Industry pioneers and chemical engineers Emory Smith and Arthur Emery began their business in 1904 as contractors for the City of San Francisco, but the 1906 earthquake redirected their focus. The natural disaster sparked a newfound interest in the composition and structural integrity of building materials, which became the foundation of our company today.

Opening a temporary lab in Oakland, California, Smith and Emery were intrigued to find out why so many buildings collapsed in the earthquake. Our company’s mission emerged from this curiosity and intellectual rigor: to strive to develop and use our knowledge and expertise to inspect and test the components that are critical to the structural integrity of a project, helping create a safe working or living safe environment. Our mission is as strong now as it was over 100 years ago.

Today, Smith-Emery has grown from its original 5-person staff to a team of over 400 professionals located throughout the United States, China and Canada. We’ve inspected and tested materials on well over 10,000  projects. Our team of experts is committed to staying on top of cutting edge testing processes to keep pace with the design of new materials.