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Cannon News Archives
EVC News - Business Profile: CANNON ASSOCIATES - July 1998
Business Profile: CANNON ASSOCIATES
EVC News - July 1998
What makes a company successful? What combination of vision and pragmatism, risk and restraint, solid experience and cutting-edge innovation yields the right formula? And how do you maintain that formula to ensure continued growth and success?
These are the questions Michael Cannon, PE, president of Cannon Associates in San Luis Obispo, asks himself about the company he helped build. Cannon Associates provides civil and mechanical engineering, planning and surveying services to clients throughout California, Hawaii and Arizona.
"We're introspective right now," Cannon said. "I see a lot more in our future. We've worked hard to establish a structure in the company so that our growth outside this area is well-planned."
The company first opened on Buchon Street 22 years ago and has moved four times since to accommodate its growth. Today, a third building is under construction for the thriving company.
Certainly one factor in the company's success is the diversity of the clients they serve. Some of their first clients were telecommunications giants PacBell and AT&T. Today Cannon Associates provides services for commercial and residential developers, energy companies, schools and institutions, municipalities, military installations, telecommunication companies, and environmental clients.
Recent projects include the new Cal Poly Sports Complex, and the Unocal Avila Beach and Guadalupe clean-up projects. Cannon Associates provided engineering for the original Central Coast Plaza and is now working on the new San Luis Market Place off of Madonna Road. They also provide services to McCormick-Schilling and several wineries.
Cannon Associates is currently working on the new Cottonwood development in Pismo Beach, which consists of 550 units of housing and an 18-hole golf course. In addition is securing entitlements to the property that include zone changes and annexation to Pismo, they are also mapping the site, preparing feasibility studies, and preparing plans for streets and infrastructure.
"Our clients come to us because they want a project done professionally, on time and on budget," Cannon said. "Unocal could hire any one of hundreds of firms in California for their projects, but they stick with us."
Cannon credits the company's staff for its continuing success. "We are fortunate in the people we've attracted to our company. We truly have some of the best and most dedicated people on our staff. This is an incredibly cohesive team and the synergy here is very strong."
Staff members have come to work at Cannon from all over the country. "They see what we've accomplished and see the talent that's here. They also see that we're a group with a future," Cannon said. The company also has a competitive advantage in attracting employees because of its location in San Luis Obispo. "Quality of life is important to us. To live in San Luis Obispo and have a professional career is challenging. That's why I support the Economic Vitality Corporation. They help new companies get a foothold and help the city bring in businesses that provide higher paying salaries which will enhance the standard of living."
Cannon is not afraid to see San Luis Obispo grow, but he wants it to grow intelligently in order to preserve quality. "Scotland learned long ago how to keep cities and rural areas separate without the problem of urban sprawl. By preserving the good parts of both lifestyles, they can, and do, exist harmoniously," Cannon said. "Since we know that growth is inevitable, we have to determine ways to accommodate it. This can be done by concentrating on putting more quality in the space you have to work in."
So, what makes a company successful? "Understanding that there is a delicate balance in building a successful company, and community for that matter, where there's a true sense of quality -- quality of people, quality of clients, quality of services, and quality of life.
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