Swenson Say Faget

What Swenson Say Faget does

Swenson Say Faget (SSF) is a privately held structural engineering firm founded in 1995 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with regional offices in Tacoma (since 2004) and Ellensburg (since January 2022). The firm provides B2B professional structural engineering services across two core lines: new structure design for residential, commercial, educational, medical, faith, hospitality, public, and multi-family projects; and existing-building services including seismic retrofit, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, unreinforced masonry (URM) upgrades, and PML studies. Approximately 60% of SSF's project volume is residential, with a notable concentration in affordable, low-income, and transitional housing for nonprofit and housing-authority clients such as Seattle Housing Authority, LIHI, Plymouth Housing, and Compass Health.

SSF's service delivery relies on industry-standard building information modeling (BIM), AutoCAD, and structural analysis tools, with specialized expertise in seismic design suited to the Pacific Northwest's Cascadia earthquake risk profile and in preservation of historic structures. Revenue is generated through project-based professional fees, typically structured as a percentage of construction cost or fixed-fee engagements, with no published pricing tiers. Work is acquired primarily through long-standing relationships with architecture firms (SHKS, Heliotrope, Graham Baba), general contractors, and repeat developer/government clients, with go-to-market executed via direct engagement, industry associations (AIA Seattle, Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, SMPS Seattle, MBA, A4LE), and earned media in trade outlets such as the Daily Journal of Commerce and Arcade Magazine.

The firm is wholly owned by its principals and shareholders, with no external investment or private equity backing. Founding principal Dan Say is retiring in April 2026 after 45 years in the industry, while a second generation of principals and associate principals (Chardie Byrne, Blaze Bresko, Francesca Renouard, Lori DeBoer, and others) has been progressively elevated into shareholder and managing roles since 2007 to manage succession. SSF's recognition across AIA Seattle, Historic Seattle, NAIOP, ULI, ACEC, and BD+C's 40 Under 40 reflects three decades of reputation-building in the regional AEC market.

Name

Swenson Say Faget

Legal name

Swenson Say Faget

Website

https://ssfengineers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swenson Say Faget is a privately held structural engineering firm founded in 1995, headquartered in Seattle with offices in Tacoma and Ellensburg. The firm serves Pacific Northwest architects, developers, and public agencies with new-construction design, seismic retrofit, historic preservation, and affordable-housing structural engineering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Professional Services: SSF generates revenue through professional fees for structural engineering design services on construction projects. Projects range from simple beam calculations to complex multi-story developments, retrofits, and historic preservation work. Revenue is project-based and typically billed on a fee schedule tied to construction value or hourly rates for specific services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

No source material was provided describing the company's core offerings. Without supporting source data, a factual description of what the company fundamentally does and sells cannot be extracted.

Product overview

Swenson Say Faget (SSF) is a structural engineering firm that provides comprehensive engineering services rather than a software product. The company operates across three offices (Seattle, Tacoma, and Central Washington) and offers two primary service categories: New Structure Design for commercial, residential, multi-family, educational, medical, faith, hospitality, and public projects; and Existing Building Services including earthquake retrofits, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, PML studies, and building assessments. The firm also handles Special Projects such as art installations, climbing gyms, float homes, and shipping containers. Their portfolio emphasizes affordable housing and sustainable design, with projects ranging from single-family residential to large-scale multi-family developments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Sunset Gardens won Smart Partnership award from Washington State Department of Commerce at 2024 Smart Communities Awards
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACE Mentor ProgramcoreOthers · 1 June 2023SSF actively participates in the ACE (Architecture, Construction, Engineering) Mentor Program, introducing students to A/E/C careers. Multiple SSF team members serve as mentors and team leaders. Beth Morales received the Outstanding Mentor Award in 2023.
• Outdoors for AllminorOthers · 1 June 2020SSF partnered with Outdoors for All on the Building 18 project - their new headquarters in Magnuson Park. SSF is honored to sponsor the 2020 Donor Reveal Events for this organization enriching quality of life for people with disabilities through outdoor recreation.
• The BLOCK Project / Facing HomelessnesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019SSF has been deeply involved with the BLOCK Project since 2017, providing structural engineering design for the first BLOCK Home and raising $46,000 (originally committed to $35,000). In 2019, SSF raised $47,000 as team lead and the entire event raised over $225,000. SSF continues as Team Lead for annual AEC fundraiser.
• Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA)minorOthers · 1 January 2017SSF became a member of MBA in 2017 to connect with residential builders and developers. Approximately 60% of SSF's projects are residential, making this membership strategically relevant.
• Food LifelineminorOthers · 1 January 2017SSF has participated in Food Lifeline's Food Frenzy event annually since 2010, supporting fundraising for kids during summer when free lunch programs aren't available. Team members also volunteer at Northgate Elementary School's Food Pantry.
• Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)minorOthers · 1 January 2016SSF joined the Seattle Chapter of A4LE in 2016 as part of initiative to secure more public K-12 work. A4LE is a national organization centered around public school facilities.
• Washington Trust for Historic PreservationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010SSF has been a consistent supporter since 2010, with Dan Say serving on the Board of Directors from 2010-2015. SSF participates in the annual Revitalize Washington Conference and supports Trust activities. Dan Say received the 2020 Preservation Champion Award from the Trust.
• KEXP Public RadiominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2007SSF began annual sponsorship with KEXP public radio in 2007 as part of community support and brand building.
• KUOW Public RadiominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2004SSF has been an annual sponsor of KUOW public radio since 2004 as part of community support initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE): National engineering firm specializing in investigation, repair, and preservation of existing structures. Broader incumbent with overlapping seismic retrofit and historic preservation expertise, but a much larger footprint and broader service portfolio.
• Arup: Global multi-discipline engineering firm with structural engineering practice. Broad incumbent operating across all building types at large scale; competes on larger, complex projects where developers want one-stop multi-discipline delivery.
• Buro Happold: International engineering consultancy with structural engineering capability. Broader incumbent offering integrated structural, MEP, and sustainability services, increasingly competing for large PNW projects including higher education and civic work.

Direct peers

• KPFF Consulting Engineers: Major Pacific Northwest-headquartered civil and structural engineering firm with offices across the West Coast. Closest direct peer given overlapping service lines, geographies, and building-type portfolio including healthcare, education, and transportation.
• Reid Middleton: Washington State structural and civil engineering firm with deep expertise in seismic evaluation, historic preservation, and public infrastructure. Direct peer with comparable seismic/preservation niche serving public sector clients.
• Coughlin Porter Lundeen: Seattle structural engineering firm providing services for new construction, renovation, and seismic upgrades. Direct peer with similar Pacific Northwest focus, project types (commercial, civic, education), and seismic/historic specialization.
• Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA): Seattle-based structural and civil engineering firm serving commercial, healthcare, and high-rise markets globally. Directly comparable professional services peer with overlapping Pacific Northwest clients and similar project types, though significantly larger in scale.
• PCS Structural Solutions: Seattle-based structural engineering firm providing design, seismic retrofit, and renovation services. Direct peer in PNW with overlapping expertise in seismic and existing building work for similar client types.
• Holmes Structures: San Francisco-based structural engineering firm with West Coast presence. Comparable peer in seismic design, historic preservation, and adaptive reuse — directly overlapping SSF's niche expertise though serving different metros.
• DCI Engineers: Pacific Northwest structural engineering firm with offices across the West Coast. Directly comparable peer serving similar markets (healthcare, education, multifamily, commercial) with similar mid-size professional services profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/swensonsayfaget
• Facebookfacebook.com/swenson-say-faget-220977587948241
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/122863

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Swenson Say Faget