The Top 40 Electrical Design Firms

The electrical power industry hit rock bottom in 2002, leading to lower-than-expected revenues for design firms nationwide. This downturn, coupled by the weak economy, has resulted in intense competition, plummeting price levels, and a buyer's market. Three years ago, electrical design firms had more work than they could handle, but today many markets have all but disappeared.

To gain a better understanding of the challenging marketplace, EC&M surveyed the nation's largest electrical design firms for its inaugural Top 40 listing. These powerhouse firms identified the latest hot and cool markets, current trends in electrical design, and the challenges that lie ahead for the remainder of this year. In the Table below, we ranked the companies based on a combination of factors, including 2002 revenues submitted by the firms, data from Dun and Bradstreet's Million Dollar Database, and the companies' involvement in electrical design. We also list the location of their headquarters, number of employees, and date founded. To give you a general overview of the companies, we've included capsule summaries that describe the firms' size and branch office locations, how the companies were founded, their areas of expertise, and the key markets they serve. In a tough economy, these firms are discovering ways to survive and even thrive amongst a tough field of competition.

Hot and Cool Markets

The power plant market exploded in 2000, forcing electrical design firms to turn away customers. But all that work seemed to vanish overnight.

“No new projects were booked, and it seemed like every day, all we heard about was the cancellation of projects,” says Doug Butcher, chief control and electrical engineer of the energy, engineering and construction division of Overland Park, Kan.-based Black & Veatch. “It's gut-wrenching when a project is cancelled, especially if you're well into it. People pour their hearts and personal lives into these projects.”

Merchant power plant developers pursued every opportunity available to make a high return on investment. As a result, the number of plants that went online in the past three to five years experienced exponential growth. The amount of speculative building led to a surplus, and the bubble eventually burst.

The problem was compounded by the fall of Enron, which lowered lending institutions' confidence in developers' ability to accurately report the financial performance of a project.

Energy prices also played a role in the overcapacity. “Over the last five to seven years, gas and electric prices were very attractive, and it appeared to be a good investment for merchant developers,” Butcher says. “Due to overbuilding, gas prices have gone up and power prices have gone down. Throw into that mix the investors' lack of confidence, and it all went down in flames at once.”

Because of the surplus of power, some developers decided it was in their best financial interest to cut their losses, cancel projects that were already well underway, and sell off the assets at fire sale prices. Excess capacity was built up to manufacture the power plant equipment, and components like transformers, pumps, and gas turbines were stored for future projects or sold in secondary markets.

The power plant industry, however, is now showing signs of recovery. Some U.S. developers are seeing the downturn in power plant construction as an opportunity to cost effectively build generation, and more of the utility-based clients are starting to return to the market. The power market has traditionally been very cyclical with six- or seven-year cycles, Butcher says.

Until the power market stabilizes, many firms are branching out into other sectors to compensate for the lull in power plant construction. Black & Veatch, which specializes in infrastructure development for energy, water, and information, experienced growth in the water and wastewater industries when the power market crashed. Other companies have pursued such hot markets as health-care, security, and education. Hospital work across the nation posted a 17% gain in 2002, and the Dodge division of McGraw Hill Construction forecasts a 2.9% increase for 2003. With the aging of the Baby Boomer generation, breakthroughs in medical research, and cutting-edge technology in the medical field, more electrical design firms are pursuing opportunities in the hospital market.

Some of the Top 40 electrical design firms are also helping businesses to ramp up security after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Syska Hennessy Group landed a contract to design the electrical, HVAC, telecom and security systems for the Pentagon's Phoenix Project, and several firms are helping to tighten security at airports nationwide.

Colleges, universities, and K-12 have also become hot markets. “Over the years, a lot of the school infrastructure has fallen behind the student enrollment,” says Russell Laird, the program manager and senior vice president of facilities for Carter & Burgess. “We've been involved in many education projects, and we expect our involvement in this market to continue.”

Carter & Burgess, a national architecture and engineering firm, gained power quality experience during the buildup of telecom infrastructure. When this market crumbled, the firm was able to apply this knowledge to its clients in the education and federal marketplace.

The company managed to maintain a steady workload in 2002 by turning to markets like cogeneration plants and large central chill water plants. Deregulation efforts in Texas also presented new opportunities in the utility market for Carter & Burgess and other area firms.

