Moves Up in U.S. Rankings for 2008
Overland Park, Kan. (July 22, 2008) – Black & Veatch, a leading global
engineering, consulting and construction company, is the largest majority
employee-owned company in Kansas and Missouri, and the 11th
largest in the United States, according to the 2008 rankings of the National
Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).
“Black & Veatch’s continued profitable growth is strongly tied to our
employee-owned structure,” said Karen Daniel, Chief Financial Officer. “Our
professionals directly share in the company’s success through a rising stock
price and challenging career opportunities. We are committed to engaging our
professionals in creating value for all stakeholders because we believe it’s a
key factor in our ability to attract and retain the best and brightest talent
in a competitive industry.”
The company has a global workforce of 9,600, including approximately 3,800
in the metro-Kansas City area. Last year, Black & Veatch was ranked 12th by
NCEO, a national non-profit information and membership organization, on its
list of the 100 largest majority employee-owned companies. Black & Veatch’s
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) owns the majority of the company and was
initiated in 1999.
Daniel said Black & Veatch formed as a partnership in 1915 and moved
from its general partnership structure to an ESOP to provide a financial
structure that helped bolster growth of the company’s business lines, including
its expansion worldwide.
In 2007, growth in Black & Veatch’s global business lines resulted in
record revenues of $3.2 billion, a 50 percent increase from 2006 revenues.
Daniel said other financial achievements in 2007 included record company
earning before taxes of $81 million, an increase of 31 percent compared with
2006. The company is also ranked on Forbes magazine’s Top Private
Companies’ list.
NCEO rankings are based on the number of company employees. According to
NCEO, companies on its list must have a majority of their stock owned by an
ESOP or similar plan or have a plan in which at least half the full-time
employees meeting minimum service requirements own at least 50 percent of the
shares. The entire “100 largest” list can be found at http://www.nceo.org/library/eo100.html.
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 $3.2
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
minterga@bv.com
24-hour Media Line:
1-866-496-9149
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