The top engineering firms with headquarters or significant operations in Orange County have notched another year of growth, with a 5% increase in billings during a 12-month span through June.
This week’s Business Journal list includes OC’s 33 largest engineering firms, which collectively saw local billings rise to $2.74 billion. The firms on last year’s list posted an 8% increase in local billings after two years of declines.
Nineteen companies on this week’s list reported increases in billings, while eight firms said business weakened. Figures for six firms were based on Business Journal estimates.
Listed firms had a total 5,233 OC workers as of August, representing a 1% dip from a year earlier. The number of licensed engineers in OC at the firms dipped 2% to 1,180.
Irving, Texas-based Fluor Corp., which has an office in Aliso Viejo, came out on top again with estimated OC billings of $1.6 billion.
The estimate reflects a 3% increase from a year earlier locally, marked amid a companywide revenue growth spurt during the same period. Publicly traded Fluor reported a total $25.71 billion companywide during the same 12-month span; it doesn’t break out local revenue.
CH2M Hill Cos. kept its No. 2 spot, as the Santa Ana office of the Englewood, Colo.-based company reported an almost 2% rise in billings to $481.5 million. Companywide billings reached $6.4 billion, reflecting the same rate of growth at its other offices throughout the U.S. and abroad, including in Ireland, Australia and India.
CH2M Hill cut its local work force by seven for a total of 292 OC employees, including 79 engineers.
The Brea office of Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell Corp. marked the largest growth over the year, more than tripling its local business to $65 million. That put the company at No. 4 on the list, a nine-spot jump from when it debuted on last year’s list.
“We’re working on a lot of different substation projects with Southern California Edison,” said Renita Mollman, general manager and head of the firm’s Brea office. “We probably have about 20 of those going on right now. They vary in size. Some are retrofit, some are newer. We’re very fortunate to have won these contracts with them. Those are really the main drivers in our growth.”
Burns & McDonnell, which reports $43 million in backlog, had 65 employees here as of August, after adding 26 employees over the year. Its local engineers declined by two to 13.
No. 10 Fountain Valley-based SPEC Services saw a 25% growth in billings. The company, which operates out of one office in OC, saw $35.8 million in business. It added 20 employees to total 184 and had 29 engineers here as of August.
SPEC has $14 million in current backlog, compared with $17.5 million of backlog a year ago.
Tustin-based Hall & Foreman Inc. was No. 32 on this year’s list. It reported a 20% gain in billings to $3.6 million, following a similar rate of growth last year, when it first appeared on the list. Total billings for Hall & Foreman were $8.3 million—including work done at its other offices—up 38% from a year earlier.
Much of the growth was due to “a rebound in development projects,” spokesperson Kelly Teenor said. “The boost in residential [development] is a result of the increase in apartment and higher-density housing projects.”
Among firms with billing declines was No. 7 URS Corp., which saw a nearly 6% drop in the Santa Ana office to $49 million. Companywide billings for the San Francisco-based firm fell 13% to $954.5 million.
URS has added 15 licensed engineers here, for a total of 116. Total OC employees fell by 45 to 260.
AMEC Environment & Infrastructure Inc. in Irvine slid three spots to No. 12, on $22 million in local billings. That reflected an almost 8% decline in business here for the Alpharetta, Ga.-based firm, while companywide billings jumped 71% during the same period to $830 million.
AMEC’s current OC office backlog is $22 million, up from the $15 million backlog at the same time last year. It has 17 licensed engineers here—unchanged from a year earlier—and 100 employees total, up by five.
No. 27 Anaheim-based Willdan Group Inc. saw its local billings decline by 37% to $7.2 million. Companywide, the firm saw a 27% growth in business, for a total of $107.2 million.
Willdan has 110 employees here, down 10% from a year ago. The total includes 19 engineers, down one from last year.
The Irvine office of Las Vegas-based JBA Consulting Engineers was the sole newcomer on this year’s list.
It landed at No. 33 with $1.7 million in local billings, up 6%. Business grew about 15% for the company overall, for a total of $23.4 million. It’s currently looking at $1.9 million in backlog.
JBA’s Irvine office had a total of 17 em- ployees as of August, including five licensed engineers.
