F&V Names 3 Principals, 4 New Associates

Fleis & VandenBrink (F&V) Principals announced today changes in its leadership/ownership team, adding three new Principals and four Associates.

The changes were announced virtually during the company’s annual anniversary breakfast for its 250 employees in Michigan and Indiana. F&V, which was founded in 1993 by Larry Fleis and Steve Vanden Brink, celebrated its 28th anniversary on Jan. 12.

New Principals include Don DeVries, PE, Bob Wilcox, PE, and Blair Selover. New Associates include Joe Benjamin, PE, Corey Turner, PE, Shawn Bates, Engineer-In-Training (EIT), and Jon Parrish.

“This is a great day at F&V,” said Fleis, who still serves as the board of director’s chairman and president of F&V’s parent company F&V Companies, Inc. “We’ve asked seven staffers this year to step up and help us achieve where we want to go. They have worked very hard and this shows that the ownership transition plan we started over 14 years is providing some tremendous opportunities.”

F&V, which has grown from a two-person civil engineering firm to one with nine offices in Michigan and Indiana, started the Principal/Associate program in 2006 to promote leadership and ownership transition. Principals and Associates are nominated by their peers and vetted out by the Principals and Senior Associates.

DeVries, a West Michigan Municipal Group Manager, and Wilcox, a Senior Project Manager for the Process Group, were named the company’s first Senior Associates in 2016.

DeVries, who joined the firm in May of 1994, was the company’s fourth engineer to be hired. The civil engineer specializes in roadways and water systems projects. He is also a part of the firm’s marketing team.

Wilcox, who joined F&V in February of 1999, specializes in planning, design, construction, start-up and operations assistance for water and wastewater treatment systems projects.

Selover has been group manager of the F&V Operations and Resource Management (FVOP), F&V’s sister company since joining the company in 2011. He is responsible for technical leadership, project management and business development. A Senior Associate since 2018, Selover has over 30 years of experience in the operation water and wastewater treatment plants.

Benjamin joined F&V’s process group in 2014. He specializes in process engineering and primarily works on water and wastewater treatment plant projects.

Turner joined F&V in 2017. He specializes in process engineering and construction management and has worked primarily on water and wastewater treatment plants.

Bates joined F&V’s in 2016. He specializes in Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) construction and municipal engineering. He has been assisting in design of road and utility projects as well as inspecting construction projects.

Parrish, who joined F&V in August 2017 as the marketing manager, became the marketing director in 2019. The group manager oversees all marketing efforts including proposals, services, website development and strategic planning.

In 2020, F&V was recognized as one of the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” in West Michigan, Metro Detroit, as well as in the Nation. It was also recognized in 2020 as the 26^th fastest growing firm in the United States and Canada – A Zweig White “Hot Firm.”