CTL Engineering

Since 1927, CTL Engineering has been providing one-stop shop engineering services throughout the United States and India. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, CTL Engineering serves as a single source engineering solution provider to energy, building development transportation, manufacturing and telecommunications industries. As a full-service company specializing in everything from engineering consulting to analytical laboratory services, CTL Engineering’s staff is fully equipped all clients with quality and timely service to ensure every project’s goals and expectations are met or exceeded.

A multitalented team

With a team of professional civil, chemical and geotechnical engineers CTL Engineering employees have many years of  experience in a wide variety of fields such as geotechnical engineering, construction testing and inspection services, environmental consulting mechanical and metallurgical analysis roofing, building envelope consulting and analytical chemistry.

CTL Engineering also maintains two subsidiaries that offer a multitude of services. In 2007, MLS merged with CTL Engineering in order to provide its telecommunication clients a formidable list of products and services now available from a single source. With the expertise to take a project form conceptual planning through system implementation, the company is dedicated to providing elite telecommunication services, licensed and non-licensed microwave interconnects, FCC and FAA engineering services, full site construction, metro planning as well as geotechnical, environmental, metallurgical and RF testing.

Industrial Communication and Sound (ICS) is another subsidiary acquired by CTL Engineering in 2009. ICS specializes in custom-designed, cost efficient security and audio visual systems. “We will often install access controls and video surveillance work on a construction site,” says C.K. Satyapriya, president of CTL Engineering.

A growing portfolio

The company was recently involved in the upgrade of the public address system at Great American Ballpark, the home field for the Cincinnati Reds. The services that CTL Engineering provided include design of the system and consultant work in regard to choosing the proper equipment. An interesting challenge that was presented in this project was the installation of the system was to take place while the Reds were in season. “There was a lot of time coordination involved,” says Satyapriya. “We could only work on the project when the team was on road trips.”

The company was given a one-month timeframe to complete the project which was done successfully although there were multiple changes to the client’s requests. “They eventually decided that they wanted a bigger system, which was obviously more work,” Satyapriya explains. “The client wanted more as far as access and controls were concerned. We still completed the job in the timeframe allotted.”

On the geotechnical engineering side, CTL Engineering recently completed a project in 2014 in Northwest Ohio, preventing the potential collapse of a major highway. “The road is built over old salt mines and there was potential for subsidence so we had to fill the void to eliminate the risk,” says Satyapriya. “This had never been done before so we started by filling a small area to see if it would work or not. We built a circular dam in that area and filled it with flyash, cement and grout.”

Currently CTL Engineering is working on a highway interchange on highway I-79 in West Virginia. This job involved a subsurface investigation to define what type of soil and rock the crews would be working with as well as designing the foundation for the interchange. CTL Engineering is also providing construction quality control. A number of challenges have been presented and been overcome on this project such as the fact that the major highway will continue to be active and in full use. The stretch of road also contains multiple hills and slopes.

Looking ahead

A challenge that CTL Engineering has been forced to overcome has been the lack of qualified talent in the market. The company has combated this by conducting thorough on-the-job training as well as ramping up its recruiting methods. “Many kids these days are going into the information technology sectors rather than engineering in the field,” says Satyapriya. “We have started going to universities and recruiting interns. They’ll work with us for a summer and see if it’s something they’re interested in and we get to see if we think they will be qualified or not.”

CTL Engineering has been an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) company for 25 years. “The ownership culture of the company is what gives me the biggest sense of pride about this company,” says Satyapriya. “We have seen a major improvement in performance throughout the company since we became an ESOP company. It’s been a great way to recognize the contributions of the employees.”

Satyapriya is looking forward to seeing the company grow in the next few years. “We will continue to be responsive,” says Satyapriya. “One of our biggest strengths is that we work in so many different industries. If one sector slows down, usually another one picks up.”

CTL Engineering Inc. remains a leader in full-service engineering solutions across multiple industries.