Along with diversifying its markets, Carter & Burgess also branched out into different geographic locations. Acquisitions and market diversity have helped the company increase its revenues from $22 million in 1990 to $351 million in 2002. “Back in the 1980s, we looked at whether we wanted to remain a Texas firm or die on the vine,” Laird says. “We're very fortunate that we expanded into the hot spots where things are happening.”

Trends in Electrical Design

Electrical design firms have been able to survive not only by market hopping, but also by taking advantage of advances in design tools, such as the advent of advanced personal computing and the Internet. Butcher remembers constructing scale models of power plants by hand when he began his career as an electrical engineer in the '80s.

“Each of us has more computing horsepower on our desktop than we even dreamed about having corporate-wide 20 plus years ago,” he says. “Everything we used to design with pen and paper is being done in a 3D modeling environment.”

Today's modern electrical engineering software brings about a quantum leap in capabilities, efficiency, and speed. Easy-to-use graphical user interfaces simplify the design and layout process and allow users to test multiple design configurations in a short time. The Internet also allows engineering firms, electrical contractors, general contractors, and owners to collaborate online, review and approve documentation, and share drawings and jobsite photos. Due to the availability of business software, owners now have a thirst for real-time information.

“Our customers want to have lots of information at their fingertips and be able to make real-time operating decisions,” Butcher says.

What's Ahead for 2003?

Many markets, especially the power plant industry, have nowhere to go but up. After surviving a few grueling years, many segments may start to recover, but according to the survey respondents, 2003 will be another challenging year.

Funds aren't readily available, the cost of energy is uncertain, and there has been a reduction in manufacturing production due to the economic recession. Regulatory and market uncertainty for the electrical energy industries will also make transmission and distribution and generation project funding a challenge.

“We need to try to avoid the marketing of services as a commodity in an ever price sensitive market,” says Sharon Williams, T&D business development department manager for Power Engineers, Inc., Hailey, Idaho. “The lack of available work in many markets has created an expected downward push on pricing levels. Additionally, as work volume declines, maintaining staff will be a constant challenge. Those that are thin in overhead and effective in expenditures will fare better.”

The flat economy will result in a compressed market for services, and the lack of government and private funds will force the cancellation, postponement, or downgrading of traditional projects. More companies will be competing for less work, and to stay in business, more firms will be forced to explore more traditional markets and get jobs done more quickly and cost effectively through techniques like design/build. Butcher forecasts that the industry will gradually start to turn around.

“After 9/11 and Enron, we hit rock bottom, but things are starting to improve now,” he says. “We're optimistic that 2003 will be a better year.”

THE TOP 40 ELECTRICAL DESIGN FIRMS

1. HALLIBURTON
Headquarters. Houston

Branch Offices. Halliburton has offices in 40 states and employs 85,000 people in more than 100 countries.

Roots. Erle Halliburton founded his company in 1919 in Oklahoma. In 1962, Halliburton acquired Brown and Root, an engineering and construction company. The company now has two operating divisions: the energy services group and the engineering and construction group.

Areas of Expertise. The energy services group offers products and services to upstream oil and gas customers worldwide. KBR, the engineering and construction group, designs and builds liquefied natural gas plants, refining and processing plants, and production facilities and pipelines, both onshore and offshore.

Key Markets. KBR: Oil and gas, government operations, infrastructure, power, petroleum refining, and petrochemicals and polymers. Energy services group: drilling, well completion and maintenance, and pipeline and process services.
2. BECHTEL CORP.
Headquarters. San Francisco

Branch Offices.
Bechtel's employees are working on 900 projects in about 60 countries.

Roots.
In 1898, Warren Bechtel founded the Warren A. Bechtel Co., which specialized in railroad jobs and the construction of roads, tunnels, bridges, and dams.

Areas of Expertise.
Bechtel is an engineering-construction firm that provides technical and management services to develop, manage, engineer, build, and operate installations for customers worldwide.

Key Markets.
Power, civil infrastructure, government services, industrial, mining and metals, petroleum and chemicals, pipelines, and telecommunications. The company has completed more than 350 fossil-fired power plant units.
3. FLUOR CORP.
Headquarters. Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Branch Offices.
Fluor has offices in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Roots.
John Simon Fluor started Fluor Corp. as a small general contracting business in 1912.

Areas of Expertise.
Fluor Corp. offers engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance services.

