Mergers and acquisitions transform engineering sector [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Merger and acquisition deals by MEP, commissioning, structural, and specialty engineering firms were up 14% nationwide in 2012 compared with 2011, according to consulting firm Morrissey Goodale (morrisseygoodale.com). Since the beginning of 2013, the consultant has reported more than 60 M&A transactions involving North American engineering firms, including interstate, intrastate, and international deals.

As economic recovery generates new business, engineering and engineering/architecture firms continue to seek M&A targets that offer an expanded employee base, a geographic springboard, or simply a broader mix of skills. A typical example: the November acquisition of Energy Ace, a Georgia-based commissioning and sustainability specialist, to beef up the green expertise of global engineering, architecture, design-build, surveying, and geospatial solutions firm Merrick & Company.

During the recession, multiple architecture and architecture/engineering firms also sought to broaden their client appeal by going on an engineering talent hunt. A third of AIA member firms now identify as “multidisciplinary,” including engineering services, compared with about 25% a decade ago, according to Morrissey Goodale.

SSOE Group is among the companies capitalizing on the volatile business climate. “We closed on three M&A transactions in 2012, so our emphasis in 2013 is on integration and realizing the synergies from the combined companies,” says CEO Tony Damon, AIA, LEED AP. “Our merger with Evergreen EDC in December should be transformative, allowing us to diversify our business and leverage our combined resources for new clients, in new markets and geographic locations.”

TOP ENGINEERING FIRMS

2012 Total Revenue ($)

1 Fluor $221,231,200

2 Arup $149,738,587

3 Affiliated Engineers $105,503,000

4 WSP USA $105,362,352

5 KPFF Consulting Engineers $91,000,000

6 Syska Hennessy Group $82,097,502

7 Henderson Engineers $63,485,775

8 Smith Seckman Reid $52,919,312

9 KJWW Engineering Consultants $51,092,154

10 Vanderweil Engineers $50,552,200

SEE FULL LIST

TOP ENGINEERING/ARCHITECTURE FIRMS

2012 Total Revenue ($)

1 Jacobs Engineering Group $2,715,210,000

2 AECOM Technology Corp. $1,610,390,000

3 Parsons Brinckerhoff $337,900,000

4 URS Corp. $314,266,757

5 Buro Happold Consulting Engineers $194,220,000

6 Burns & McDonnell $160,645,000

7 Thornton Tomasetti $124,575,393

8 Science Applications International Corp. $120,249,686

9 Merrick & Co. $103,998,000

10 SSOE Group $103,708,918

SEE FULL LIST

Damon credits a rebound in business from manufacturing and automotive clients, especially in the Southeast, for some of SSOE’s bullish attitude. Other hot prospects identified by Damon include the semiconductor industry in the West, and international markets, especially China, India, Mexico, and Brazil.

Steven Strauss, President of Glumac, reports good business from domestic micorelectronics companies and from Chinese clients, some of whom are developing entire new cities. Strauss has also seen an uptick in medical office buildings, mission critical, hospitality, and mixed-use commercial. “Projects that have been on the back burner are now re-emerging, and developer clients are more able to get financing through banks and institutional investors.”

For Bergmann Associates, the retail sector has been a bright spot. “The growth has been primarily with corporate retailers—big boxes, grocery stores, banks, restaurants—in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region,” says CEO Thomas C. Mitchell, PE. Property development companies in the East and Midwest have also been hiring the firm, and Bergmann has won new clients in science and technology, replacing some who have stopped building. The company recently added personnel in Michigan, Ohio, and the Carolinas.

In the West, Spectrum Engineers is getting a steady flow of work from retail, mission critical, and private commercial development, as well as some government clients. However, K-12 is “slow,” according to President and Principal Electrical Engineer Dave Wesemann, PE, LEED AP, ATD.

