Landmark Consultants builds on solid ground
Landmark Consultants is a soils engineering firm founded by Jeff Lyon in 1983.
Lyon is a third-generation native of Imperial Valley and a licensed professional engineer. He attended Seeley Elementary School, Central Union High School, Imperial Valley College and Cal Poly Pomona.
Lyon worked as a farm laborer from 13 to 16 years old, and from 1972 thru 1978 as a surveyor in developing agricultural lands in the Imperial Valley, Coachella Valley, Palo Verde Valley and Gila Bend, Ariz.
After graduating from Cal Poly with a civil engineering degree, he returned to El Centro and began his career in civil engineering by improving agricultural lands and designing infrastructure such as streets, water, sewer and storm-water systems for urban development. In 1983, while at Lyon Engineers, Lyon started a soils engineering division, which later became Southland Geotechnical, then Landmark Consultants, with offices in El Centro, Yuma, Palm Desert and San Diego.
The decision to close the Yuma and San Diego offices has allowed Landmark to remain a premier engineering consultant in the Imperial and Coachella valleys. Landmark and its licensed professional engineering staff of five have worked diligently with local public agencies, the Imperial Irrigation District, local schools, hospitals, commercial developers and industrial developments for over 37 years.
Landmark’s engineers provide professional guidance with regard to supporting buildings, industrial equipment and power generation plants on the ground where each project is located. Drilling rigs are used by the Landmark engineers to test soil strength and retrieve samples of the different layers of soil that have been deposited in the ancient Cahuilla lake bed and old river courses that make up the Imperial and Coachella valleys.
The drilling and testing depths often range from 50 to 100 feet deep in order to determine the types of foundations that will be required to support each type of structure. Seismic studies are performed at each site in order to predict how the ground will react to strong ground-shaking from the many earthquake faults that cross our region.
In addition to providing engineering consultation to designers during the planning and permitting of projects, Landmark has 11 technical staff members who test or inspect the quality of work and materials used in construction projects. These individuals are all natives of the Imperial and Coachella valleys, and most have been schoolmates in Calexico, El Centro, Brawley and the cities of the Coachella Valley.
The technical staff members have been trained by the engineers at Landmark and have gone on to become certified by national and state agencies in testing soil, aggregate, concrete, asphalt pavements, masonry and bolted or welded steel structures.
All of the technical staff initially began work at Landmark at entry-level positions, but over the years have elevated to senior positions that qualify for prevailing wage rate work on public agency projects, such as the Imperial Irrigation District and other governmental entities.
Two of these technical staff members are brothers Richard and Johnny Jaime.
Johnny Jaime was the first to join the company in 2000. He had previously worked at Imperial Manor as the maintenance manager. His uncle worked for Precision Engineering & Surveying in El Centro and steered Johnny to Southland Geotechnical, now Landmark.
Richard Jaime, who worked with Precision, joined his younger brother in 2009. Both are El Centro natives. Today they are both field technicians responsible for site inspection of soil, concrete, pavements and other materials to insure compliance with industry and government standards.
The soil in Imperial Valley varies from soft clays and silts to dense sands and gravel, requiring a high level of competency in identifying and classifying the soil.
The Jaime brothers agree that work with the family-owned business with roots in Imperial Valley is good. “Landmark values us as team members,” Richard said.
“I have worked at other good places in Imperial Valley, but the work that I do at Landmark is challenging and rewarding,” Johnny added.
Over their 37-year history, Landmark and its predecessor companies have had a direct involvement with IID substations, concrete-lining projects, hydroelectric plants on the All American Canal, the various reservoirs used for management of water delivery, and improvements to administration and maintenance facilities. As an aside, Lyon’s grandfather who came to Imperial Valley in 1909 used his own bulldozer for construction of the All American Canal and was guest of Evan Hewes at the dedication ceremony.
Landmark provided design consultation and quality assurance testing for the 33 miles of the Coachella Canal, just north of Niland, for the Coachella Valley Water District. Landmark has also provided geotechnical engineering and construction materials quality testing firm for every geothermal and biomass power plant in the Imperial and Coachella valleys.
Landmark has also provided the same engineering and testing for the majority of new school sites, and for expansions of El Centro Regional Medical Center and Pioneers Memorial Hospital. Not limited to public works projects, Landmark assisted in the development of Brawley (One World) Beef in the establishment and growth of a local beef processing and packaging plant. The firm also assisted All American Grain, which ventured out to develop “100-railcar” loop train tracks for grain unloading and loading of shipping containers.
With strong Christian beliefs, Lyon supports local Christian organizations, such as Turning Point Ministries, Youth for Christ, Burning Bush International, KGBA Radio, the Salvation Army, Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and Fundacion Emanuel, an orphanage in Mexicali.
Like many other locally owned businesses, Landmark has for years supported 4-H and FFA members during the Junior Livestock Auction at the California Mid-Winter Fair and Fiesta.
Landmark with its 17 staff members has had a powerful impact on the development of Imperial Valley. It has built an organization with continuing impact in training and development of a local workforce and a long-term commitment to professional excellence and results.