The largest environmental consultants in Orange County were up about 2% in OC office billings last year.
This week’s Business Journal list ranks 35 environmental consultants that have headquarters or significant operations here by local billings. Financial data for most of the companies account for the 12 months through December.
The companies on the list combined for about $628.4 million in total billings for environmental work completed by their OC offices last year, a gain of about $14 million, or 2.2%, from a year earlier.
The boost in 2012 billings continued an up-and-down pattern in recent years. The largest environmental consultants were about flat on billings in 2011, combined for a 7.4% gain in 2010, which followed a 12% drop in 2009.
The companies collectively saw a slight gain in employment, combining for an estimated 4,814 jobs at OC offices, an increase of 32, which comes to less than 1%.
About a third of the companies on this week’s list—13—reported increases in billings in 2012, while another 12 reported declines. One firm reported flat billings, and nine entries are based on Business Journal estimates.
Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill Cos.’ office in Santa Ana remained No. 1 on the list, with $177.6 million in local billings, up about 10%. CH2M Hill has an estimated 292 employees here.
The rest of the rankings shifted with the Irvine office of Pasadena-based Tetra Tech Inc. debuting on the list at No. 2. Tetra Tech reported $53.4 million in local billings, about flat from a year ago. Tetra Tech added two employees last year and now has 138 here.
URS Corp. in Santa Ana dropped to No. 3 despite a 9% gain in billings, to $38 million. The local office of the San Francisco-based company cut five positions over the past year and now has 255 employees here.
Double Digits
Several firms saw double-digit percentage increases in local billings, including No. 4 Miller Environmental Inc., which is based in Anaheim. Miller’s billings increased 19% over the past year, to $37 million. The company added 80 workers and now has 150 in OC.
The Irvine office of London-based Environmental Resources Management reported a 23% increase in billings over the past year, to $14.8 million, to hold on to the No. 12 spot. The firm added 12 workers, for a total of 72 here.
The Brea office of Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell Corp. saw billings increase by nearly 14% to $7.9 million, which moved the company up three spots to No. 21. Burns & McDonnell added 46 employees here last year for a total of 101.
Irvine-based Leighton Consulting Inc. dropped three spots to No. 30 despite a 19% increase in local billings, to $3.7 million. Leighton added two workers here, for a total of 82.
Among the firms that saw billings decline was the Irvine office of Alpharetta, Ga.-based Amec Environment & Infrastructure Inc. Amec fell two spots to No. 7 on the list, after a 25% decrease in billings to $22.5 million.
The company cut its employee count here by 15% for a total of 85 employees.
The Huntington Beach office of Marietta, Ga.-based EarthCon Consultants fell four places to No. 34 on the list, with the second-largest percent decrease in billings. The company saw a decline by 53% to $1.3 million. EarthCon maintained a work force of seven here.
“2012 was a poor year for construction in general,” said Linda Bowman, director of marketing communications at EarthCon. “And our construction company, Pantheon Group Inc., also experienced a slow year. In 2013, we expect that to change.”
The Irvine office of Stantec Consulting Services Inc. saw a 60% drop in billings to $1 million. Stantec kept local employment steady at 120 workers. A Stantec spokesperson said the firm’s OC office remained busy throughout 2012, with many of its staff working on projects in other parts of the Southern California region.
Two other newcomers debuted on the list:
n The Fountain Valley office of Australia-based WorleyParsons Group Inc., No. 28, saw billings decline by 9% to $5 million. It added four employees over the past year and now has 29 here.
n Irvine-based UltraSystems Environmental ranks No. 29 after a 15% increase in billings to $4.57 million. The company maintained its work force here at 42 over the past year.
Download the 2013 OC’s TOP ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS list (pdf)
