OUR STORY
OUR FOUNDER
Don Charles was an engineer with a businessman’s mind. After graduating with a Master’s in Civil Engineering he worked for Bechtel Corporation on a variety of projects as a design engineer and project manager. His assignments took him around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, and EuroDisney in France. Throughout Don’s experience, one thing became apparent: there were recurring problems during the construction process that no one or no company was directly responsible for solving; this kept jobs from moving forward efficiently. It occurred to Don that a company dedicated to proactively solving those construction hang-ups with engineered solutions could be beneficial in the industry. With that in mind, Don returned home to Sonoma County to start a family and a company dedicated to construction engineering.
HOW WE STARTED
D.H. Charles Engineering was founded in 1994, and by ’98 Don had hired a drafter and our current president, Jasper Calcara. It was a humble beginning in a granny unit in the backyard of Don’s property. There was no A/C, plans were walked between the “office” and Don’s house in the rain, and wet dogs jumped around while kids crawled under the desks. The energy was high as this was a new adventure.
DHC was an industry disruptor. At the time, no one else was providing the range of services that Don did. From client responses, it was clear that there was a demand for the engineering support DHC offered. This small start-up was at the beginning of something special, which gave the company a strong sense of responsibility. DHC wanted to take care of the needs of the entire industry which meant gaining expertise in all areas of construction to be a one-stop shop for contractors. It also led Don and Jasper to gain PE licensure in all 50 states to provide their services across the U.S. In turn, this created countless opportunities as the company grew and began to fill the empty spaces in the market.
WHO WE ARE TODAY
More than 25 years later, DHC continues to live out the mission our founder set for us: we work to solve any problems our clients encounter on their projects. We specialize in a variety of services, and each job is completed with the aim to support and protect the work and workers entrusted to us. We achieve this through the hard work and dedication of our incredible team. While DHC started in a granny unit with three employees, we’ve grown into offices across the United States and employ a diversely talented group of individuals. Our team believes in the mission Don set forth and carries it out as if we are still a start-up. We treat every call like it’s our only call and respond to inquiries and requests with immediacy. As we continue to meet the needs of an ever-expanding market, clients who partner with us can expect a quick reply and depend on us for exceptional service, quality, and expertise.