Peterborough-based consulting and engineering firm Cambium is being acquired by Québec-based Englobe Corporation, a leading Canadian engineering and environmental services firm.
Englobe Corporation is the engineering division of Colliers International Group Inc., a Toronto-based diversified professional services and investment management company that acquired Englobe in 2024.
According to a media release, Cambium will operate as a separate division within Englobe, with its current leadership continuing to support the organization as they always have.
“This new partnership opens the door to an incredible variety of exciting collaborative opportunities with our new colleagues,” says Cambium president and CEO John Desbiens in the release. “The Englobe team’s genuine care, client-focused approach, and proximity model align very well with our own values. Given this exceptional fit, I am very excited for us to join the Englobe family.”
Cambium was founded in Peterborough in 2006 by Desbiens along with Jim Baile, and Dave Bucholtz — all former employees of SGS Lakefield Research’s environmental consulting services unit. The company initially operated with nine employees, offering environmental engineering services from an office in Peterborough’s Fleming Industrial Park.
Today, Cambium has 235 employees with additional offices in Kingston, Whitby, Barrie, and Ottawa. Its home office and materials testing laboratory is located in Peterborough’s East City at 194 Sophia Street, the former home of Fisher Gauge Limited’s Ashburnham plant that has also been home to software companies Operitel and OpenText.
Cambium has a diverse team of specialists in environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction testing and inspection, and building sciences for both public and private clients.
Englobe’s acquisition of Cambium, which follows two recent acquisitions in western Canada, will expand Englobe’s service capacity in the environmental sector, with a focus on ecology.
“The Cambium team perfectly complements and scales our Ontario operations, allowing us to enter new local markets while strengthening our technical and leadership teams in other areas,” says Englobe president Mike Cormier. “In welcoming Cambium to Englobe, we’re opening new growth opportunities for our team, enhancing our service capabilities for clients, and positioning ourselves to continuing growing our reach in Ontario and beyond.”
While financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed, Colliers’ partnership model would mean Cambium’s senior team will become Englobe shareholders rather than simply being acquired. The partnership model maintains entrepreneurial incentives while providing access to larger corporate resources.
Headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Englobe has over 3,000 employees — including engineers, professionals, technicians and technical support staff — in more than 60 locations across Canada and provides civil, buildings, geotechnical, and environmental engineering, material testing and related consulting services to public and private sector clients primarily in the transportation, water, buildings, and power end markets.
The company, which generated $340 million US of revenues in 2023, will be rebranded as Colliers in 2025.
