the site, which minimizes future costs by eliminating the need for ongoing assessments and has allowed for Records of Site Condition to be filled. With lots currently for sale, our team is proud to have been a part of this project and we’re excited to see the site redeveloped to its full potential.

After several years of attempting to remedy significant moisture and thermal issues at the Willowells Condominiums, MTE was retained in 2014 and our team was able to provide a lasting solution that resulted in an overall energy savings of 25 per cent for the condominium.

The Cloisters of Willowells are a community of three six-storey residential condo buildings. After our team initially completed a cladding assessment, we teamed up with an architectural firm to design a long-term solution that would also improve the building’s aesthetics and reduce the constant need for building maintenance.

Our solution included a roof replacement, masonry repairs, over-cladding with an exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS), window and door replacement, waterproofing and new balcony railings. Additionally, in order to maintain the original aesthetic while still providing high performing insulation, the cladding system was stenciled with a textured brick pattern to match the existing brick size and coursing.

As a result of our effort on this project, we were presented with a Gold award from the Grand River Chapter of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario.

In 2015 our land development team was working on a Subwatershed Impact Study for Block Two of the Boyne Survey planning area as a result of rapid growth throughout the Milton. The 213-ha area encompassed significant natural features, including two tributaries of the Sixteen Mile Creek, and was the third of three planned residential growth areas within the Milton Urban Expansion Area boundary.

Our study focused on integrating the servicing, stormwater management, hydraulic structures, watercourse systems and natural heritage systems of adjacent developments to a greater level of detail than is normally achieved by the Subwatershed Plan. Our team performed a comprehensive analysis to evaluate ecological features, in addition to completing flooding, erosion and regulatory floodplain delineation analyses, as well as a comprehensive Stormwater Management Strategy with harmonized grading and servicing strategies.

In 2017 the Cambridge Memorial Hospital was in the midst of a capital redevelopment that our environmental team was supporting with infection control services. At the time Hasting and Aziz, a structural engineering firm that joined MTE in 2019, was also supporting the hospital’s redevelopment. The redevelopment saw the hospital grow with a 233,000-ft² seven-storey addition and a 146,000-ft² renovation to existing facilities. The addition included a two-storey podium space for operating rooms and labs, and a seven-storey full service acute care hospital.

A major challenge on this project involved developing a design strategy to undertake major changes to the existing building while maintaining occupancy in adjacent spaces. Our solution involved working closely with the owner and architect to develop phasing so that structural reinforcing could be done without disrupting occupied spaces for a prolonged period.

Our team provided construction-related infection prevention and control training to the general contractor and subcontractors. We also acted as a resource throughout the redevelopment by providing guidance for the implementation of construction-related infection control measures and procedures.

In 2017 MTE grew with the addition of 24 new staff who all still play an important role on our team today. It was also this year that we were joined by Holstead and Redmond, adding capacity to our legal and land surveying capabilities.

Since 2009, the Ottawa and Homer Watson intersection had ranked as one of the Region’s most dangerous intersections due to a high level of collisions. As a result, the Region of Waterloo embarked on a project to improve the safety and capacity of the corridor. In 2018, MTE’s municipal engineering team was working with the Region on the design and construction of two roundabouts at the Ottawa Street intersections of Homer Watson Boulevard and Alpine Road.

Our team managed and provided engineering services for the preliminary and detailed design of the roadway improvements, including replacement of sanitary sewer, watermain, storm sewer and gasmain systems.

This project was also the first of its kind in Ontario as the two roundabouts were designed and constructed in close proximity to one another. This characteristic would challenge the project team to understand implications on traffic, pedestrian and cyclist safety, and constructability.

And just like that, we’ve reached 2020. Let’s start off where we began in 1985, with a land development engineering project.

This year construction began on the Cambridge West Subdivision, Westwood Village. We have been supporting the development of this 80-ha site since 2005 with land development engineering, surveying, and environmental consultation.

Throughout 2020, construction on this project has involved moving 1.5 million m3 of earth, as well as the replacement of the Devil’s Creek culvert. Upon completion, the subdivision will be home to approximately 6,200 residents.