Two of the nonresidential building industry’s leading engineering firms have joined forces to leverage their similar sizes and market strategies.
KJWW Engineering, based in Rock Island, Ill., and TTG Engineers, based in Pasadena, Calif., will continue to operate under their own banners, but within a newly created holding company with common management.
Ranked 11th and 14th, respectively, on BD+C’s 2014 Engineering Giants list, the firms’ combined revenues last year would have elevated them to No. 4.
The merger unites two companies with a combined 860 employees working in 25 national and five international locations. “The merger gives TTG and KJWW a larger presence throughout the U.S. and strengthens our collective dominance in the healthcare, higher education, government, entertainment, industrial, and transportation markets,” said Zareh Astrouian, PE, SE, president of TTG. Paul VanDuyne, PE, KJWW’s president, added that the merger “allows us to build on those strengths with greater geographic mobility.”
In an interview with BD+C, VanDuyne—who will be CEO of the holding company, with Astrouian its chairman— said the two firms would spend the next 15 months integrating their operational infrastructure, such as accounting, IT, etc. Over that period, the companies will keep their engineering teams intact, while integrating similar practices. VanDuyne was quick to note that the merger is not a prelude to staff reductions. “Human capital is at such a premium right now, and we would be very happy to go through this process without losing a single person.”
VanDuyne believed this merger would allow both companies to serve national end-user clients more effectively. TTG should gain from KJWW’s strengths in such areas as medical equipment planning and architectural lighting, while KJWW should benefit from TTG’s expertise in the entertainment sector. “We feel this is a great opportunity to take a look at a brand new organization. That’s a little bit extraordinary for two $50 million companies,” he said.
The firms’ executives have been discussing this merger for about a year, said VanDuyne. “It started with a phone call about getting together. We met at [KJWW’s] offices in Chicago, and it went on from there.”
KJWW and TTG announced their merger less than a month after Thornton Tomasetti merged with Weidlinger Associates. While VanDuyne didn’t think these events necessarily presaged more consolidation among engineering companies, he did note that “scale” is becoming more important for firms to be relevant to clients in such areas as BIM and sustainability.
It hasn’t been determined whether the firms would eventually operate out of a single headquarters. That seems unlikely, at least in the near future, especially when Van Duyne said “I don’t think this is the last time you’re going to hear from us about expanding across the country.”
Related Stories
| May 22, 2014
Senate kills bipartisan energy efficiency bill over Keystone pipeline amendment
The legislation focused on energy efficiency standards such as water heaters with smart meters and cheaper heating and cooling systems for office buildings.
| May 21, 2014
Gehry unveils plan for renovation, expansion of Philadelphia Museum of Art [slideshow]
Gehry's final design reorganizes and expands the building, adding more than 169,000 sf of space, much of it below the iconic structure.
| May 16, 2014
BoA, USGBC to offer $25,000 grants for green affordable housing projects
The Affordable Green Neighborhoods Grant Program will offer 14 grants to developers of affordable housing in North America who are committed to building sustainable communities through the LEED for Neighborhood Development program.
| May 16, 2014
Toyo Ito leads petition to scrap Zaha Hadid's 2020 Olympic Stadium project
Ito and other Japanese architects cite excessive costs, massive size, and the project's potentially negative impact on surrounding public spaces as reasons for nixing Hadid's plan.
| May 15, 2014
Biking to work up by 60 percent, according to Census Bureau report
Many U.S. cities are seeing an increase in bicycle commuters, according to new a U.S. Census Bureau report. While bicyclists still account for just 0.6% of all commuters, some of the nation's largest cities have more than doubled their rates since 2000.
| May 14, 2014
Construction growth looking up: Gilbane Spring 2014 Economic Report
Construction spending for 2014 should finish 6.6% higher than in 2013, with nonresidential work contributing substantially.
| May 13, 2014
First look: Nadel's $1.5 billion Dalian, China, Sports Center
In addition to five major sports venues, the Dalian Sports Center includes a 30-story, 440-room, 5-star Kempinski full-service hotel and conference center and a 40,500-square-meter athletes’ training facility and office building.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 13, 2014
Libeskind wins competition to design Canadian National Holocaust Monument
A design team featuring Daniel Libeskind and Gail Dexter-Lord has won a competition with its design for the Canadian National Holocaust Monument in Toronto. The monument is set to open in the autumn of 2015.
