Press release

Engineer-business executive Steve Precourt is SynTerra’s third president
in 27 years.

Posted August 17, 2020

Steve Precourt joins SynTerra as president, bringing a history of success as an engineer and business executive.

SynTerra Corp., a science and engineering firm with offices throughout the Southeast, announced today that Steve Precourt is the company’s third president in 27 years. Precourt — an accomplished Professional Engineer, business executive, and former Florida lawmaker — succeeds Professional Geologist Mark Taylor, who served as SynTerra’s president since 2006.

The change in leadership comes amid exponential growth. SynTerra had 51 employees and one office in early 2016; today, the firm has about 180 employees and eight offices in five states.

Taylor, who has been at SynTerra 23 years, emphasized that Precourt’s business acumen is ideally suited for a growing company. “Until recently, I didn’t prescribe to the cliché about ‘working on your business,’ as opposed to ‘working in your business.’ Now I get it,” Taylor said. “Through exemplary technical and creative work, we helped clients succeed — and we grew, fast. But I think, as practitioners, we had gotten this thing as far down the road as we could, and it was time to bring in someone with the organizational skills to get us to the next level.”

Amid a national search, Precourt emerged as the SynTerra board’s top candidate. “I was honored that SynTerra expressed its trust in me to join this amazing organization,” Precourt said. “After serving in several transitional roles, I wanted to again be part of a long-term effort. SynTerra’s commitment to client success really struck me, and I was equally impressed with the company’s commitment to staff, communities, and the environment.”

Precourt, who has practiced as a Professional Engineer in Florida for 23 of the past 31 years, is experienced at navigating the challenges of growth. Through a variety of leadership roles, he helped Dyer, Riddle, Mills & Precourt grow to more than 500 employees and national prominence. He left the firm after 20 years to begin an eight-year stint with the Florida legislature. After returning to consulting in 2014, Precourt served as CEO or managing principal while helping three companies through transitional periods.

Precourt has received numerous honors and accolades for public and private service. He was the GOP Florida House Majority Leader in 2012-2013. In 2018, while serving as CEO of Florida-based KPM Franklin, he received the Governor A.W. Gilchrist Award, presented annually to recognize an engineer for public service, helping mankind, and bringing honor to the engineering profession.

Founded in 1993, SynTerra is employee‐owned. SynTerra engineers, geologists, scientists, and surveyors help clients meet business objectives and address technical challenges. Clients include manufacturers, mining operations, utilities, pulp and paper companies, developers, and government agencies. Capabilities include environmental consulting, water and wastewater design, civil engineering design, air and wetlands permitting, surveying and drone applications, and more. Headquartered in Greenville, SC, SynTerra also has offices in Birmingham, AL, Charlotte, NC, Hendersonville, NC, Lexington, KY, Pikeville, KY, Tampa, FL, and Tuscaloosa, AL. Learn more about SynTerra at www.synterracorp.com.

For more information, contact Pete Scott at pscott@synterracorp.com.

Kathy Webb, P.G.

Senior Market Leader | Principal

Kathy Webb, who co-founded SynTerra (then known as The Fletcher Group) in 1992, has completed remedial investigations and regulatory compliance projects associated with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, state and federal Superfund sites, solid waste landfills, brownfield redevelopment, utility coal combustion residual (CCR) management units, and regulated industrial facilities. She has supported litigation as an expert witness related to chlorinated solvents, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Kathy is known for her practical assessment strategy with the perspective of the client’s business objectives. She routinely evaluates groundwater corrective action systems for effectiveness and progress toward achieving compliance objectives. She has co-authored a trade journal paper with case studies of low-impact remedial strategies. Kathy is a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Mark Taylor, P.G.

Principal

Mark has worked more than 40 years in natural-resource based industries. His expertise includes mine geology and mine engineering, hydrogeologic and geotechnical investigations, solid and hazardous waste management, and regulatory negotiations. He has published peer-reviewed papers about coal geology, ore geochemistry, mineralogy, and solid waste management. He is a leading expert in mining and environmental permitting for litigation support.

Mark is licensed as a Professional Geologist in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Washington. He serves on the boards of the Upstate Red Cross and Upstate Forever. He served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Geologists for six years. Mark holds a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Science from Harvard University.

Andrea Kehn, P.E.

Vice President of Engineering | Principal

Andrea Kehn, leader of our Civil & Environmental Engineering Business Unit, has 28 years of experience in chemical manufacturing and environmental consulting. She leads and supervises staff professionals on multidisciplinary projects for a variety of industrial clients. Andrea’s vast experience and expertise includes: air quality construction and operating permitting; air quality modeling; air permit record-keeping and reporting; Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP); NPDES permitting; water quality modeling; process safety management; risk management compliance and auditing; and RCRA compliance.

Andrea is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Ruth Albright, P.E.

Vice President | Principal

Ruth has led projects for major industrial facilities throughout the Southeast and beyond. She built her knowledge of environmental regulations and their application to manufacturing operations while working for the second largest chemical manufacturing company in the United States. At SynTerra, she has expanded both her knowledge and reputation working for chemical manufacturing operations of all sizes. She has also worked extensively with other manufacturing operations, including pulp and paper, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive parts and assembly. Her experience includes air and wastewater permit compliance, solid and hazardous waste management, solid waste construction permitting, hazardous materials transportation, wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control equipment operations and maintenance, and ambient air monitoring systems.

Ruth is a professional engineer registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, and Kentucky. She is an active member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Environmental Technical Committee and serves as the chair of the water subcommittee. She has previously served as the program and committee chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs committee. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.