Company Posts Double-Digit Revenue and Employment
Increases
Overland Park, Kan. (April 10, 2007) – Continued record growth across Black
& Veatch’s global business lines resulted in revenues of $2.17 billion for
the company in 2006, it was announced today. This represents a 38 percent
increase in revenues for 2006 compared to $1.57 billion in 2005.
In addition, Black & Veatch expects to add approximately 1,000 new
professionals to its global workforce in 2007. The company increased its
employment from just over 7,000 professionals at the beginning of 2006, to a
year-end total of more than 8,600, representing a nearly 23 percent increase.
In the Kansas City area, with the largest concentration of Black & Veatch
offices, the company currently employs 3,600 professionals, an increase of 20
percent since January 2006.
The company’s business expansion includes its energy, water,
telecommunications, management consulting and federal services operations that
collectively helped produce company record-high net earnings of more than $62
million in 2006, compared to approximately $32 million in 2005.
“The success we experienced last year is continuing into 2007 as a result of
the ongoing global demand for the infrastructure services we provide our
clients,” said Len C. Rodman, Chairman, President and CEO of Black &
Veatch. “We are expecting another outstanding year in 2007, and plan to expand
our global workforce by an approximate double-digit increase in 2007 as we seek
additional engineering and other technical talent to meet business
demands.”
Black & Veatch has added approximately 700 new professionals through the
first quarter of 2007 and has more than 1,000 open positions across its 100
global office locations.
Significant energy projects include the company’s participation in various
engineering, procurement and construction services for eight of the 21 largest
power generation plants currently under construction in the United States. In
addition, Black & Veatch continued as the leader in providing clean air
technology for existing coal-fired generation facilities. The company has
approximately one-third of the industry air-quality control market share in the
United States.
Black & Veatch also is engaged in a variety of other energy-related
technologies, including integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)
technology, nuclear and renewable energy, which provide solutions to global
climate change issues. The company recently co-founded Clean Energy
Technologies LLC. The new company’s goal is to help increase needed supplies of
cellulosic ethanol and other renewable fuels, using corn stover, switchgrass,
wood waste and other types of biomass and plant waste materials.
In October 2006, Black & Veatch more than doubled the size of its UK
water business through the acquisition of a major water infrastructure company.
This positioned Black & Veatch as a single-source provider of engineering
design, process engineering and construction for UK water clients.
In Australia, the company is part of an alliance selected for a major
upgrade of three large wastewater treatment plants in Perth. The alliance will
provide program management, planning, engineering, procurement and construction
services. In the United States, Black & Veatch is leading a team that is
evaluating the long-term water resource needs of seven Southwest states.
Through its Federal Services Division, the company is part of a joint
venture awarded a five-year contract by the U.S. Government in 2006 to expand
and rehabilitate vital energy, transportation and water infrastructure in
Afghanistan. This work will include long-term technical, operational and
regulatory assistance to the ministries and agencies that operate and maintain
the infrastructure, including training, mentoring and multi-country exchange
programs. In the United States, the company continues to support hurricane
recovery and reconstruction efforts in the New Orleans area.
Black & Veatch’s Telecommunications Division continued its nationwide
work in 2006 for major wireless carriers by designing and deploying networks.
These initiatives include overlaying technology to improve coverage reducing
the number of dropped calls, and enhancing system reliability. The division
also is providing expanded telecommunications services for electric and water
utilities and municipalities. In addition, the division continued providing
services to new technology entrants with successful deployments in the emerging
video to mobile devices and WiMax technologies.
The company’s Enterprise Management Solutions (EMS) division continued its
expansion last year in providing a wide range of consulting services to energy
and water clients. In 2006, an in-depth EMS study helped lead to the approval
of a historic $190 million corporate revenue bond issue to fund water and
wastewater infrastructure improvements in Shanghai. EMS also is providing
consultation and training for a major U.S. regional power transmission
organization in its transition to a nodal electric market, which is related to
the points where transmission is priced.
“Black & Veatch has long been a global leader in delivering essential
and reliable technology and solutions that improve the quality of people’s
lives,” said Rodman. “The company and our clients benefited significantly in
2006 from prior investments made in energy, water and information systems
technology. We are strongly focused on developing sustainable environmental
technology that will have a positive global impact as our clients deal with the
issues of climate change, energy independence and water availability.”
Rodman added that the company continues to work on leading-edge solutions,
leveraging its integrated global workforce to meet the ever-changing demands of
the industry. To accommodate increasing business growth, the company has
expanded training and development programs and its information technology
infrastructure so its professionals’ expertise can be deployed globally
regardless of work location.
Rodman cited a water reuse project in Queensland, Australia, where Black
& Veatch is providing needed water supplies by using state-of-the-art
technology to reclaim secondary wastewater for potable reuse. In Singapore,
Black & Veatch’s Singapore-Tuas Seawater Desalination Project was
recognized as Desalination Plant of the Year in the 2006 Global Water Awards.
The new 36 million-gallon-per-day plant is the largest of its kind in Asia and
one of the largest in the world.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction
company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water,
telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets.
Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions
that meet clients’ needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions are
provided from the broad line of service expertise available within Black &
Veatch, including conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering
design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management,
program management, construction management, environmental, security design and
consulting, management consulting and infrastructure planning. With more than
$2 billion in revenue, the employee-owned company has more than 100 offices
worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six
continents. The company’s Web site address is www.bv.com.
Media Contact:
George Minter
913-458-8001
24-hour Media Line:
1-866-496-9149
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