Considerable hustle is still required, even as the market improves. “Business continues to be challenging overall in the Southeast,” says Mark A. Gelfo, PE, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP O+M, CxA, EMP, Director of Business Development and Sustainability at TLC Engineering for Architecture. “Competition remains high, and clients want more and more for less and less. During the past few years we have made significant initiatives in energy services, federal—though that market’s definitely on a downward track—mission critical, and hospitality, while maintaining our historically major markets such as healthcare, commercial office, and higher education.”

Like many engineering pros, Gelfo expects energy services—from commissioning, auditing, and retro-Cx to high-performance MEP design—to generate significant revenues for the foreseeable future. Spectrum’s Wesemann says advances in green technology, including LED lighting and variable-refrigerant flow HVAC, are persuading some clients to seek a more integrated delivery model to take advantage of all the potential savings.

According to Kenneth G. Diehl, Jr., PE, Senior Vice President at Smith Seckman Reid, building owners increasingly understand the high long-term ROI of green upgrades—a trend that can only be good news for engineers. “The biggest mover in this area is currently existing buildings that are using retrocommissioning to significantly lower utility costs,” he says. “The market is continuing to move toward a model that supports high-performance building operations.”

Read BD+C's full Giants 300 Report

Ideas are cheap. Solutions are what count. The latest installment in BD+C's Great Solutions series presents 14 ways AEC professionals, entrepreneurs, and other clever folk have overcome what seemed to be insoluble problems—from how to make bricks out of agricultural waste, to a new way to keep hospitals running clean during construction.

| Dec 29, 2014

HealthSpot station merges personalized healthcare with videoconferencing [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]

The HealthSpot station is an 8x5-foot, ADA-compliant mobile kiosk that lets patients access a network of board-certified physicians through interactive videoconferencing and medical devices. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.

Husqvarnas DXR140 demolition robot in action. The robot shown here is controlle

| Dec 28, 2014

Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction

Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.

Sasaki Associates used detailed network visualizations like this traffic flow pa

BIM and Information Technology | Dec 28, 2014

The Big Data revolution: How data-driven design is transforming project planning

There are literally hundreds of applications for deep analytics in planning and design projects, not to mention the many benefits for construction teams, building owners, and facility managers. We profile some early successful applications.

At Coastline Community Colleges Newport Beach (Calif.) Campus, the Building Tea

| Dec 28, 2014

AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy

Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.

Students chill in a lounge at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The $

| Dec 28, 2014

6 trends steering today's college residence halls

University students want more in a residence hall than just a place to sleep. They want a space that reflects their style of living and learning.

Rendering: Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES)

| Dec 28, 2014

Using energy modeling to increase project value [AIA course]

This course, worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW, explores how to increase project value through energy modeling, as well as how to conduct quick payback and net present value studies to identify which energy strategies are most viable for the project.

| Dec 28, 2014

The lowdown on LODs: Bringing clarity to BIM

These days, BIM is par for the course across most facets of design. But a lot of the conversation surrounding BIM still lacks clarity due to ambiguous terminology, a lack of clear-cut guiding illustrations, and widely varying implementation, writes GS&P's John Scannell.

| Dec 28, 2014

The future of airport terminal design: destination status, five-star amenities, stress-free travel

Taking a cue from the hospitality industry, airport executives are seeking to make their facilities feel more like destinations, writes HOK's Richard Gammon.

Gensler's San Francisco office. Image © Gensler

| Dec 28, 2014

10 key design interventions for a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace

Numerous studies and mountains of evidence confirm what common sense has long suggested: healthy, happier workers are more productive, more likely to collaborate with colleagues, and more likely to innovate in ways that benefit the bottom line, writes Gensler's Kirsten Ritchie.

Currently Reading

Mergers and acquisitions transform engineering sector [2013 Giants 300 Report]

TOP ENGINEERING FIRMS

TOP ENGINEERING/ARCHITECTURE FIRMS

Tags

| Dec 29, 2014

| Dec 29, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

BIM and Information Technology | Dec 28, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

| Dec 28, 2014

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: