Southeast Designers Look for the Market to Finally Improve
Across the board, executives concurred that owners are continuing to seek added value from design firms, whether it be with expanded services, alternative delivery or just assisting with minimizing all of an owner's potential costs.
Stantec's Murray says the firm is "seeing more opportunities for integrated service delivery, and we are seeing more interest in alternative project delivery models across all markets."
The demand for alternative delivery and expanded technology services is an increasing trend in the transportation sector, adds Atkins' Fox.
"Our clients' focus on doing more with less has resulted in opportunities in asset management and intelligent transportation systems," he says of the trend. "Technical services strive to increase the performance of an asset through the use of technology and best practices."
Managing costs remains the guiding focus. Chandler says owners want "value-added building systems that reduce long-term operation and maintenance costs. Clients are asking, 'How can I get more for less?'"
The Numbers
The following ranking lists firms by the amount of 2011 design revenue generated from projects located in the four-state region of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. The main chart also includes each company's top regional officers, largest projects to start construction last year and top three markets listed by percentage.
Cumulative revenue for the 90 firms ranked here is essentially flat compared with the prior year, at about $2.68 billion. Collectively, the top 10 companies earned $1.48 billion in 2011, down from $1.55 billion in 2010. Of these, five reported increases—AECOM Technology Corp., CH2M Hill, HDR, HNTB Corp. and Stantec. Stantec said acquisitions were responsible for its increase.
Four top-10 firms had declines: Atkins, ARCADIS, Reynolds, Smith & Hills and Parsons Brinckerhoff. Zachry Holdings did not participate in last year's survey.
Also, a different firm tops the chart this year. Last year, CH2M Hill earned first place, which had previously been held by Atkins (formerly PBS&J) for several years.
This year, AECOM Technology Corp. gained the top spot by growing to $296.9 million in revenue from $222.2 million in 2010. Readers can find the rest of the story in ENR Southeast's profile of AECOM as this year's Design Firm of the Year.
