EBJ News for October 16, 2019

EBJ News for October 16, 2019 – The following section highlights the latest stories in the Environmental Industry.

AECOM sells Management Services business

AECOM (Los Angeles, Calif.) has agreed to sell its Management Services (MS) business to American Securities LLC and Lindsay Goldberg for $2.405 billion. The price reflects an 11.6x multiple of expected fiscal 2019 adjusted EBITDA and a premium to AECOM’s overall valuation. Michael S. Burke, AECOM’s chairman and CEO, said the deal was “transformative and value-enhancing” and would significantly accelerate AECOM’s planned debt reduction and commitment to repurchase stock. Through its MS business, AECOM serves U.S. federal government, offering program and facilities management, environmental management, training, logistics, consulting, systems engineering, and systems integration and information technology. One of AECOM’s four business segments, MS had revenues of $3.7 billion in FY2018, up 11% for the year, and represented around 18% of the company’s overall revenues of $20.2 billion.

 

Stantec to serve as lead designer of expanded water reclamation facility

Stantec (Edmonton, Alberta) has been selected to provide design services for the estimated $90 million expansion of the Barry Rose Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) in the City of Pearland, Texas. The expansion will increase the average amount of wastewater treated from 3 million gallons per day (MGD) to 8.5 MGD, allowing the facility to serve more than 50,000 residents. Stantec will decommission the Longwood WRF, which sustained damage during Hurricane Harvey, and divert flows to the expanded Barry Rose facility. The new WRF will use a membrane bioreactor treatment to produce higher quality water that could be utilized in water reuse projects.

 

WSP acquires Dutch consulting firm Lievense

WSP Global Inc. (Montreal, Canada) has acquired Lievense Holding BV, a 375-employee multidisciplinary consulting firm based in The Netherlands. Lievense ranks in the top 15 engineering consultancy firms in the country and operates in the buildings, environment, energy, infrastructure, and water sectors. The transaction establishes WSP’s footprint in the Dutch market. “Through this acquisition, we are reinforcing our approach of being a global player with a strong local presence,” said Magnus Meyer, CEO of WSP in Europe.

 

Great Lakes awarded coastal restoration contracts

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (Oak Brook, Ill.) has announced several major dredging awards totaling $178 million, primarily for coastal restoration. The awarded work includes $56.7 million for coastal restoration in Mississippi; $32.5 million for coastal protection in Great Egg/Peck Beach, New Jersey; and $27.3 million for coastal protection in North Carolina (post-Florence Renourishment Project). “Great Lakes is pleased to add these projects to our backlog of deepening, coastal protection, and maintenance dredging projects,” said David Simonelli, president.

 

ERM announces acquisition of The Fifth Business

ERM (London, UK) has acquired The Fifth Business, strengthening its ability to help clients manage disruption and change. Founded in 1993, Fifth Business is an integrated change management, communications, learning and design consultancy with a strong focus on the oil and gas sector; it has more than 70 staff in four offices in Europe and North America. This is the latest in ERM’s string of acquisitions in the areas of sustainability advisory and stakeholder engagement. “Shaping a sustainable future with our clients will increasingly create disruptive change for them, their employees and their stakeholders,” said Keryn James, ERM’s group chief executive. “The Fifth Business is known for its ability to embed major change within large organizations, helping ensure the intended outcomes of projects.”

 

AECOM to deliver New Zealand’s first climate risk assessment

AECOM (Los Angeles, Calif.) is developing New Zealand’s first National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA) to help the government understand the impact of climate change on the country’s natural, financial, and infrastructure assets. The NCCRA will inform future investment, planning and policy decisions. AECOM will also study climate change risks from the perspective of M?ori tradition and the role of New Zealand’s indigenous people as custodians of the environment and as partners with the New Zealand Government. AECOM has developed several climate risk assessments on behalf of national governments and is currently the implementation partner for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Resilient Reef initiative.

 

Barr acquires High Energy Inc.

Barr (Minneapolis, Minn.) has acquired High Energy Inc. (Denver, Colo.), a consulting firm providing electrical, civil, and structural engineering services for electric utility and utility clients. Barr provides engineering and environmental consulting services to clients across the Midwest and worldwide and has offices in Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, Colorado, and Alberta. Barr has been employee-owned since 1966.

 

Aegion awarded wastewater pipeline rehab contracts

Aegion Corporation (St. Louis, Mo.) announced that its subsidiary, Insituform Technologies LLC, has been awarded a two-year contract valued at $6.9 million from Miami-Dade County in Florida. Insituform expects to rehabilitate more than 26 miles of wastewater pipelines using Insituform cured-in-place pipe over the two-year period. This follows two awards to Aegion in September: a $15.7 million wastewater pipeline rehab project in Georgia, and a $9.1 million wastewater pipeline rehab contract in Michigan.

 

PG Environmental announces GPR services

PG Environmental Services Inc. (Hauppauge, N.Y.) reports that it is now offering ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in Long Island as market demand keeps growing. A Metro New York environmental services firm, PG Environmental offers GPR along with its other subsurface exploration and geotechnical investigation services. The worldwide market for GPR is expected to grow over the next five years from $150 million in 2019 to $220 million in 2024, an increase of about 9%, according to a recent study cited by the company.

 

Vertex acquires Compliance Environmental

The Vertex Companies Inc. (Weymouth, Mass.) has acquired Compliance Environmental International Inc. (CEI, Baltimore, Md.), a full-service industrial hygiene and environmental consulting firm established in 1993 and specializing in healthcare facility management. Vertex is an employee-owned AEC firm that delivers integrated forensic, engineering, construction, environmental, and digital solutions for complex projects. Founded in 1995, Vertex says it has grown by nearly 30% year-over-year since inception.

 

Ramboll selected for water projects in Romania

Two Romanian water operators, Raja Constanta and Aquaserv, have selected Ramboll (Copenhagen, Denmark) to lead two large development projects involving the extension and rehabilitation of important water supply systems. The Raja Constanta project includes rehabilitation, modernization and extension of wastewater collection systems and wastewater treatment plants. It is the largest project of its kind in Europe, according to Ramboll, which will provide technical assistance in the supervision of the execution of 50 works contracts in several counties. Ramboll will also help Aquaserv to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure in the Mures region.

 

Apex acquires Retention Pond Services

Apex Companies LLC (Rockville, Md.) announced the acquisition of Retention Pond Services Inc. (RPS), a regional leader of stormwater compliance, maintenance, and repair services for companies and municipalities. Apex said the transaction solidifies its position as the largest mid-market stormwater compliance and services provider in the United States. Apex is backed by Sentinel Capital Partners.

 

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