History
OHM Advisors began with a simple premise: to create extraordinary relationships with our clients.
Since our beginnings, we've understood that meeting the advisory needs of our clients starts with building their trust. For more than 60 years, our goal has been to create honest client partnerships for today's challenges that last well into the future.
Relationships, Not Clients
In 1962, engineering veteran John E. Hiltz joined Melvin “Ernie” Orchard to form John E. Hiltz & Associates in Detroit, Michigan, with 15 employees. Their vision was a firm built on extraordinary relationships with municipal clients, providing insightful engineering counsel, and delivering on a promise to Advance Communities.
Purposeful Growth
Over the years, John E. Hiltz & Associates became Orchard, Papke, Hiltz and McCliment, Inc., Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc., and then OHM Advisors; while continually growing and diversifying our team and offerings to become a full-service consulting firm.
Some of our growth has been through strategic mergers and acquisitions and some has been organic, but the driving force has always been to create an exceptional team of people committed to best serving our clients.
Trusted Advisors
More than 60 years later—with a talented 750+ team in multiple states—we’re still living our mission of Advancing Communities through our work with municipalities, state and regional agencies, schools, corporations, developers and local entities. We’ve grown our extraordinary relationships to become our clients’ trusted advisors, and continue to nurture those partnerships to endure for tomorrow's challenges.
Historic Highlights
1962 - 1971
Founded as a municipal engineering firm, partners John E. Hiltz, Melvin "Ernie" Orchard, Frank Papke and Dick Toal launched John E. Hiltz & Associates, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan with 15 employees. The new firm began serving as the consulting engineer and community advisor for the City of Livonia—a relationship that continues today.
1972 - 1981
With the retirement of John E. Hiltz, the renamed Orchard, Papke, Hiltz and McCliment, Inc. moved to new headquarters and continued growing its culture as trusted advisors to its Michigan community clients, including the cities of Livonia, Ypsilanti, and Farmington and the townships of Superior and Pontiac (now the City of Auburn Hills).
1982 - 1991
The firm expanded to provide services for county road agencies, and we completed our first projects for the Michigan Department of Transportation. We also delved into the new world of computer-aided drafting, launching a Structural Design Group focused on roadway infrastructure.
1992 - 2001
We continued our robust development of client services and expanded our Livonia headquarters to a second office location to house our growing Construction and Geographic Information Systems departments.
2002 - 2011
Impactful mergers with Hitch, Inc. in 2005 and Bird Houk Collaborative in 2010, along with the opening of a Nashville office, helped expand the firm’s geographic footprint across Michigan, Tennessee, and Ohio. The firm’s growth under the leadership of President John J. Hiltz brought new architecture, planning, urban design, and mechanical and electrical engineering services to our clients, launching a new era for OHM Advisors as a full-service, multidisciplinary consulting firm dedicated to Advancing Communities.
2012 - 2021
During this period of historic growth, OHM Advisors expanded to a team of over 500 people with offices in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. Highlights throughout the decade included:
- 2015: OHM Advisors opened its first office in Northeast Ohio through a merger with Krock Esser Engineering, integrating municipal engineering, construction management, and private sector development services.
- 2018: The OHM Advisors Scholarship Program was established to foster talent in critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- 2020: OHM Advisors opened its first Indiana office in Jeffersonville, serving southern Indiana and the Greater Louisville area communities.
- 2021: Jon Kramer, PE, assumed the role of President of OHM Advisors, succeeding John J. Hiltz, PE.
2022 - present
Achieving impressive rankings on ENR's Top 500 Design Firms and Gallup’s “Exceptional Workplaces,” OHM Advisors continues to build a world-class team and culture positioned for growth into new markets. Recent milestones include:
- 2022: OHM Advisors opened its first Kentucky office in Frankfort, strategically located between the Louisville and Lexington metro areas.
- 2024: OHM Advisors acquired Griner Engineering, Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, and THY, Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee, expanding its services and client portfolio.