Founding

When Bernard F. Langan founded Langan in 1970 in Clifton, New Jersey, he realized that he needed other outstanding geotechnical and site/civil engineers to build his firm, so he wisely recruited three gifted individuals: George E. Derrick, Dennis J. Leary, and George P. Kelley.

The four were knowledgeable, disciplined, and ambitious, and they soon won professional recognition for their fledgling firm. Working hard, cultivating close relationships with clients, keeping pace with industry developments, and grabbing every opportunity to find fresh, new solutions to old problems, they nurtured a culture at Langan that met and exceeded client expectations.

In 1985, they added a fifth peer, Donald J. Murphy, a geoenvironmental engineer who established environmental services at the firm. Integrating environmental services helped Langan record substantial growth in clients, revenues, and personnel for the next two decades. What clients appreciated most was Langan’s ability to take responsibility for virtually all key issues involved in real estate development from the ground down.

As many clients observed, Langan had become a uniquely capable “one-stop shop” that developers, corporations, architects, construction managers, and other engineers could trust with their most critical projects.

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

By the turn of the century, it was time for a leadership transition at Langan. With the maturing of the next generation of leaders, including David T. Gockel, Michael A. Semeraro, George E. Leventis, Andrew J. Ciancia, Nicholas DeRose, Rudolph P. Frizzi, Ronald A. Fuerst, Gerald J. Zambrella, Gerard M. Coscia, and Cristina M. Gonzalez, the firm took a significant step in its development. In 2003, the Langan Board of Directors elected David Gockel to be the new President & CEO. Under his leadership and working in partnership with this new group in charge, the highly competitive culture favored by Bernie and the Founders was transformed into a highly collaborative one where independent silos of expertise were actively encouraged to function interdependently. Langan’s evolved operations greatly enhanced communication, business intelligence, and overall performance because clients truly benefitted from the shared knowledge and resources of the entire firm rather than disconnected groups.

Collaboration proved to be a catalyst for growth, and ultimately inspired the complete makeover of Langan’s offices into modern, open workspaces that foster teamwork around the firm. Seizing the possibilities of digital technology, investing in continuing education, and strengthening ties to the engineering profession, Langan saw its people become even more enthusiastic about sharing information, participating in problem-solving, cultivating deep relationships with clients, and contributing to the well-being of the firm, the profession, and society.