Engineering firms and engineering/architecture firms—those that earn more than 50% of their revenues from engineering—have their sights set on foreign shores. Many are jumping headfirst into international waters.
“Instead of overseeing projects from New York, our firm has established offices in Mumbai, Moscow, and other cities outside North America, aiming to overcome the challenge of navigating the local landscape or hiring practices, tax law, and business practices,” says Thomas Z. Scarangello, PE, CEO and Chairman of EA Giant Thornton Tomasetti.
Other firms are just dipping their toes into foreign waters, still looking for international business but choosing not to establish additional offices. Brad Harmsen, AIA, Chairman/CEO of BRPH, says that although his firm is actively working in locales across the globe, they’re partnering with domestic firms to do so, partly because of “the learning curve that comes when working with different currencies and legalities.”
SCROLL DOWN FOR GIANTS 300 ENGINEERING & ENGINEERING/ARCHITECTURE FIRM RANKINGS
Shanghai and Dubai are hot spots for E and EA Giants these days. Glumac, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, and Syska Hennessy Group have opened or expanded their offices in Shanghai. KJWW and Syska Hennessy opened new offices in Dubai. Thornton Tomasetti bucked the trend and opened offices in Beijing and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while Arup Americas opened new offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, just in time for soccer’s World Cup in 2014.
Establishing an office abroad is one thing; getting the business is something entirely different. Referring specifically to the Middle East, Paul VanDuyne, PE, president of KJWW, says, “It takes approximately two years to develop the appropriate relationships, name recognition, and reputation to be successful in obtaining projects in this region.”
Despite the difficulties, an increasingly large share of engineering Giants’ yearly revenue is coming from international projects. Magnusson Klemencic President Ron Klemencic, PE, SE, says that 20-30% of MKA’s gross revenue comes from international business, while KJWW anticipates that 10% of its 2013 revenue will come from international projects. Syska Hennessy Group’s goal is to beef up its international activity by 25% over the next five years.
KEY ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY
Beyond establishing an international presence, technology is also a crucial differentiator for E and EA Giants firms.
Syska Hennessy Group’s new Information and Communications Technology group is offering an expanded scope of services for organizations looking to upgrade their IT platforms with the latest technologies. “Our new offerings include tools and expertise to apply virtualization of existing client environments, data center relocation management, disaster recovery and IT security services, and network and Internet/intranet design and implementation,” said Co-CEO/Co-president Cyrus J. Izzo, PE.
Thornton Tomasetti launched a new Building Sustainability practice in January and now offers LEED consulting and administration, energy and daylight modeling, and sustainable business strategies. The firm also has an advanced computational modeling team; it leverages new technologies by developing custom digital tools that utilize generative and parametric modeling, which enables its engineers to collaborate more effectively with architects in the early phases of design.
HELPING CLIENTS FIND THE MONEY FOR PROJECTS
New financing solutions are also playing a part in E/EA Giants’ business strategies. With the U.S. construction market still in recovery, alternative financing methods are being sought out to help clients put together the dollars they need to complete projects.
At Syska Hennessy Group, public-private partnerships are on the radar. “We are observing an increase in P3 projects across geographies and market sectors,” said Syska Hennessy Group’s Izzo. “The first building being delivered as a true P3 is the Long Beach courthouse in California, which will top out this summer.”
Others are bringing on experts to find the money. Graef hired an economic development specialist, Ronald Van Straten, who has more than 25 years’ experience in helping mostly municipal clients seek grants, low-cost loans, and other funding streams for their capital projects, including tax increment financing.
