WSP acquires ccrd

Merger expands WSP's national footprint and health care, science, and technology capabilities.

By WSP November 6, 2014
WSP, the international engineering design and environmental consultancy, has acquired ccrd, a national mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), fire protection engineering and commissioning firm, announces David Cooper, president and chief executive officer of WSP’s USA region. 
The acquisition expands the national presence of WSP, which has its U.S. headquarters in New York City, bringing its buildings staff to 1,050 employees across 16 offices in the U.S. It also enhances the firm’s capabilities in healthcare and science/technology, two sectors in which Houston-based ccrd has long had deep expertise.
“We are very enthusiastic about the benefits this will provide to our firms, clients and staff,” said Steve Burrows, executive vice president and USA director of buildings at WSP. “ccrd is a strong complement to our existing service offering, and the acquisition introduces WSP to new markets throughout the southeastern and south-central United States, while bolstering our existing presence in Houston and Washington, D.C.”
“Our coming together also expands the breadth of ccrd’s offering and affords them the benefits that come with being part of a national engineering consultancy, which, in addition to MEP systems engineering, has expertise in building structures, transportation & infrastructure, and environmental services,” said Cooper. “ccrd’s clients will now have access to a single source for fully integrated multidisciplinary engineering services, and their employees will have expanded avenues for career exploration and growth.” 
Richard Rome, PE, Board Principal at ccrd, said that WSP and ccrd share similar business philosophies and culture. “We both provide senior-level principal involvement in every project. And WSP ‘gets’ the concept of ‘left-brain precision; right-brain creativity,’ which ccrd instills in its employees so that they are well-rounded problem solvers.”
Established in 1980, with a focus on providing innovative and technically advanced engineering and energy solutions for complex facilities, ccrd has offices in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. 
ccrd has been involved in many significant projects over its history, including National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in Ft. Detrick, Md.; Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas; Children’s Health System in Birmingham, Ala.; National Bio and Agro Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kan.; and Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Critical Care Hospital in Richmond, Va. 
Burrows said that ccrd’s appeal to WSP goes far beyond just the practice areas and the regions in which it concentrates.
“ccrd’s remarkable growth has been entirely organic, and we are impressed by how many of its key people have been at the firm ever since they graduated from college — in many cases, for decades,” he said. “Similarly, at WSP, we have long prided ourselves on the longevity of our employees’ tenures. The alignment of our cultures, in addition to the expanded offering that will be provided to our clients and employees, make the acquisition a natural fit.”
Headquartered in New York City, legacy WSP in the USA has more than 1,250 staff members in 32 offices across the U.S. Globally, WSP and Parsons Brinckerhoff have combined and are now one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services consulting firms. The company has 31,500 staff based in more than 500 offices across 39 countries.