"We were selective and committed to finding the right firm to partner with that would benefit our clients and staff,” said Howard Lau, P.E., president, Shigemura, Lau, Sakanashi, Higuchi and Associates. “We were motivated by Coffman's drive for the same level of client care and attention to detail that our clients have become accustomed to. Our work and values are also complementary. We look forward to bringing our teams together to start a new chapter and to serve our clients with increased resources." 

SLSH owners Lau; Craig Sakanashi, P.E.; Wayne Higuchi, P.E.; and Beverly Ishii-Nakayama, P.E., will join Coffman as principal advisors. The addition of SLSH expands Coffman's Honolulu structural group from three to 13. SLSH has provided consulting structural engineering services to private and public clients throughout the Pacific Region for more than 52 years. SLSH's experience augments Coffman's structural engineering capabilities and complements the company's other engineering disciplines. 

SLSH and Coffman have an ongoing working relationship and share many of the same clients. The two companies' markets and clients align, particularly in military/DoD, healthcare, housing, and education. 

"We are honored and humbled that SLSH has chosen Coffman as part of their leadership transition,” said John Thielst, senior vice president and managing principal, Pacific region, Coffman. “We have a lot to learn from their 52 years of doing business in Hawaii. We welcome them to our office 'ohana and are prepared to continue the level of service they have established with their clients." 

After the agreement is finalized, SLSH, as Coffman Engineers, will continue to support clients and honor its project commitments with the same staff and quality. The SLSH staff will move to Coffman's downtown Honolulu office before the end of the year. For more information, visit https://www.coffman.com/news/SLSH-joins-coffman-engineers.