Cleary Zimmermann Engineers, founded in San Antonio in 2006, has grown into one of Texas’ leading MEP consulting firms with five offices across the state. Nearly 90 of its 130 employees remain based in San Antonio, where the firm’s growth has mirrored the region’s demand for schools, healthcare facilities, and industrial projects. Notable recent work includes MEP design for JCB’s new South Side manufacturing plant. We spoke with Executive Principal and CFO Danny Zimmermann about how the firm is cultivating San Antonio’s future workforce through university recruiting, STEM partnerships, internships, and its in-house training program, CZ University.
Tell us about Cleary Zimmermann and the work your company specializes in.
Cleary Zimmermann Engineers (CZ) is among the largest mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) consulting engineering firms in Texas, specializing in Building MEP, Industrial MEP, IT/Security, Commissioning, and Water/Wastewater services. Our mission is to serve as a high-touch, creative engineering partner for complex building projects, and our core values of service, communication, and humility drive everything we do. From industrial manufacturing plants to complex labs and healthcare facilities, we partner with clients who value relationships and require institutional-grade systems that are not only built to last, but to support future growth.
Cleary Zimmermann was founded in San Antonio in 2006 and has since expanded its reach across Texas with offices in Bryan/College Station, Houston, Austin, and soon Dallas. Cleary Zimmermann also has a Mentor/Protégé agreement with Texas HUB firm Moose Engineers, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
What attracted Cleary Zimmermann to San Antonio, and how has the region supported your growth?
Cleary Zimmermann Engineers was founded in San Antonio in 2006 and has since expanded to five offices across Texas. I was born and raised here, as was Wade Cleary, Cleary Zimmermann’s cofounder and CEO. We started the firm with six people, and it has since grown to 130, with nearly 90 of those employees based in our San Antonio office.
Our firm’s growth has tracked that of the region. Many of our engineers, including several principals, graduated from UTSA’s College of Engineering and started with the firm immediately following graduation. As the population has grown, so has the need for institutional facilities like schools, healthcare facilities, and municipal buildings, all of which we design. We have continued to hire from local higher education institutions and work with public and private clients that are pushing the region forward.
What is a recent San Antonio project or accomplishment Cleary Zimmermann is especially proud of, and what impact has it had on the local community?
We are thrilled to be providing MEP engineering design for the new JCB manufacturing plant on the South Side of San Antonio. This plant will have a significant economic impact, creating 1,500 high-wage jobs and generating beneficial downstream activity.
What motivated Cleary Zimmermann to invest in greater:SATX's mission and how does that align with your broader goals in the region?
We joined because we believe in the greater:SATX vision and the projects they pursue align with the markets and sectors that we serve. We are actively growing our industrial and manufacturing portfolio and greater:SATX is a critical partner in attracting these businesses to San Antonio. Ultimately, we see tremendous value in collaborating with like-minded companies that share our vision for South Texas' prosperity.
How is Cleary Zimmermann cultivating local San Antonio talent and supporting the city's workforce development?
At Cleary Zimmermann Engineers, we pride ourselves on growing the next generation of engineers and supporting workforce development in not only engineering but also the associated trades. We actively recruit from local universities by participating in career fairs at The University of Texas at San Antonio, Trinity University, St. Mary’s University, Our Lady of the Lake University, and Texas State University. In addition, we build talent pipelines by being on campus as much as we can, whether through speaking opportunities, participating in the Engineering Advisory Council for the College of Engineering at UTSA, or giving feedback in resume review sessions. We collaborate with multiple organizations to support interest in and access to STEM careers for students across San Antonio. These partners and programs include the San Antonio ISD Young Women’s Leadership Academy Job Shadow Program, Communities in Schools’ STEM Nights, and the Real Estate Council of San Antonio’s Alamo Colleges Allied Construction Trades Advisory Board.
Our competitive summer internship program provides an in-depth opportunity to experience what it’s really like to be an MEP engineer; this summer, it had an acceptance rate of 23%. Over eight weeks, our interns learn how to translate their classroom learning to the fundamentals of on-the-job engineering and apply it daily by joining project teams. Whether calculating the mechanical load of a building, designing an Excel document for a client deliverable, or participating in a site assessment, our interns work hands-on on real projects for real clients. This summer, our mechanical engineering interns even constructed ductwork to test a design theory!
We also have our flagship internal training program, CZ University. This program is structured like a college course, with 100-level introductory classes, 200-level intermediate classes, and a 300-level symposium. It allows our employees to upskill while on the job, and we’ve had Building Information Modeling (BIM) technicians grow into project designers through the program.
Is there anything else you would like to share about Cleary Zimmermann presence in the Greater San Antonio community?
Service to our clients, our community, and each other is the touchstone of our culture. A CZer is defined by their servant’s heart. Our leaders prioritize board service for organizations as varied as the Texas A&M San Antonio Foundation, San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Metro SA Chamber, Northside Education Foundation Board, and Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Firmwide service days with local partners have included packing food at the San Antonio Food Bank and a park clean-up day at Brooks. Our annual “Cowboy Breakfast” to honor healthcare heroes has become a treasured tradition. Starting at 3:00 a.m., we begin preparing breakfast tacos for hardworking healthcare professionals at Methodist Hospital. Our team also comes together to support the Stuff the Bus school supply drive and blood drives, in partnership with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. We’re also deeply involved in and a proud sponsor of the Real Estate Council of San Antonio’s Community Project, which has improved the facilities of SAMMinistries, Town Twin Village and SA Youth.
We also have a monthly CZ Service Calendar e-blast that we send out, connecting recipients with community service opportunities in San Antonio. To view service opportunities, click here.