Resources for Criterium Engineers Affiliates

A Criterium Engineers franchise begins with this assumption: The franchise is your business. You identify the professional and financial  goals you want to achieve, you select the building engineering specialties you want to emphasize, you decide how fast you want to grow.  We don’t tell you how to run your business.  But we know what it takes to run a successful consulting engineering business.  We’ve been doing that for more than 60 years. And we give our affiliates the tools that we know can help them succeed.

Training

Training begins with an intensive 5-day course for new franchisees at our corporate office in Maine.  But it doesn’t end there.   Training and continuing education are cornerstones of the Criterium Engineers affiliate program.  After you return to your office and get started, we will spend another 5 days with you to be sure you are headed in the right direction.  Every other year, we host a conference with featured speakers addressing a wide range of engineering and business development topics.  We also sponsor additional programs, webinars and seminars periodically, to  keep our engineers updated and informed about relevant engineering- and real estate-related developments and trends.

Technical Support

Our clients look to us for our expertise and value the advice we offer and the effective solutions we recommend.  No single engineer will have the answer to every question.  But the Professional Engineers and Registered Architects on Criterium’s staff and in its national network of affiliates have decades of collective experience.  If you encounter an engineering or design problem you can’t solve, someone in this group has almost certainly been there, done that, and can help.    A call to our 800 number will connect you with our affiliate coordinator, who will direct you to the information you need or connect you with one of the more than 100 Criterium engineers who are available to consult with you by phone or on-line.

Business Support

Criterium Engineers also provides business support . Criterium Engineers staff visit affiliate offices every year to observe, consult, discuss new ideas, and address any concerns.  But you don’t have to wait for these annual visits – we’re here for you any time you need us to answer questions, provide technical help or just offer a reassuring word. In addition to toll-free and on-line consulting from our management staff, you will have access to:

  • Business referrals from the corporate office and from other franchisees.
  • Insurance coverage under Criterium’s professional liability master policies.
  • Web hosting and design services / IT help desk support and consultation.
  • Accounting software.
  • Discounts on a wide range of products and services.
  • Engineering reporting systems, templates, standard agreements and other business forms.
  • Information resources, including: a weekly newsletter, technical bulletins and a members’ only segment of our Web site.

Marketing Support

Criterium actively supports its affiliates with:

  • Professionally developed brochures, newsletters, and other marketing tools.
  • A modern corporate web site.
  • Relationships with valuable industry trade groups.
  • Name recognition.
  • Corporate branding. (The Criterium name and our distinctive orange triangle are registered trademarks that our affiliates are exclusively licensed to use.)

Independent But Not Alone

Criterium Engineers affiliates can offer their clients the best of both worlds –the personalized service and market knowledge of a small, local company, backed by the resources and reputation of a well-known national consulting engineering practice. If you have large ambitions for a small company, click here.