Key Markets.
Power, chemicals and petrochemicals, commercial and institutional, government, life sciences, manufacturing, microelectronics, mining, oil and gas, telecom, and transportation.
4. JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP, INC.
Headquarters. Pasadena, Calif.

Branch Offices.
Jacobs' global network includes about 60 offices in more than a dozen countries.

Roots.
Joseph Jacobs founded the Jacobs Engineering Co. in 1947.

Areas of Expertise.
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., offers support to industrial, commercial, and government clients across multiple markets. Services include scientific and specialty consulting, engineering, construction, and operations and maintenance.

Key Markets.
Automotive and industrial, chemicals and polymers, defense and aerospace, federal programs, infrastructure, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, refining, pulp and paper, basic resources, food and consumer products, and technology.
5. WASHINGTON GROUP INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Headquarters. Boise, Idaho

Branch Offices.
Washington Group International has more than 25 offices in more than 40 countries.

Roots.
Washington Group was formed in July 2000 following the acquisition by Morrison Knudsen Corp. of Raytheon Engineers & Constructors.

Areas of Expertise.
The company provides engineering, construction, and program-management services and is organized into five operating units: Power, infrastructure and mining, government, industrial/process, and petroleum and chemicals.

Key Markets.
Environmental, government, heavy-civil, industrial, mining, nuclear-services, operations and maintenance, power, process, transportation, and water-resources.
6. FOSTER WHEELER LTD.
Headquarters. Clinton, N.J.

Branch Offices.
Foster Wheeler has offices in 30 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

Roots.
Foster Wheeler was founded in 1927 in New York City following the merger of Power Specialty Co. and Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Co.

Areas of Expertise.
Foster Wheeler provides design, engineering, and construction, project management, research, plant operation, and environmental services to the petroleum and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, chemical processing, and power-generation industries.

Key Markets.
The engineering and construction group designs, engineers, and constructs oil- and gas-field development projects, petroleum refineries, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and industrial plants worldwide. The energy equipment group engineers, procures and constructs power generating facilities.
7. URS CORP.
Headquarters. San Francisco

Branch Offices. URS has 300 principal offices in locations throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia/Pacific region.

Roots. URS was established in 1951 and incorporated in 1957.

Areas of Expertise. URS offers planning, design, program and construction management, systems integration, and operations and maintenance services to state, local, and federal government agencies, as well as to private clients.

Key Markets. Chemical, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, energy, oil, gas, mining, health-care, water supply, commercial, telecom, and utilities.
8. CH2M HILL
Headquarters. Denver

Branch Offices. CH2M Hill has 165 offices in 40 countries.

Roots. Fred Merryfield, an Oregon State College civil engineering professor, and his former students, Holly Cornell, James Howland, and T. Burke Hayes, founded CH2M in 1946. In 1971 the company merged with Clair A. Hill & Associates to become CH2M Hill.

Areas of Expertise. CH2M Hill is an employee-owned, multinational firm providing engineering, construction, operations, and related services to public and private clients in numerous industries on six continents.

Key Markets. Energy, environment, facility services, federal and military facility management, nuclear, operations and management, telecom, transportation, and water.
9. BLACK & VEATCH, INC.
Headquarters. Overland Park, Kan.

Branch Offices. Black & Veatch has more than 90 offices worldwide.

Roots. The global engineering, construction, and consulting company was co-founded in 1915 by N.T. Veatch and E.B. Black.

Areas of Expertise. Black & Veatch, Inc., provides conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, information technology, environmental, security design, and consulting and management consulting services.

Key Markets. Infrastructure development in the fields of energy, water, and information.
10. AKER KVAERNER E&C AMERICAS
Headquarters. Houston

Branch Offices. The firm has 30 offices worldwide.

Roots. In 1996, Kvaerner acquired Trafalgar House, which owned Davy Corp. and John Brown. The acquisition enabled Kvaerner to double in size and expand into the engineering and construction markets.

Areas of Expertise. The E&C business area of Kvaerner ASA specializes in process technology, design, engineering, project management, procurement, and construction.

Key Markets. Hydrocarbons, refining, chemicals and petrochemicals, plastics and polymers, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, environmental, energy/power, nuclear processing, and metals.
11. PARSONS CORP.
Headquarters. Pasadena, Calif.

Branch Offices. Parsons operates in 46 states and 37 countries.

