Orange County’s engineering firms saw another year of billing gains thanks to a boost in work related to oil and gas, energy and public works projects.
None so much as No. 1 Fluor Corp., which grew local billings 154.3% in the 12 months ended June to a total $1.4 billion, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
But a slowdown in the economy spurred by last year’s mortgage meltdown and sharp slowdown in the development of homes, offices and shopping centers have some engineering companies growing at a more tempered pace.
The 29 largest engineering firms here, excluding Fluor, reported a 7.5% climb in billings to $1.04 billion for the 12 months through June, according to the list, which ranks engineering firms by billings.
The growth falls just short of last year’s 8% billings growth.
Including Fluor’s jump, local engineering firms registered a 60.5% increase in billings to $2.4 billion.
The companies on the list saw their total number of local engineers increase 9.6% to 1,254 engineers. Overall OC employee rosters grew 2.1% to 7,491 people.
Thirteen of the 30 companies reported billings growth. Six reported declines. One company was flat. Ten are Business Journal estimates.
Real estate work has slowed down dramatically, according to firms.
Many OC engineering firms are seeing an uptick in infrastructure-related work for the array of aging roads, bridges and buildings that need to be updated, firms said.
The demand for energy and fuel has also increased the number of electrical power, oil and gas refinery projects that firms are taking on, they said.
Increased environmental concerns are pushing more alternative renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and water energy, firms said.
Top Spots
No. 1 Texas-based Fluor Corp., which has offices in Irvine and Aliso Viejo, has kept busy with chemical, energy and oil and gas refinery projects, according to Vice President Mike Milazzo.
The company, which Wall Street expects to do nearly $23 billion in billings this year, has landed a windfall of contracts recently for work on power plants, oil refineries and other projects that require remediation, cleanup, air quality permits and other services.
Rising oil prices have many companies looking for alternative energy sources and looking for engineering firms to help make that happen, according to Milazzo.
“We’re working on projects related to the higher demand for energy,” Milazzo said. “With the higher cost of crude oil, many companies are looking for alternative projects.”
Once one of the largest companies based here, Fluor moved its headquarters from Aliso Viejo to Texas in 2006.
No. 2 Denver-based CH2M Hill Cos.’ Santa Ana office saw billings grow 12% to $313.5 million.
The company is keeping busy with a slew of work related to hazardous waste clean up, ground water remediation and transportation projects.
In June, CH2M Hill was awarded a contract worth $4.5 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up the Hanford nuclear waste site in Washington State. The contract, which will last for 10 years, will involve managing cleanup of spent nuclear fuel and tainted groundwater and facility decommissioning.
The company also is generating work overseas.
CH2M Hill is managing a $22 billion project to make the United Arab Emirates city of Masdar the world’s first zero carbon and zero waste city.
A boost in work related to energy projects also helped grow No. 7 TRC Cos.’ Irvine revenue, which jumped 37.4% to $46.7 million.
“We’ve been working on a number of projects in energy where we’ve been involved with power plants from the permitting process through the engineering and construction management,” said Leonard Sequeira, vice president of TRC Cos.
The company also is seeing an uptick of work from oil and gas companies, he said.
The biggest gainer by percent on the list was No. 9 Willdan Group Inc. of Anaheim, which grew its revenue 202% to $28.7 million.
The company, which offers civil engineering, geological engineering, environmental remediation, homeland security consulting and energy management services, grew its number of engineers 10% to 22 people.
Willdan grew its OC headcount 21.6% to 141 people.
The company has kept busy this year with its June acquisition of Dublin-based Intergy Corp., which has an office near Pasadena.
Many of the firms on the list with practices related to real estate development are restructuring their business plans to adapt to a slowdown.
Some firms are seeking work in other practice areas such as public works while others are working on projects out of state and overseas.
“It’s definitely a blizzard out there,” said Patrick Fuscoe, chief executive and president of No. 16 Fuscoe Engineering.
The Irvine-based company, which provides engineering services for planned communities and hotels and resorts, saw revenue decline 15% to $19.8 million.
“We’re going to the hot spots where the markets are healthy,” Fuscoe said. “You have to be nimble.”
The company is working on redevelopment projects in Hollywood, developments in Fresno and hotel and resort projects in Mexico, the Middle East and Costa Rica, he said.
Decliners
No. 29 Huitt-Zollars Inc. of Irvine was one of the biggest decliners by percent on this year’s list with a 24.2% drop in billings to $9.1 million.
The company does work for Rancho Mission Viejo LLC’s Ladera Ranch development and other real estate developments.
The company’s number of engineers declined 53% to seven people. Its number of employees fell 33% to 40 workers.
“We’re seeing a slowdown in work related to development,” said Ken Rukavina, office manager of Huitt-Zollars Inc. in Irvine.
The firm worked on the widening of Antonio Parkway and the Ortega (74) Highway.
The company has set its sights on work from the public sector but projects are few and far between, Rukavina said.
“The state budget crisis is slowing down projects and there’s a lot of competition in that area so it’s an interesting time to be out there,” Rukavina said.
No 27 Leighton Consulting Inc. was the biggest decliner by percent, dropping 35% to $11.1 million. It also lost one engineer and 17% of its local workforce to 95 people.
The list, always a work in progress, welcomed new faces including No. 15 LFR Inc. of Costa Mesa, No. 23 Santa Ana-based Tait & Associates Inc. and No. 25 Kleinfelder in Irvine.
LFR’s billings dropped 8% to $19.8 million. The company added one engineer and an additional OC employee.
Tait & Associates saw its billings drop 18.6% to $15.3 million. The company’s number of OC engineers fell 15% to 17 people. The company’s OC employee roster dropped 16.7% to 115 people.
Kleinfelder grew its revenue 21% to $11 million. The company grew its number of OC workers 11% to 50 people.
Closing out the list at No. 30 was Psomas in Costa Mesa, which generated $8.6 million in billings. The company grew its number of OC engineers 19% to 25 people. Psomas’ total OC headcount fell 6.9% to 134 workers.
