Starling Madison Lofquist

What Starling Madison Lofquist does

Starling Madison Lofquist, Inc. (DBA: SML Consulting Structural & Forensic Engineers) is a privately held structural and forensic engineering consultancy headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, founded in 1985. The firm delivers a diversified portfolio of engineering services spanning structural design for new construction and remodels (commercial, industrial, and residential), special structures (retaining walls, tanks, signs, canopies), forensic failure investigations and insurance claim support, code-required special inspections and testing, swimming pool and water feature structural engineering, and solar PV and solar thermal support system certification. Design work is executed on AutoCAD and Revit (BIM) platforms, with no proprietary technology stack disclosed.

The firm is licensed to practice engineering in all 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, with SE designations in 21 states, enabling direct project delivery nationwide. Headcount is 11-50 employees organized into seven specialized departments (Forensic Engineering, Inspection & Testing, Swimming Pool, Solar/Design, Drafting, Administration, and Engineering Technicians), anchored by 11+ licensed professional engineers including three structural licensees.

Revenue is generated through project-by-project professional services engagements priced on a per-engagement basis (fees not publicly disclosed). The go-to-market is direct B2B outreach to general contractors, developers, architects, pool builders, solar installers, and property owners, supplemented by a dedicated pool engineering subdomain (pools.smleng.com) and industry affiliations including ASCE, AISC, ACI, ICC, AAMA, and ICRI. Named end-customers span higher education (University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University), hospitality (Talking Stick Resort, The Smith Center), semiconductor/industrial (Maxim Integrated, Avnet), and recurring metal fabrication and construction subcontractor relationships.

Name

Starling Madison Lofquist

Legal name

Starling Madison Lofquist, Inc.

Website

https://smleng.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starling Madison Lofquist is a Phoenix-based structural and forensic engineering firm providing structural design, forensic investigations, special inspections, pool engineering, and solar PV certification services, licensed in all 50 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering fees for structural design of commercial, industrial, and residential construction projects. Services include new construction, remodels, special structures, and structural restoration design. Revenue is generated on a project-by-project basis as professional service engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Starling Madison Lofquist is a structural and forensic engineering firm that designs structural systems for new commercial, industrial, and residential construction projects, performs forensic investigations of structural failures, conducts special inspections and testing for code compliance, and provides specialized design for swimming pools, water features, solar PV support structures, and architectural metals/structural glass components. Services are delivered under direct project engagements using AutoCAD and Revit (BIM) design tools.

Product overview

SML Consulting Structural & Forensic Engineers is a structural and forensic engineering firm providing a diversified portfolio of engineering services. The core offerings include new construction and remodel structural design (commercial, residential, industrial), special structures (retaining walls, tanks, signs, canopies), swimming pool and water feature design, forensic investigations, inspections and testing, and solar PV structural engineering services. The firm operates primarily in the southwestern United States with licensure across all 50 states. The company uses AutoCAD and Revit (BIM) for design and serves sectors including education, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, government buildings, and public works.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Construction & Remodels Structural design of buildings including commercial, residential, and industrial projects for new construction and remodel engagements.
• Special Structures Structural design of special structures such as retaining walls, tanks, signs, landscaping elements, and canopies.
• Pools & Water Features Structural design of swimming pools, spas, and water features for residential and commercial applications.
• Forensic Investigations Structural failure investigation and analysis, including forensic investigation support and insurance claims.
• Inspections & Testing Special inspections as required by local building codes for construction projects, including concrete, masonry, structural steel, and various special cases.
• Solar Services Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Solar Thermal Structural Engineering Services, including solar PV support system certification and optimization.
• Architectural Metals Design Specialized structural glass design and architectural metals engineering services.

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Martin/Martin Inc. Mid-size structural and civil engineering consultancy with offices in Arizona and other Western U.S. markets. Directly comparable to SML in scale, regional Southwest presence, and diversified structural design practice.
• Datum Engineers: Phoenix-headquartered structural engineering firm offering commercial, healthcare, education, and specialty structural design. Direct geographic and service-line peer to SML with similar Arizona market concentration.
• DCI Engineers: Mid-size U.S. structural engineering consultancy serving commercial, healthcare, education, and residential markets across multiple Western states. Comparable firm size and service mix to SML.
• Hope Engineering: Structural engineering consultancy with a multi-state presence and diversified building-type portfolio. Closely matches SML in scope of structural design services and mid-market positioning.
• Buehler & Buehler Structural Engineers: California-based structural engineering consultancy serving commercial, institutional, and residential clients. Comparable to SML in firm scale, structural design focus, and West Coast regional presence.

Broad incumbents

• Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH): Larger national structural engineering firm with established forensic investigation practice. Overlaps directly with SML's forensic engineering service line and broader structural design capabilities, but operates at materially greater scale.
• KPFF Consulting Engineers: Large U.S. structural and civil engineering consultancy with offices across the West. Competes with SML for commercial and institutional structural design work but at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Rimkus Consulting Group: National forensic engineering and consulting firm serving insurance, legal, and industrial clients. Directly overlaps with SML's forensic investigations service line at meaningfully greater scale.
• WSP: Global engineering consultancy with a substantial U.S. structural and forensic engineering practice. Competes with SML on large national accounts where bundled multi-discipline capabilities are required.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with deep structural engineering and forensics capabilities across all 50 states. Competes with SML for enterprise, government, and institutional structural engineering engagements at a fundamentally different scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100073629498536
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starling-madison-lofquist-consulting-engineers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Starling Madison Lofquist