Roots. The Ralph M. Parsons Co. was founded in 1944 to provide engineering, procurement, and construction services for government, petrochemical, and infrastructure clients.

Areas of Expertise. Parsons is a full-service planning, engineering, and construction company that specializes in project management and technology.

Key Markets. Homeland security, federal services, water and infrastructure, institutional, environmental, aviation, roads and highways, bridges and tunnels, rail and transit, systems engineering, urban planning and design, commercial and industrial, communications networks, and critical facilities.
12. DAY & ZIMMERMANN
Headquarters. Philadelphia

Branch Offices. Day & Zimmermann has 150 offices worldwide.

Roots. Dodge & Day was founded in 1901 in Philadelphia when Charles Day partnered with Kern Dodge. John Zimmermann joined the company in 1908, and the company's name was then changed to Day & Zimmermann.

Areas of Expertise. The firm delivers design/build, EPC, modular construction, contract maintenance, and program management services.

Key Markets. Microelectronics, pharmaceutical, chemical, food and beverage, consumer products, pulp and paper, cogeneration, cryogenics, utility, and light and heavy industrial.
13. PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
Headquarters. New York City

Branch Offices. Parsons Brinckerhoff employs more than 9,000 people in 200 offices on six continents.

Roots. William Barclay Parsons, the founder of the firm, established an office in Manhattan in 1885.

Areas of Expertise. This company's core services include environmental, planning, management consulting, design/engineering, construction management, operations and maintenance, e-business and e-media, and program management.

Key Markets. Buildings, environment, power, telecom, and transportation.
14. STONE AND WEBSTER, A SHAW GROUP CO.
Headquarters. Baton Rouge, La.

Branch Offices. The firm has 10 offices in the United States, Canada, and England.

Roots. Stone & Webster was founded in Boston in 1889 as an electrical testing laboratory and consulting firm.

Areas of Expertise. Stone & Webster provides planning, engineering, design, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance and management services.

Key Markets. Power generation; petrochemical, refining, and gas processing services; environmental services, including water/wastewater treatment, hazardous waste management and remediation, and facility siting; engineering services; and construction and consulting services.
15. BURNS & MCDONNELL
Headquarters. Kansas City, Mo.

Branch Offices. Burns & McDonnell has branch offices in the following cities: Anaheim, Calif.; Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Fenton, Mo.; Houston; Miami; Summit, N.J.; O'Fallon, Ill.; Phoenix, Ariz.; San Diego; San Francisco; St. Louis; Washington, D.C.; and Wichita, Kan.

Roots. Clinton Burns and Robert McDonnell founded Burns & McDonnell in 1898. The Stanford University graduates decided to start up an engineering firm in Kansas City because many of the city's surrounding towns didn't have electricity, water or sewer systems.

Areas of Expertise. Burns & McDonnell provides civil, mechanical, electrical, structural, chemical, environmental, and geo-technical engineering; architecture; fire protection; cost estimating; value engineering; planning; and construction management.

Key Markets. Power generation, transmission and distribution, rate studies, air pollution control, water supply and waste-water, aviation, environmental, process and industrial, and civil infrastructure.
16. HDR
Headquarters. Omaha, Neb.

Branch Offices. HDR has more than 70 offices in all 50 states and in 40 countries.

Roots. H.H. Henningson founded the Henningson Engineering Co. in 1917 to help develop water and sewer systems for new cities and towns throughout the Midwest.

Areas of Expertise. HDR provides architecture, engineering, and consulting services like design/build, program management, and sustainable design.

Key Markets. Federal, health-care, interiors, international, justice, science and technology, security operations, transportation, and water/wastewater.
17. CARTER & BURGESS, INC.
Headquarters. Fort Worth, Texas

Branch Offices. The company has 38 offices nationwide.

Roots. Carter & Burgess was established in 1939 as a two-man partnership that provided civil engineering and landscape architecture services.

Areas of Expertise. The company provides architecture, engineering, management, planning, and technology services.

Key Markets. Industrial, commercial, power plants, and distribution.
18. VECO CORP.
Headquarters. Anchorage, Alaska.

Branch Offices. VECO has offices in Calgary, Alberta; Burnaby, B.C.; Houston; Andheri, India; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Englewood, Colo.; Durango, Colo.; and Bellingham, Wash.

Roots. VECO was founded in 1968.

Areas of Expertise. VECO is a multinational corporation that provides project management, engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance to the energy, resource, and process industries.

