Book celebrates 100 years of Tighe & Bond

Date: 11/28/2011

WESTFIELD — To commemorate its 100th anniversary, Tighe & Bond recently published “Engineering a Century of Progress, The Evolution of Tighe & Bond.”

The book brings to life the firm’s rich history, people and a century of dedication to providing civil engineering and environmental consulting services to public and private clients throughout the Northeast. The firm intends to distribute these commemorative books to key clients, employees and local historical associations.

Headquartered in Westfield, Tighe & Bond is a household name for many municipalities, as well as numerous other public and private organizations throughout New England. The firm has worked on numerous high profile projects — including drinking water supplies, wastewater systems, and roadways that the public uses on a daily basis. Tighe & Bond has also provided services to many New England universities, schools, hospitals, industries, electric utilities, and private developers.

James Tighe, an Irish immigrant, began working as an engineer for the Holyoke Water Department in 1892, later becoming the city engineer. In 1911, after his service with the city, Tighe established his own private engineering practice in the Caledonian building on High Street in downtown Holyoke. In 1926, Tighe formed a partnership with Philip Bond, who added expertise in municipal engineering. After weathering the Great Depression, Tighe & Bond began expanding its workforce. Today, Tighe & Bond has more than 200 employees in six offices that span three states: Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

“This auspicious year also has afforded Tighe & Bond numerous successes in our expansion, growth in new markets, awards, and recognition as a great place to work,” David Pinsky, the firm’s president, said. “At its annual Best Firms to Work for Summit in San Diego [Calif.] in September, ZweigWhite recognized Tighe & Bond as one of the best civil engineering firms to work for in the nation. We ranked second among mid-size firms and eighth overall.”

This past May, the Engineering News-Record once again ranked Tighe & Bond among the top 500 design firms in the nation. And in January, Tighe & Bond acquired Appledore Engineering, a highly regarded, 23-year-old civil engineering firm located in Portsmouth, N.H. This has provided Tighe & Bond with greater opportunities for expansion into New Hampshire and Maine markets, as well as more opportunities to better serve its clients.

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