HEAVY CONCENTRATION AT THE TOP 10 FIRMS
As is true of most of the categories in our Giants 300 rankings, there is a great deal of concentration at the highest level in the E and EA markets. The top 10 engineering firms generated 47% of total revenue for the category, while the top 10 engineering/architecture Giants generated a hefty 85% of the dollars in their group. +
ENGINEERING FIRMS
Rank | Company | 2011 Total Revenue ($) |
1 | Fluor Corp. | 220,674,900 |
2 | Arup | 140,324,134 |
3 | WSP USA | 98,900,000 |
4 | Syska Hennessy Group | 98,744,701 |
5 | Affiliated Engineers | 92,815,000 |
6 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 89,000,000 |
7 | Henderson Engineers | 61,266,000 |
8 | AKF Group | 58,100,000 |
9 | TTG/TMAD Taylor & Gaines | 56,820,300 |
10 | Smith Seckman Reid | 53,497,000 |
11 | R.G. Vanderweil Engineers | 49,823,500 |
12 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 43,784,892 |
13 | Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers | 40,100,000 |
14 | Coffman Engineers | 37,200,000 |
15 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 36,387,033 |
16 | Degenkolb Engineers | 35,398,917 |
17 | Sebesta Blomberg | 35,120,000 |
18 | ESD/Environmental Systems Design | 34,465,000 |
19 | Rolf Jensen & Associates | 34,300,000 |
20 | Walter P Moore | 34,231,775 |
21 | RMF Engineering | 34,005,000 |
22 | Glumac | 33,010,927 |
23 | Magnusson Klemencic Associates | 32,306,973 |
24 | RDK Engineers | 30,882,000 |
25 | Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch | 28,836,967 |
26 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering | 28,200,000 |
27 | Birdsall Services Group | 27,500,000 |
28 | Interface Engineering | 25,938,485 |
29 | M/E Engineering | 25,915,000 |
30 | ccrd partners | 24,100,000 |
31 | H.F. Lenz Co. | 22,799,000 |
32 | Heapy Engineering | 21,402,816 |
33 | Sparling | 20,589,847 |
34 | ThermalTech Engineering | 19,890,000 |
35 | KCI Technologies | 19,761,000 |
36 | Newcomb & Boyd | 18,454,021 |
37 | Henneman Engineering | 18,000,000 |
38 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Eng. | 17,650,492 |
39 | GHT Limited | 17,363,705 |
40 | Eaton Energy Solutions | 16,694,769 |
41 | Rutherford & Chekene | 16,538,000 |
42 | Dunham Associates | 15,500,000 |
43 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 15,000,000 |
44 | Wallace Engineering | 13,780,000 |
45 | James Posey Associates | 13,500,000 |
46 | KLH Engineers | 12,559,382 |
47 | Lilker Associates Consulting Engineers | 12,500,000 |
48 | Karpinski Engineering | 12,343,996 |
49 | P2S Engineering | 11,896,229 |
50 | RMH Group, The | 11,864,683 |
51 | Peter Basso Associates | 10,400,000 |
52 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | 10,039,000 |
53 | French & Parrello Associates | 9,782,762 |
54 | Bala Consulting Engineers | 9,360,000 |
55 | Allen & Shariff | 8,610,036 |
56 | Wick Fisher White | 7,821,928 |
57 | Brinjac Engineering | 7,342,166 |
58 | CTLGroup | 6,030,000 |
59 | O’Dea, Lynch, Abbattista Consulting Engineers | 5,900,000 |
60 | FBA Engineering | 4,000,000 |
61 | Kamm Consulting | 3,681,775 |
62 | Apogee Consulting Group | 2,485,000 |
63 | G&W Engineering | 2,058,000 |
ENGINEERING/ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
Rank | Company | 2011 Total Revenue ($) |
1 | Jacobs | 2,699,100,000 |
2 | AECOM Technology Corp. | 1,487,000,000 |
3 | M+W U.S. | 1,015,199,252 |
4 | Stantec | 463,300,000 |
5 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 311,300,000 |
6 | URS Corp. | 294,100,000 |
7 | exp | 205,000,000 |
8 | Science Applications International Corp. | 185,390,000 |
9 | Merrick & Co. | 111,000,000 |
10 | Day & Zimmermann | 109,909,604 |
11 | SSOE Group | 107,819,740 |
12 | STV | 104,876,000 |
13 | Thornton Tomasetti | 98,017,214 |
14 | Burns & McDonnell | 94,711,826 |
15 | Dewberry | 89,282,766 |
16 | Michael Baker Jr., Inc. | 80,730,000 |
17 | Middough | 75,750,000 |