Key Markets. Power, oil refining, pipelines and terminals, upstream oil and gas, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, federal services and infrastructure, and chemicals and petrochemicals.
19. LOCKWOOD GREENE ENGINEERS
Headquarters. Spartanburg, S.C.

Branch Offices. Lockwood Greene has 30 offices worldwide.

Roots. Lockwood Greene was founded in 1832. According to the company, it's America's oldest professional services firm in continuous operation for industrial engineering and construction.

Areas of Expertise. Lockwood Greene provides engineering, construction, and consulting services.

Key Markets. Power, automotive, aviation, chemicals and plastics, defense and aerospace, electronics and microelectronics, food and beverage, government and institutional, industrial manufacturing, metals and minerals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, security systems, and telecom.
20. DEWBERRY
Headquarters. Fairfax, Va.

Branch Offices. The firm has more than 25 branch offices nationwide.

Roots. Dewberry was founded as a small land design and surveying practice in 1956 in Arlington, Va.

Areas of Expertise. Dewberry provides services in program management, planning, engineering, architecture, surveying, and the environmental sciences.

Key Markets. Education, waterworks, industrial, federal, government buildings, courthouses, and prisons.
21. GANNETT FLEMING, INC.
Headquarters. Camp Hill, Pa.

Branch Offices. Gannett Fleming has offices in 22 states and Canada.

Roots. Gannett Fleming started as a three-person firm in 1915 and has grown into an international firm.

Areas of Expertise. The company provides consulting engineering, planning, and construction management.

Key Markets. Transportation, water/wastewater, environmental management, earth science and hydraulics, construction management, industrial pharmaceutical, commercial/institutional, land development, and geotechnical.
22. BURNS AND ROE CO.
Headquarters. Oradell, N.J.

Branch Offices. Burns and Roe has offices in Washington, D.C.; Los Alamos, N.M.; Mt. Laurel, N.J.; Houston; Tustin, Calif.; Singapore; Taiwan; and Australia.

Roots. Ralph Roe, Allan Burns, C.E. Lakin, and J.P. Mailler founded Burns and Roe Associates in 1932 to provide engineering and design services.

Areas of Expertise. Burns and Roe is a full-service engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance firm that provides services for private and government clients.

Key Markets. Power, infrastructure, and government programs.
23. ARCADIS
Headquarters. Highlands Ranch, Colo.

Branch Offices. ARCADIS has 45 offices nationwide as well as offices overseas.

Roots. The company, originally named Nederlandsche Heidemaatschappij, was formed in 1888.

Areas of Expertise. ARCADIS' services include design, engineering, project management, implementation and facility management, feasibility studies, and related legal and financial services.

Key Markets. Industrial, automotive, and commercial.
24. UTILITY ENGINEERING CORP.
Headquarters. Minneapolis

Branch Offices. Utility Engineering Corp. (UE) has offices in Amarillo, Texas; Denver; Groton, Conn.; and Omaha, Neb.; and regional offices in Naperville, Ill., and Atlanta.

Roots. UE was formed in the late '40s to engineer, procure equipment, and manage construction of all its power generation projects. UE is a wholly owned, non-regulated subsidiary of Xcel Energy, Inc., a holding company that owns many power service providers in the United States and abroad.

Areas of Expertise. UE provides engineering services in the following areas: design, project management, project development consulting, procurement, construction management, and start-up and commissioning.

Key Markets. Large, medium, and small coal-fired units, conventional gas-fueled units, combustion turbines, and conventional and pumped storage hydro and diesel units.
25. MUSTANG ENGINEERING, L.P.
Headquarters. Houston

Branch Offices. Mustang Engineering has offices in Houston; Tampa, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.; Savannah, Ga.; Monroe, La.; and Philadelphia.

Roots. Paul Redmon, Bill Higgs, and Felix Covington founded Mustang Engineering in 1987.

Areas of Expertise. Mustang Engineering, a Wood Group company, specializes in design, engineering, procurement, project management, and construction management.

Key Markets. Upstream oil and gas facilities and structures, midstream projects, process plants, pipelines, and automation and control projects.
26. ELLERBE BECKET
Headquarters. Minneapolis

Branch Offices. Ellerbe Becket has offices in Washington, D.C.: Kansas City, Mo.; San Francisco; Greenville, S.C.; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Cairo, Egypt

Roots. Franklin Ellerbe founded his firm in 1909. Eighty years later, the company acquired Welton Becket to form Ellerbe Becket.

