With locations in Shreveport, Bossier City, Baton Rouge and Denham Springs, an area engineering and land surveying firm helps build the bones of the community.

In business for more 55 years, Forte & Tablada Inc. became an official part of the Shreveport-Bossier City business scene in 2010. That’s when BBC Engineering Inc. of Shreveport became a division of the company.

“We doubled the size of the office, but we haven’t lost any of the previous local folks – they are still with us,” said Forte & Tablada Chief Executive Officer Ann Trappey. “We do work for the port, for the city of Shreveport – we’ve done all types of projects. We’ve been doing work in Shreveport for a number of years.”

Founded in 1961, Forte & Tablada is a consulting engineering and land surveying firm specializing in civil, structural, environmental and electrical engineering and land surveying. Infrastructure that is needed for a community or to run a facility, such as roads, bridges, drainage, sewer and water, are the types of vital services provided by the firm.

“We do a significant amount of municipal public works infrastructure design and land surveying and advanced measurements,” Trappey said.

The firm has clients in the public and private sectors including Louisiana Department of Transportation and Department of Corrections, as well as many parish governments across the state including Caddo and Bossier parishes.

Some recognizable local projects Forte & Tablada has worked on are the Hilton Shreveport & Convention Center and the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City. Trappey said part of the work at the convention center was completed as Forte & Tablada, while BBC did some of the engineering. This was before the company acquired BBC. The firm did all of the civil site design for the Boardwalk Trappey said Forte & Tablada always makes sure to look at the long-term cost benefits to ensure that the client gets the best values.

“People don’t want you back if you don’t take care of them over and over again,” said Trappey. “I think we do a really good job of taking care of our clients – ensuring they get the best quality for what the end result/ product is.”

– Melissa Airhart