Much of what keeps a community moving every day goes unnoticed. Roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, and the infrastructure and servicing that supports new development all depend on considerable behind-the-scenes planning and engineering.
For 75 years, B.M. Ross and Associates Limited has been doing that work in communities across Southwestern Ontario.
Founded in Goderich in 1951 by Burns McKay Ross, P.Eng., OLS, B.M. Ross started as a one-person engineering practice. Today, it is an employee-owned engineering and planning consulting firm with 90 full-time employees and offices in Goderich, Mount Forest, Sarnia and Kincardine. Its work spans planning and land development, water and wastewater systems, stormwater management, roads and highways, bridges and culverts, structural and coastal engineering, land use planning, municipal advisory services, surveying, mapping and data collection.
The firm's growth in Sarnia-Lambton has happened on a much shorter timeline. What began with a single employee in a Bright's Grove office on July 2, 2016, has grown into a 20-person team. Exactly 10 years later, on July 2, 2026, B.M. Ross marked that growth with a move to a significantly larger space at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, giving the team room to continue building its presence in the region.
For Alex Morfin, P.Eng., Managing Partner at B.M. Ross, the move came down to a simple reality: the team had outgrown its previous space and needed somewhere it could continue to grow.
Engineering the communities around us
The Sarnia office focuses primarily on municipal road reconstruction, planning and land development, including residential subdivisions, as well as commercial, industrial, institutional, residential site developments and municipal servicing.
On the municipal side, much of the team's work is civil engineering. That can include designing the watermains, sanitary sewers and stormwater systems underneath a road, as well as the road itself. B.M. Ross also works on bridges, culverts, pumping stations, infrastructure planning and municipal studies.
That work becomes particularly important as infrastructure ages. Pipes installed decades ago eventually need to be replaced, while others may no longer have enough capacity to serve a growing neighbourhood. Sometimes a road needs to be completely reconstructed. In other cases, resurfacing can extend its life and allow a municipality to put its infrastructure budget somewhere it is needed more urgently.
Private development brings a different set of challenges. Someone might own farmland they want to develop into a residential subdivision, have a property they want to convert into several housing units, or be looking at changing the use of a commercial property. B.M. Ross can work with clients through the planning and zoning process and then complete the civil engineering needed to move the project forward.
Those clients range from experienced developers to property owners who have never gone through the development process before.
Morfin has a straightforward way of describing what his team does.
“We are problem solvers,” he said. “You have a problem, we will solve it. That's what we do.”
Building across Sarnia-Lambton
There are plenty of examples of that work close to home. B.M. Ross is currently the planning and civil engineering consultant for the County of Lambton's 50-unit affordable housing development on Kathleen Avenue in Sarnia.
The firm has also been involved in several phases of residential development around The Rapids Parkway. Working with different developers over the years, Morfin estimates B.M. Ross has helped develop roads serving approximately 300 residential lots in that area over the past decade.
Road reconstruction is another major part of the Sarnia team's work. Residents may notice the new pavement, curbs and sidewalks once a project is finished, but a significant amount of the work happens underground. Reconstructing a road can also mean replacing aging water, sanitary and stormwater infrastructure or increasing its capacity to meet current and future needs.
Ten years of growth in Sarnia-Lambton
B.M. Ross's Sarnia presence started small. When the Bright's Grove office opened in 2016, longtime partner Matthew Pearson, RPP was its only employee. Hiring followed within months.
One of the early additions was Curt Bladon P. Eng., a civil engineer who already had more than two decades of experience in Lambton County. Morfin credits Bladon's local experience, reputation and relationships with helping the office establish itself and grow.
It did not take long for space to become an issue. B.M. Ross initially occupied two floors of its Bright's Grove building and eventually expanded onto the third. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the office was beginning to feel crowded. As employees returned to the office and the team continued to grow, finding a larger location became a priority.
B.M. Ross considered three locations before choosing the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park.
A new home at the Research Park
The difference in space is significant. The new office is approximately two and a half times the size of the firm's previous location, and most members of the Sarnia team now have their own offices.
Location was another major consideration. B.M. Ross employees regularly travel to projects throughout Lambton County, Chatham-Kent and parts of Middlesex County. With Highway 40 and Highway 402 nearby, the Research Park provides relatively easy access to communities throughout the area.
“The location is perfect,” Morfin said.
But the appeal of the Research Park was not limited to office space and highway access. Morfin also saw value in the mix of businesses already working there.
More than 50 organizations operate from the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, putting B.M. Ross in the same building as companies working across a range of industries and professional services.
Some of those connections are particularly relevant to B.M. Ross's work. Vensuris, a development company and B.M. Ross client, is located within the same suite. Robinson Design & Drafting is nearby, and the firms have worked together on projects. Other construction and development-related businesses at the Research Park add to what is becoming a growing development ecosystem.
Having developers, designers, engineers, contractors and other professionals working in the same building creates opportunities that are harder to replicate when everyone is spread across the region.
“We like the idea of being here with other professional companies,” Morfin said.
Katherine Albion, Executive Director of the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, sees B.M. Ross as a strong addition to that mix.
“Having companies like B.M. Ross located alongside developers, designers, contractors and other professional service firms creates opportunities for connections that may not happen otherwise. That is one of the strengths of the Research Park. We can provide companies with the space they need to grow while also creating an environment where businesses can connect, collaborate and build relationships.”
For B.M. Ross, those connections have practical value. Being in the same building can make it easier to make an introduction, refer a client or find an opportunity to work together on a project. Combined with the larger space, location, lease rates and amenities, the business community within the Research Park helped set it apart from the other locations the firm considered.
Planning for what comes next
After growing from one employee to 20 in a decade, B.M. Ross does not expect its Sarnia office to stand still. The firm plans to continue building its work across Lambton County and Chatham-Kent, as well as parts of Middlesex County. Morfin sees opportunities in municipal infrastructure, housing and private development.
Part of that means connecting with property owners and prospective developers who have an idea but may not know where to start. It could be an experienced developer planning another subdivision, or someone who owns a property and wants to know what might be possible. Morfin said those early conversations can help determine what a project will require and who needs to be involved.
For the Sarnia office itself, the plan is to keep building on the growth of the past decade.
Seventy-five years after Burns McKay Ross started the firm in Goderich, B.M. Ross now has 90 employees working from four offices across Southwestern Ontario. Its Sarnia operation has gone from one employee to 20 in 10 years, and its new home at the Research Park gives the team more room for whatever comes next.
“The growth that we have got in the last 10 years, it's a really good momentum,” Morfin said. “It's keeping that work, keeping everything going, growing our office and staff.”
For B.M. Ross, moving to the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park is less about starting something new than making room for what the Sarnia team has already been building over the past decade.
