Fast+Epp

What Fast+Epp does

Fast+Epp is an internationally recognized structural engineering firm founded in 1985 by Paul Fast in Vancouver, Canada, and operating today as a partnership of corporations with approximately 140 employees across six offices in Canada (Vancouver, Toronto), the United States (Seattle, New York), and Germany (Darmstadt, Stuttgart). The firm provides structural engineering design services for buildings, bridges, free-standing structures, temporary works, and installations, with a distinctive specialization in mass timber construction — including cross-laminated timber (CLT), glued-laminated timber (glulam), and hybrid timber-steel-concrete systems — and proprietary methods such as the Timber-Concrete Composite (TCC) Slab Band System developed for Limberlost Place.

The firm's technical stack is built around manual and parametric structural design using tools like Revit, Grasshopper, and Dynamo, complemented by an internal Embodied Carbon Tool that quantifies carbon across design stages and a 5,500 sq ft Concept Lab R&D facility in Vancouver with a 100,000lb loading frame, 3D printers, and robotics for physical structural testing. Its client base spans architectural firms (Revery Architecture, Moriyama Teshima, Acton Ostry), educational institutions (George Brown College, Williams College, BCIT, VIU), municipal and government entities (Cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, and Ottawa), healthcare providers (BC Children's Hospital), cultural institutions (New Brunswick Museum, Library and Archives Canada), and corporate clients (Walmart, BentallGreenOak), with marquee projects including the PNE Freedom Mobile Arch (105m timber span), Limberlost Place (Ontario's first tall timber institutional building), and the Walmart 3.5M ft² mass timber home office campus.

Fast+Epp generates revenue through professional services fees on a project-by-project basis, with non-public, scope-driven pricing typical of B2B engineering consulting. Projects are acquired via direct enterprise sales — relationship-led with architects and developers, and competitive bidding on large public works — and the firm is currently engaged on the $2.6B Edmonton Valley Line West LRT with Marigold Infrastructure Partners as a major anchor engagement. The firm is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, and leadership was recently broadened with new Partners (2023) and Principals/Associates (2026) to support continued expansion.

Name

Fast+Epp

Legal name

Fast + Epp

Website

https://fastepp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fast+Epp is an internationally recognized structural engineering firm specializing in mass timber and hybrid structural systems, serving architects, educational institutions, governments, healthcare providers, and developers across North America and Europe with approximately 140 employees in six offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Consulting Services: Fast+Epp generates revenue through providing structural engineering design services for construction projects including buildings, bridges, and special structures. Services range from concept design through construction administration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fast+Epp provides comprehensive structural engineering design services for buildings, bridges, free-standing structures, temporary works, and installations. The firm specializes in mass timber construction including cross-laminated timber (CLT), glued-laminated timber (glulam), and hybrid timber-steel-concrete systems. Services span concept design through construction administration, with additional R&D capabilities through the in-house Concept Lab facility.

Product overview

Fast+Epp is an internationally recognized structural engineering firm offering comprehensive engineering services rather than a unified software product. Their core offering is structural engineering design spanning from concept through construction, complemented by Concept Lab—an R&D space with web applications (Member Calculator, Material Gallery, Timber Bay Tool) for design visualization and structural estimation—and Design Trails, a published book by Founding Partner Paul Fast documenting the firm's engineering adventures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Structural Engineering Services Comprehensive structural engineering design services for buildings, bridges, free-standing structures, temporary works, and installations. Services include structural design from start to finish, specialty design, concept design, indicative design, research and publications, and building assessments and feasibility studies. Target clients are architects, developers, educational institutions, and government entities.
• Concept Lab Concept Lab is Fast+Epp's research and development space located at their Vancouver headquarters, providing design professionals, academia, and innovators the ability to develop and test structural design ideas. The space includes development areas, fabrication areas with 3D printers and robotics, a 100,000lb loading frame for structural testing, and digital suites for design tools.
• Design Trails (Book) Design Trails: Adventures of a Structural Engineer is a book authored by Founding Partner Paul Fast, documenting his 35 years of design experience on groundbreaking projects including the Richmond Olympic Oval, TallWood House, and Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. Available for purchase in Canada and the USA.

Quantifiable outcome

• Longest timber arch roof in North America: 105m span at PNE Freedom Mobile Arch
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fika (formerly Bridges to Prosperity)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Fast+Epp partnered with Fika to build the Ngayake Suspended Bridge in Rwanda, serving over 4,000 people. The humanitarian organization provides safe access to rural areas through bridge construction.
• Knight ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Partnered with Knight Architects alongside Fika for the Rwanda bridge build project. Knight Architects specializes in bridge design worldwide.
• Revery ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration on ambitious projects including the PNE Freedom Mobile Arch. Revery Architecture is the architect for the iconic 105m timber arch amphitheatre roof.
• Moriyama Teshima ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner for Limberlost Place at George Brown College, Ontario's first tall timber institutional building. Collaborative innovation in timber-concrete composite systems.
• Acton Ostry ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-architect for Limberlost Place with Moriyama Teshima Architects, pioneering tall wood construction in Ontario.
• Marigold Infrastructure PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for $2.6B Edmonton Valley Line West LRT project. Fast+Epp provides structural engineering for transit station roof structures using mass timber.
• Engineers & Geoscientists BCminorOthersProfessional certification body. Fast+Epp holds Organizational Quality Management (OQM) certification and is an Accredited Employer.
• Industry Associations and AcademiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConcept Lab provides access for design professionals, academia, industry associations, and innovators to develop design ideas through R&D collaboration.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• StructureCraft: Design-build mass timber firm founded in 1998 by Gerald Epp, formerly a Fast+Epp partner, and formally separated from Fast+Epp in 2014. Competes directly in mass timber engineering and construction for similar architectural and institutional clients in North America.
• Equilibrium Consulting: Vancouver-based structural engineering consultancy with deep mass timber expertise, overlapping with Fast+Epp in CLT, glulam, and tall-wood building design across Western Canada and the US Pacific Northwest.
• Walter B. McGuire & Associates / McGuire Engineers: Specialized structural engineering consultancy focused on timber and mass timber design for buildings and bridges, with overlapping technical expertise and client base to Fast+Epp in custom timber structures.

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with significant timber and structural engineering practices serving buildings, bridges, and infrastructure. Overlaps with Fast+Epp on large mass timber and complex geometry projects but operates at much larger scale across many disciplines.
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM): Global architecture and engineering firm with an integrated structural practice that has delivered notable mass timber and tall-wood projects. Competes with Fast+Epp for high-prestige institutional and commercial timber work but serves a much broader design portfolio.
• Thornton Tomasetti: Large international structural engineering firm with practices in tall buildings, long-span structures, and timber. Overlaps with Fast+Epp on complex institutional and cultural projects at a much larger scale.
• Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH): US structural engineering and building technology firm with significant timber, enclosure, and structural forensics practices. Comparable to Fast+Epp on complex structural design and investigation work for institutional and cultural buildings.

Emerging players

• Holmes Group (Holmes Consulting): Structural engineering firm with strong timber and seismic practices originating in New Zealand and Australia, comparable to Fast+Epp in mass timber specialization and design-forward institutional projects, though primarily serving Oceania.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fast_epp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/fastepp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fast-epp
• Instagraminstagram.com/fastepp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 Fast+Epp