Areas of Expertise. Ellerbe Becket provides architecture, construction, engineering, environmental graphics, and interiors services.

Key Markets. Health sciences, offices, sports facilities, collegiate campuses, and mission critical projects.
27. BROWN AND CALDWELL
Headquarters. Walnut Creek, Calif.

Branch Offices. Brown and Caldwell has 40 offices nationwide.

Roots. Brown and Caldwell has been in business for more than 55 years.

Areas of Expertise. This full-service environmental engineering firm works with municipalities, government agencies, and private industry nationwide.

Key Markets. Business consulting, environmental services, information technology, solid waste, water, wastewater, and water resources.
28. EDWARDS AND KELCEY
Headquarters. Morristown, N.J.

Branch Offices. Edwards and Kelcey has 24 offices nationwide and one office in Puerto Rico.

Roots. This company was founded as a transportation engineering firm in 1946.

Areas of Expertise. Edwards and Kelcey serves public and private clients in airport, highway, bridge, communications, rail, transit, commercial development and integrated systems projects.

Key Markets. Electric utility design, electric utility relocation, commercial, power, and transmission and distribution.
29. ENERGY DELIVERY SERVICES, INC., A DUKE ENERGY CO.
Headquarters. Charlotte, N.C.

Branch Offices. Energy Delivery Services (EDS) has offices in Duncan, S.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Macon, Ga.; Jupiter, Fla.; Austin; San Ramon, Calif.; Pasco, Wash.; and Puerto Rico

Roots. EDS was formed as a Duke Energy subsidiary in 2002, but it's been providing these services under other Duke subsidiaries for many years.

Areas of Expertise. EDS is a transmission, substation, and distribution engineering, construction, and maintenance firm that works with investor-owned utilities, municipalities, rural cooperatives, institutions, and industrial clients.

Key Markets. Design, installation, and upgrade of T&D systems.
30. RTKL ASSOCIATES, INC.
Headquarters. Baltimore

Branch Offices. RTKL Associates has offices in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Miami; London; Madrid; Tokyo; and Shanghai.

Areas of Expertise. RTKL provides design services for HVAC, alternative energy, plumbing, fire protection and life safety, security, power distribution, lighting, and telecom systems. The firm also offers building management and facility consulting services.

Roots. RTKL was founded in 1946.

Key Markets. Commercial, health-care, government, institutional, corporate, data centers, command centers, central plants, and telecom systems.
31. CDM ENGINEERS & CONSTRUCTORS
Headquarters. Denver

Branch Offices. CDM Engineers and Constructors' parent company, CDM, has 90 offices worldwide.

Roots. CDM, a global consulting, engineering, construction, and operations firm, was founded as a partnership in 1947 by Thomas R. Camp, Herman G. Dresser, and Jack E. McKee. CDM formed its construction, general contracting, and design/build subsidiary, CDM Engineers & Constructors, in the early '90s.

Areas of Expertise. CDM Engineers & Constructors, Inc. provides construction, general contracting, design/build, remediation, equipment fabrication, and other construction-related services to public and private clients.

Key Markets. Water, wastewater, solid and hazardous waste, transportation services, and infrastructure management.
32. ATKINS BENHAM, INC.
Headquarters. Oklahoma City

Branch Offices. The company has 29 offices in the United States and 100 offices in 60 countries worldwide.

Roots. Atkins Benham, Inc., a full-service architecture, engineering, procurement, and construction management firm, was founded in 1909 in Oklahoma City.

Areas of Expertise. Atkins Benham's core services include architecture/engineering, interior/landscape design, design/build, maintenance, cost estimation, risk management, and Web-based information management systems.

Key Markets. Automotive, aviation, chemical and refining, commercial/corporate, food and beverage, government, power, and transportation.
33. THE SEAR-BROWN GROUP, INC.
Headquarters. Rochester, N.Y.

Branch Offices. The Sear-Brown Group has offices in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Elmira, Melville, Rochester, Rouses Point, and Syracuse, N.Y.; Denver and Fort Collins, Colo.; Hillsborough, N.C.; Cleveland; State College, Pa.; and Guayama, Puerto Rico.

Roots. Thomas Sear established his engineering company in 1955. Eight years later, Sear formed a partnership with Robert Brown, a municipal engineer.

