Our Evolution
A common question heard by our team is “What is Giffels Webster?”. The more important question is, “Why is there a Giffels Webster in the first place?”
When former city engineers Elmer Giffels and Frank Webster joined forces, they may not have envisioned Giffels Webster’s eventual nation-wide impact.
In time, the company shed boundaries of being strictly civil engineering experts, growing into a multidisciplinary infrastructure and land development consulting firm. In 2016, it acquired the planning company, Clearzoning®, to expand its community-planning consultation offerings.
Today, Giffels Webster remains a trusted partner and advisor to architects, developers, city managers, construction teams and more, providing counsel on how to make projects — whether public, private or institutional — buildable, profitable and enduring.
The talented people who make up Giffels Webster come together every day to improve quality of life and make communities better. They do so collaboratively as civil and traffic engineers, landscape architects, planners, surveyors and GIS specialists.
You may not know all of our faces, but you’ve likely experienced our impact.
Here’s a closer look at our company.
Fun Facts about Giffels Webster
- The Giffels Engineering Company was founded in 1952 by Elmer Giffels and became Giffels-Webster Engineers, Inc. when Frank Webster joined the firm in 1956. In 2012, our current name Giffels Webster was chosen to reflect our broader offering of services.
- Our 90+ person team resides across three offices in Southeastern Michigan – Detroit, Birmingham, and Washington.
- We have team members licensed in numerous parts of the country.
Meet the GW Fam
At Giffels Webster, our team is family. Here’s a quick introduction to a few members.
“Working at Giffels Webster means producing lasting results for real people. Seeing the projects I work on bring new life into our communities is the most rewarding part of my day.”
– Brent Kraft, senior engineer, Giffels Webster
“I really enjoy working on the variety of challenging projects that we see here at Giffels Webster. I feel like I learn something new every day! I enjoy sharing this knowledge with my client communities to help them achieve their goals.”
– Jill Bahm, partner, Giffels WebsterOur Sweet Digs
We thrive off collaboration! It’s one of our core values. Whether the day starts in the field or in our Detroit, Birmingham, or Washington offices, we know great workplaces are a direct result of great people. We attribute our culture to our team creating the best ‘workspaces’ around!
Some days our office looks more like this.
When it comes to making communities better, we don’t observe from behind a desk. Being on-location at project sites, rolling up our sleeves and volunteering, or exploring the city on two wheels, is how our team takes in all aspects of this philosophy.
Why We Show Up
Each morning we wake up as civil and traffic engineers, landscape architects, planners, surveyors and GIS specialists. Each day, we are dedicated to making communities better and we choose to do so at Giffels Webster.
At Giffels Webster, our daily drive is fueled by the passion we have for the communities in which we work, live, and play. We experience first-hand what’s working, what needs improvement, and where we can lend a hand and make a difference.
We’re always looking for individuals who share the same passion. Browse our opportunities and introduce yourself. Our communities are waiting!