StoriesHow PeopleFirst Leadership Powers Growth at Ascend
Ascend brings Alpine’s PeopleFirst leadership to life, showing how people-first private equity can drive growth while preserving integrity.
This case study was originally published in Alpine Investors’ 2023 Force For Good report.
America’s infrastructure is the backbone of our country. Pipes bring clean water to our homes. Roads, airports, and waterways connect our communities and transport our goods. Transmission and distribution lines keep the lights on and facilitate our transition to clean energy. Unfortunately, our nation’s infrastructure is in disrepair. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave our country’s infrastructure a C- grade and estimated we will need to spend $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years to close the gap. Currently, 8% of bridges are structurally deficient, 40% of roads are in poor condition, and a water main breaks every 2 minutes, causing over 6 billion gallons of treated water to be lost every day. Simply put, failing infrastructure hinders economic growth and widens the nation’s inequality gap.
The Trilon Group is built to address this crisis. Trilon’s mission is to design smarter infrastructure solutions that support stronger communities. Trilon provides engineering and consulting services, primarily involving the planning and design of public infrastructure. Trilon is home to more than 2,000 highly skilled, expert staff who work with government agencies to plan, repair, and expand existing infrastructure while also developing modern solutions to age-old problems including water safety, transportation access, and resilience to natural disasters.
In 2022 alone, Trilon Group companies worked on countless projects with direct positive impacts on local communities. These include:
City of Jackson, Water Program
In Fall 2022, Jackson, Mississippi’s water crisis shuttered their two surface water treatment plants, leaving 170,000 people without drinking water. Waggoner Engineering, a Trilon Group company, served on the team that returned these plants to service. Even now, Waggoner continues to work with the city to provide sustainable water and wastewater solutions to support the Jackson community moving forward.
City of Detroit, Brownfield Redevelopment
Mannik & Smith Group, a Trilon Group company, led an award-winning project to redevelop a decommissioned power plant for modern industrial use, including the enhancement of environmental controls and storm water and flood management immediately adjacent to the Detroit River.
North Carolina Department of Transportation “Great Trails State” Plan
Alta Planning + Design, a Trilon Group company, developed a statewide trails network to create opportunities for non-motorized transportation, conservation, recreation, public health, and economic development across the 100 counties of North Carolina.
Oregon, Bear Creek Greenway
Following the 2020 Almeda Fire that destroyed more than 2,600 homes in Southern Oregon, Alta Planning + Design, a Trilon Group company, led the development of a plan to prevent future wildfires along this 20+ mile trail corridor, recreating the greenway with greater resiliency.
Alongside Trilon’s impact on our communities, the company hopes to make equally significant impact on the lives of its employees. Trilon is committed to being a PeopleFirst employer of choice, a key tenant of which is Trilon’s Ownership for All program. With Alpine’s support, Trilon is committed to ensuring employees own approximately one-third of the company’s equity value. Employees can buy into the company at the Board’s invitation during annual buy-in windows, and already more than 200 employees own shares in the Trilon Group. Trilon has a firm belief that when it wins, its employees should win too.
“Trilon’s core mission has two parts: deliver sustainable and equitable infrastructure for our communities and offer rewarding careers for our employees. You can’t have one without the other. Every day, our talented planners, engineers, designers, architects, and consultants work to improve the world around them—Trilon staff often live in the communities we serve and take real pride in providing clean drinking water, building resilient infrastructure, improving the safety of our transportation, designing green spaces, and so much more. I can’t wait to see what our incredible people achieve next,” says Michael Renshaw, Trilon Group’s CEO.