Areas of Expertise. The Sear-Brown Group offers architecture, engineering, planning, and construction services.

Market segments. Advanced manufacturing, bio/pharmaceuticals, the chemical industry, education, food/beverage, health-care, retail, transportation, and water/environment.
34. SARGENT & LUNDY LLC
Headquarters. Chicago

Branch Offices. Sargent & Lundy operates worldwide.

Roots. Frederick Sargent, a mechanical engineer, and Ayres Lundy, an electrical engineer, formed an independent engineering and consulting company in 1891.

Areas of Expertise. Sargent & Lundy provides comprehensive engineering and energy business consulting for the electric power industry.

Key Markets. Fossil and nuclear power generation, transmission distribution, environmental compliance, plant improvement, project finance support services, and O&M support.
35. LEO A. DALY
Headquarters. Omaha, Neb.

Branch Offices. Leo A. Daly has offices in Atlanta; Honolulu; Phoenix; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; Dallas, Waco, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas; and Hong Kong.

Roots. The firm was founded by Leo A. Daly, Sr., in 1915 and gained nationwide recognition in the '30s for planning the Boys Town Campus in Omaha, Neb.

Areas of Expertise. Leo A. Daly is a planning, architecture, engineering and interior design firm that provides civil, site and landscape design and engineering; electrical systems design, energy management, fire protection and life safety, lighting design, mechanical and plumbing engineering, structural and seismic engineering, and value engineering.

Key Markets. Aviation, commercial office, education, entertainment, gaming, government buildings, health care, hospitality, interiors, master planning, research and development, and retail.
36. SYSKA HENNESSY GROUP
Headquarters. New York City

Branch Offices. Syska Hennessy Group has offices in Princeton, N.J.; Cambridge, Mass.; Fairfax, Va.; Chicago; Jacksonville, Fla.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle.

Roots. Mechanical engineers Adolph Syska and John Hennessy formed their partnership in 1928.

Areas of Expertise. Syska Hennessy Group offers consulting, engineering, technology, and construction services.

Key Markets. Institutional, health-care, science and technology, commercial, aviation, power plants, and distribution.
37. POWER ENGINEERS, INC.
Headquarters. Hailey, Idaho

Branch Offices. Power Engineers has nine branch offices in the United States and two marketing outposts overseas.

Roots. Power Engineers was founded in 1976 as a consulting engineering firm to the electric utility market.

Areas of Expertise. This firm provides consulting engineering services to electric utilities, independent power producers, telecommunications providers, industrial and other clients, including high-tech manufacturing, food processing, and health-care.

Key Markets. Transmission line engineering; substation and switchstation engineering; transmission and distribution system studies and feasibility work; generation plant engineering; engineering for renewable energy projects like wind, geothermal, and biomass; and industrial and institutional facility engineering.
38. AFFILIATED ENGINEERS, INC.
Headquarters. Madison, Wis.

Branch Offices. Affiliated Engineers has offices in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Gainesville, Fla.; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; and Walnut Creek, Calif.

Roots. Founded in 1927.

Areas of Expertise. The firm specializes in electrical and information technology systems for large, technically complex facilities.

Key Markets. Research and development, health-care, commercial, infrastructure, process, higher education, and industrial.
39. VANDERWEIL ENGINEERS
Headquarters. Boston

Branch Offices. Vanderweil Engineers has offices in Alexandria, Va; Baltimore; and Princeton, N.J.

Roots. Rai Vanderweil invented a laminated heat exchanger in 1947 and founded R.G. Vanderweil Engineers, Inc., three years later.

Areas of Expertise. Vanderweil Engineers provides mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and telecommunications engineering services.

Key Markets. Academic, commercial, fire safety, health-care, industrial facilities, datacom, power/utilities, science and technology, sports, and T&D.
40. FLACK + KURTZ, INC.
Headquarters. New York City

Branch Offices. Flack + Kurtz has offices in San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Hong Kong; Paris; and London, as well as a permanent joint venture in Sydney.

Roots. The firm was founded in 1969.

Areas of Expertise. Flack + Kurtz, Inc., provides planning, design, and construction engineering services for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, life safety and fire protection systems.

Key Markets. Lighting design, utilities planning, mechanical and electrical construction management, intelligent building systems and controls technology, commissioning, and cogeneration plants.