What Schaefer does

Schaefer is a privately held structural engineering firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1976 by Steve Schaefer. The firm provides comprehensive structural design and consulting services across healthcare, education, entertainment, commercial/mixed-use, industrial, government/municipal, and multi-family residential sectors, with marquee clients including Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, TriHealth, Kroger, Cedar Point, Kings Island, SoFi Stadium, The Ohio State University, Xavier University, Miami University, REI, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The firm operates from three offices—Cincinnati (HQ), Columbus (relocated to Warehouse District in 2025), and Phoenix (relocated to Midtown in 2023)—employing approximately 130+ team members including licensed Professional Engineers (PE), Structural Engineers (SE), PhD-credentialed principals, BIM modelers, and administrative staff. Schaefer's distinctive technical capabilities include entertainment structures (formerly Entertainment Structures Group), mass timber and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) design—notably the first CLT wood hotel in the United States—tilt-up concrete, parking structures, and blast-resistant structural design.

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional engineering fees negotiated per project based on scope, complexity, and client requirements, with services spanning concept design through construction administration on multi-year engagements. Its go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, cultivated through direct engagement with architects, developers, corporations, and government entities, supplemented by thought leadership content (blog, conference presentations at USITT, ISEA, SEAoO, Tilt-Up Concrete Association, WoodWorks), industry awards (nine Zweig Group Best Firm to Work For recognitions including six consecutive years 2021–2026), and community programs like Makers+Shakers introducing junior high students to structural engineering. Schaefer joined the SE 2050 Commitment Program in 2023 and published an Embodied Carbon Action Plan, positioning sustainability as a differentiator.

Schaefer's competitive positioning rests on five decades of operating history, deep licensed-talent bench across specialized structural domains, and repeat engagement with institutional anchors in the Midwest and Southwest. The firm is leadership-transition stable following Greg Riley's 2018 appointment as President and the planned retirements of founder Steve Schaefer (2021) and past president Jim Miller (October 2025). The company has remained privately and independently held throughout its history with no disclosed private equity or venture capital investment, and continues to reinvest in office expansion, geographic reach into North Carolina, and technical specialization as primary growth vehicles.

Name

Schaefer

Legal name

Schaefer

Website

https://schaefer-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Schaefer is a Cincinnati-headquartered structural engineering firm founded in 1976, providing building design and consulting services across healthcare, education, entertainment, commercial, and industrial sectors from three U.S. offices with 130+ employees and marquee clients including Kroger, SoFi Stadium, Cedar Point, and major health systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Staging & Rigging Services (MPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Structural engineering services
• Entertainment structures design
• Mass timber engineering
• Tilt-up concrete design
• Parking structure engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Services: Professional engineering fees for structural design services including new construction, renovations, assessments, and specialized structural consulting for various building types and markets

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Schaefer is a professional structural engineering firm providing design and consulting services for buildings and structures across multiple sectors. The firm offers two core service lines: general structural engineering for commercial, healthcare, educational, industrial, and residential buildings, and specialized entertainment structure engineering for concert venues, amusement parks, festivals, and event rigging. Services span concept design through construction administration, with specializations in mass timber, tilt-up concrete, parking structures, and sustainable design.

Product overview

Schaefer is a structural engineering firm providing professional engineering services. The company offers two primary service lines: Structural Engineering Services covering general building projects across commercial, healthcare, educational, industrial, and residential sectors; and Entertainment Structures (formerly Entertainment Structures Group/ESG) specializing in entertainment venues, temporary event structures, concert staging, and rigging systems. The firm operates from three offices in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Phoenix serving clients nationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Structural Engineering Services Comprehensive structural engineering design and consulting services for commercial, healthcare, educational, industrial, and residential building projects across multiple market sectors, delivered from concept through construction administration with specializations in mass timber, tilt-up concrete, parking structures, and blast-resistant design.
• Entertainment Structures Specialized structural engineering for entertainment venues, amusement park rides, temporary event structures, concert stages, event rigging systems, and performance facilities. For this service Schaefer leverages decades of expertise inherited from its former Entertainment Structures Group (ESG) division.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50 years in business as a leading structural engineering firm in the Midwest and Southwest US

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SE 2050 Commitment ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Structural Engineers 2050 Commitment Program aims to reduce embodied carbon in structures. Schaefer joined and published Embodied Carbon Action Plan (ECAP) as part of their commitment.
• Doodles + DigitsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Educational partnership where Schaefer partners with Doodles + Digits, a math education resource, to explain how structural engineers use math every day. Fae Garstang's Doodles + Digits segment is featured on PBS app, PBS.org, and various PBS stations.
• WoodWorksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchaefer structural engineers Doug Steimle and Fae Garstang co-present Common Challenges in Light Wood-Frame Gravity Structural Design with WoodWorks. Doug Steimle presents on mass timber basics at ISEA Spring Conference.
• ERChealthminorOthersSchaefer partners with ERChealth to offer voluntary programs and education to help team members live healthier lifestyles. Schaefer accepted ERChealth Rookie of the Year Award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wiss Janney Elstner Associates (WJE): Engineering consultancy with structural design and investigation practices serving institutional, civic, and entertainment clients nationally. Comparable professional-services footprint and structural depth.
• KPFF Consulting Engineers: Large structural and civil engineering firm with comparable vertical mix across healthcare, higher education, commercial, and civic buildings. Closest pure structural peer in scale and project type.
• Walter P Moore: National structural engineering and diagnostics consultancy of comparable scale to Schaefer with multi-vertical practices (healthcare, sports, civic) and a deep entertainment/sports venue portfolio. Closest like-for-like in business model and specialization mix.
• Thornton Tomasetti: Global structural engineering firm serving commercial, sports/entertainment, and cultural projects with comparable complexity profile. Overlaps with Schaefer in entertainment venues, large-span structures, and sustainability leadership.
• Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA): Mid-to-large structural and civil engineering consultancy with strong entertainment, sports, and high-rise portfolios. Comparable in size, technical depth, and entertainment-sector specialization to Schaefer's practice.
• DeSimone Consulting Engineers: Multi-office structural engineering firm with similar verticals including entertainment, hospitality, healthcare, and commercial. Closely comparable in service mix and project scale to Schaefer.

Broad incumbents

• Buro Happold: Global engineering consultancy with structural engineering as a major service line alongside MEP and sustainability. Larger and broader than Schaefer, but with overlapping entertainment, cultural, and higher-ed portfolios.
• Arup: Global multi-discipline engineering firm with a major structural practice serving entertainment venues, healthcare, and higher education. A broader incumbent but directly comparable on entertainment and complex structural work.

Regional players

• Cincinnati-based Structural Engineering firms (e.g., THP Limited): Cincinnati-area structural and civil engineering firm sharing the same regional market and overlapping client base (Cincinnati Children's, TriHealth, regional universities). Direct regional competitor in Schaefer's home market.

Emerging players

• structural engineering consultancies in entertainment / mass timber (e.g., Equilibrium Consulting): Specialty mass timber and timber structural engineering firm with overlapping thought leadership in CLT and tall mass timber design. Smaller and more narrowly focused but competes in the same emerging timber structural niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/schaeferinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schaefer
• Facebookfacebook.com/schaeferinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

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 Schaefer