GMBae Aquires Visbeen Associates

GMB Architecture + Engineering Inc. (GMBae) announced today it has acquired Visbeen Associates Inc. to expand each firm's capabilities and ability to reach a wider range of clients. The acquisition allows GMBae to leverage its institutional design and engineering experience with that of a nationally recognized architectural firm specializing in residential design.

GMBae is a full-service architecture and engineering firm with offices in Holland and Grand Rapids, Mich., that specializes in facilities that serve higher education, health care, corporate and K-12 education sectors. GMBae has a 40-plus-year history of designing and engineering facilities and is among the top architecture and engineering firms in the Midwest.

Grand Rapids-based Visbeen Associates is a national, boutique architecture firm specializing in full-service architectural and interior design services for the residential and retail markets.

GMBae and Visbeen Associates will maintain their separate identities; with Visbeen Associates becoming Visbeen Architects. Wayne Visbeen, former president of Visbeen Associates, will now have ownership in GMBae. The acquisition will allow both firms to enhance their presence in their respective markets by complementing the services they now provide to existing clients and enabling the combined entities to expand their client base and address new markets.

"This is a major milestone in our growth strategy," said David Bolt, AIA, vice president of GMBae. "We have shared an excellent working relationship with Visbeen and have partnered with them on projects throughout the years. Our firms have similar corporate cultures and share the same values. It was a natural partnership and we're extremely pleased to have Visbeen Architects as part of our team. At the same time, Wayne's firm is one of the best known in the nation in the residential sector; it's a great opportunity for us to capitalize on the brand he has created."

"By formalizing the relationship, we can draw on each other's expertise," added Wayne Visbeen, AIA, IIDA. "GMB is hungry to grow and has an incredible reputation for getting things done. It's exciting to become a part of a growing and dynamic organization and to offer our clients access to a broader array of services. We like the idea of becoming part of an established and commercially successful brand."

As private companies, details of the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.