Burns & McDonnell, which ranked third among Engineering/Architecture firms on BD+C’s 2018 Giants list, is launching an ambitious growth campaign that includes hiring at least 1,000 employees annually “for the foreseeable future,” and increasing the size of its World Headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., by 22%.
By year’s end, Burns & McDonnell expects to have 6,650 employees, more than half of whom will be working outside of Kansas City. The company has 11 regional offices in North America, and seven offices scattered across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
A 142,000-sf addition to its headquarters, which the firm is designing and building, is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2020. The company’s existing four-story 310,000-sf headquarters building opened in 2016 on a 34-acre campus in South Kansas City.
The $42 million new construction project is expected to commence in a week or two, beginning with a 550-slot parking garage, according to Brittany Swartz, a project manager in the firm’s Commercial Architecture group. The headquarters expansion will include 42 conference rooms, two large training rooms, and 780 work spaces.
Burns & McDonnell reported nearly $3 billion in revenue generated in 2017, of which $290.2 million derived from services provided for nonresidential building in several sectors that include commercial, retail, institutional, aviation, military, and manufacturing.
The firm is expanding to provide “full service solutions” for project owners that are seeking greater scheduling and budgeting certainty. Ray Kowalik, a 31-year company veteran who was named its CEO and chairman last year, adds that Burns & McDonnell had been growing and a 10-12% annual clip, which he believes can be boosted to 15%.
He cites four trends that are driving growth:
•A robust economy, favorable corporate tax law changes, and low energy prices, all of which are spurring investments in the U.S., especially in the chemicals market which is one of the firm’s largest sectors;
•The shift toward natural gas and renewable energy production that’s creating opportunities in the transmission, distribution, and generation markets;
•Greater government investment in resilience to secure and modernize aging facilities; and
•Mushrooming airport passenger traffic, and the need to find new ways to alleviate congestion at domestic and foreign terminals.
Burns & McDonnell shouldn’t have too much trouble meeting its hiring goals: it receives about 80,000 resumes per year, and the company has already hired 1,000 people in 2018, as of today’s announcement. It expects its hiring number to top out at 1,400 this year. “We’re a company that a lot of people want to work for,” says Kowalik. (In prior years, the company would typically offer employment to between 300 and 400 people, with 90% of applicants accepting.)
Kowalik says Burns & McDonnell already has a pretty good system in place for assimilating new hires, which includes extensive training and mentoring. (He said the company’s attrition rate is about 5% annually.)
While the power, gas, oil, and chemicals sectors are among the markets driving growth, Kowalik says his company is also expanding its nonresidential building activities, notably in the areas of office and multitenant apartment construction. “We’re extremely busy in Kansas City,” he says, having recently completed a new office building there for Creative Planning, a local wealth-management firm.
Kowalik adds that new tax policy is sparking “multibillion-dollar projects” in the chemicals industry, which are likely to trigger new commercial construction that supports that business. He expects a similar “trickle down” effect from oil and gas.
Historically, Burns & McDonnell has grown organically, “one employee at a time,” says Kowalik. But in recent years it has bolstered its presence on the construction side with acquisitions of two contractors, AZCO Inc. in Wisconsin and Ref-Chem in Texas.
Kowalik says that it’s possible that his company might seek out joint-venture construction partners. But he hedged about future acquisitions. “The minute I say ‘we’re interested,’ we get 20 calls.”
He is concerned, though, about the skilled-labor shortage, and thinks the AEC industry needs to take a more active role in outreach and training.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Mar 2, 2015
Proposed energy standard for data centers, telecom buildings open for public comment
The intent of ASHRAE Standard 90.4P is to create a performance-based approach that would be more flexible and accommodating of innovative change.
K-12 Schools | Mar 1, 2015
Are energy management systems too complex for school facility staffs?
When school districts demand the latest and greatest, they need to think about how those choices will impact the district’s facilities employees.
Industrial Facilities | Feb 27, 2015
Massive windmill will double as mixed-use entertainment tower in Rotterdam
The 571-foot structure will house apartments, a hotel, restaurants, even a roller coaster.
Office Buildings | Feb 26, 2015
Using active design techniques to strengthen the corporate workplace and enhance employee wellness
The new Lentz Public Health Center in Nashville, Tenn., serves as a model of how those progressive and healthy changes can be made.
K-12 Schools | Feb 26, 2015
Should your next school project include a safe room?
Many school districts continue to resist mandating the inclusion of safe rooms or storm shelters in new and existing buildings. But that may be changing.
K-12 Schools | Feb 26, 2015
Construction funding still scarce for many school districts
Many districts are struggling to have new construction and renovation keep pace with student population growth.
K-12 Schools | Feb 26, 2015
D.C.'s Dunbar High School is world's highest-scoring LEED school, earns 91% of base credits
The 280,000-sf school achieved 91 points, out of 100 base points possible for LEED, making it the highest-scoring school in the world certified under USGBC’s LEED for Schools-New Construction system.
K-12 Schools | Feb 25, 2015
Polish architect designs modular ‘kids city’ kindergarten using shipping container frames
Forget the retrofit of a shipping container into a building for one moment. Designboom showcases the plans of Polish architect Adam Wiercinski to use just the recycled frames of containers to construct a “kids city.”
Industrial Facilities | Feb 24, 2015
Starchitecture meets agriculture: OMA unveils design for Kentucky community farming facility
The $460 million Food Port project will define a new model for the relationship between consumer and producer.
University Buildings | Feb 23, 2015
Future-proofing educational institutions: 5 trends to consider
In response to rapidly changing conditions in K-12 and higher education, institutions and school districts should consider these five trends to ensure a productive, educated future.