Thomas Hand has been named chief executive officer of Volkert Inc., effective last week. He succeeds David Allsbrook, who will remain as chairman of the board.
Hand, who first joined Volkert in 1995, has served as president and chief marketing officer since 2016. He has been active in growing Volkert’s services and expanding its geographical footprint. During his time with the company, sales have nearly doubled and today top $200 million for the first time in the firm’s nearly 100-year history.
“Tom is a great fit for this leadership position. He understands the challenges and opportunities facing our industry, our profession and our communities,” Allsbrook said.
Founded in 1925, Volkert is a privately-held, employee-owned engineering firm headquartered in Mobile. The company is well known for its transportation infrastructure, but has grown its expertise in energy, program management and urban infrastructure as well.
“I am inspired by the long history of our company and its accomplishments. We have built and sustained a company that we are all proud of but our work is not yet done,” said Hand. “My goal is to provide the continuity and guidance that can make Volkert’s next century as successful as the first.”
Volkert has more than 1,200 employees and is active in 20 states and Washington, D.C., with more than 50 offices in the United States. It ranks 89th among the Top 500 Design Firms in the U.S., according to Engineering News-Record.
Some of the company’s more recent projects include an expansion of the Nashville Avenue Wharf of the Port of New Orleans, where Volkert is serving as construction manager and providing engineering and inspection services on the $47 million project; phase one of the Charlotte Gateway Station Project for the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division, where a multimodal transportation center is being established for Amtrak; and the planning, design, bidding and construction of the new Thompson High School for the Alabaster City School System, a 360,000-square-foot project.