18 | Clark Nexsen | 68,424,208 |
19 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 64,080,000 |
20 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 59,170,000 |
21 | AKF Group | 58,100,000 |
22 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 39,064,020 |
23 | Walker Parking Consultants | 34,422,898 |
24 | BRPH | 31,500,000 |
25 | Bergmann Associates | 30,700,000 |
26 | Shive-Hattery | 28,192,943 |
27 | Atkins North America | 23,620,537 |
28 | Ross & Baruzzini | 20,377,769 |
29 | Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon | 20,100,000 |
30 | Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor | 18,300,000 |
31 | Guernsey | 18,293,701 |
32 | L.R. Kimball | 17,759,000 |
33 | GRAEF-USA | 16,770,180 |
34 | Zak Companies | 12,335,494 |
35 | CJL Engineering | 12,228,000 |
36 | Stanley Consultants | 10,892,000 |
37 | Spectrum Engineers | 8,828,890 |
38 | GRW | 6,290,216 |
39 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | 4,680,714 |
40 | Vintage Archonics | 1,972,220 |
Related Stories
Women in Design+Construction | Jul 18, 2022
Registration is open for BD+C's 2022 Women in Design+Construction Conference
Join your AEC industry peers in Chicago, September 26-28, 2022, for the 7th annual Women in Design+Construction Conference, hosted by the BD+C editorial team and the 35-person WIDC Advisory Board.
Airports | Jul 18, 2022
FAA will award nearly $1 billion for airport projects
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award nearly $1 billion to 85 airports of all sizes across the country to improve terminals.
Building Team | Jul 18, 2022
Understanding the growing design-build market
FMI’s new analysis of the design-build market forecast for the next fives years shows that this delivery method will continue to grow, despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mixed-Use | Jul 18, 2022
Mixed-use development outside Prague uses a material made from leftover bricks
Outside Prague, the Sugar Factory, a mixed-used residential development with public space, marks the largest project to use the sustainable material Rebetong.
Building Team | Jul 15, 2022
ABC: Construction materials prices increased in June, up 20% from a year ago
Construction input prices increased 1.9% in June compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today.
Arenas | Jul 15, 2022
U. of Oregon renovation aims for ‘finest track and field facility in the world’
The renovation of the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field had the goal of creating the “finest track and field facility in the world.”
Building Team | Jul 14, 2022
ABC’s construction backlog inches lower in June; Contractor confidence falters
Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell 0.1 months in June and stands at 8.9 months, according to an ABC member survey conducted June 21 to July 5.
Sustainable Development | Jul 14, 2022
Designing for climate change and inclusion, with CBT Architects' Kishore Varanasi and Devanshi Purohit
Climate change is having a dramatic impact on urban design, in terms of planning, materials, occupant use, location, and the long-term effect of buildings on the environment. Joining BD+C's John Caulfield to discuss this topic are two experts from the Boston-based CBT Architects: Kishore Varanasi, a Principal and director of urban design; and Devanshi Purohit, an Associate Principal.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 14, 2022
Multifamily rents rise again in June, Yardi Matrix reports
Average U.S. multifamily rents rose another $19 in June to edge over $1,700 for the first time ever, according to the latest Yardi® Matrix Multifamily Report.
Building Team | Jul 14, 2022
Austin PBS gets a new state-of-the-art facility with three studios
Since the 1970s, Austin PBS, birthplace of the Austin City Limits TV series, has been based inside the communications building on the University of Texas campus—a space it has long outgrown.