Fort Towson

CH2M Hill offices at the Parkside Tower in Salt Lake City, Utah (2013)
The former VECO building, now CH2M Hill's Alaska headquarters (2011)

CH2M, earlier CH2M Hill, was an engineering company that provided consulting, design, construction, and operations services for corporations and governments. The company was organized in Corvallis, Oregon, and headquartered at 9191 South Jamaica Street, Englewood, Colorado.[1] In December 2017, the company was acquired by Jacobs Engineering Group.

The company played a major role in the Panama Canal expansion project.[2] The company developed, maintained and published its own method for managing projects for clients, called the CH2M Hill Project Delivery System.[3] The firm was named from the initials of its four founders.

History

CH2M was founded in 1946 in Corvallis, Oregon, by Oregon State University civil engineering professor Fred Merryfield and three of his students: Holly Cornell, James Howland and Thomas Burke Hayes.[4] Cornell, Howland, and Hayes were all graduates of Oregon State University.[5] The company became CH2M Hill after a merger with Clair A. Hill & Associates in 1971. The firm remained headquartered in Oregon until 1980, when it relocated to Colorado.

Projects

In 2000, the company was part of a joint venture to replace the Singapore sanitary services infrastructure.[6] The new Singapore Deep Tunnel System was designed to improve reliability, ease, and economy of operation, and to help handle Singapore's increasing waterfront utilization.[7]

In October 2005, Kaiser Hill, one joint venture of CH2M Hill, decommissioned and closed a former nuclear weapons facility at the Rocky Flats Plant.[8][9] In 2006, the company assisted in reconstruction efforts along the Gulf Coast of the United States after Hurricane Katrina.[10]

In June 2007, along with General Electric, the company was selected to build a $660 million gas-fired power plant in Queensland, Australia.[11] In April 2007, the company was selected for an $11.7 billion project to relocate American military bases in Korea.[12]

In August 2007, the Panama Canal Authority selected the company to manage the $5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion project, adding new locks to the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal and allowing Panamax ships to pass through the canal for the first time.[13][14][15]

In April 2009, a consortium led by the company was named program partner to oversee construction of the Crossrail project to expand London's transit system.[16] On August 30, 2006, along with partners Mace Group and Laing O'Rourke, the company was selected as a supplier for the London 2012 Olympics.[17][18][19]

In June 2008, the United States Department of Energy selected a subsidiary of the company to manage the deconstruction and remediation of the Central Plateau on the Hanford Site in eastern Washington, one of the world's largest environmental cleanup projects, including shrinking the environmental footprint of the Hanford Site from 586-square-mile (1,520 km2) to 75 square miles (190 km2).[20]

In April 2019, the company was cited for safety violations at the project.[21] In March 2013, the company was selected by South Oil Company of Iraq to provide project management consultancy services for the Iraq Common Seawater Supply Project.[22]

Acquisitions

In 1977, the company acquired Black, Crow & Eidsness, an engineering firm in the southeast United States. In August 2002, the company acquired Gee & Jensen, a Ports and Harbor firm based in Florida,[23] DeMil International, a weapons destruction firm based in the United States,[23][24] and EHS Consultants Ltd, a consulting firm based in Hong Kong.[23]

In December 2003, Lockwood Greene Engineers was acquired. The sale was forced by the financial collapse of JA Jones inc, its North American parent company and wholly owned subsidiary of the insolvent German construction conglomerate, Philipp Holzmann AG. CH2M picked up LGE's significant private sector design portfolio.[25]

In October 2005, it acquired BBS Corporation, an environmental engineering firm based in Ohio.[26][27] In September 2007, the company acquired most of the components of VECO, an Alaska-based firm that specialized in services to the petroleum industry and had become embroiled in the Alaska political corruption probe.[28][29]

In December 2007, the company acquired Trigon EPC.[30] In March 2008, the company acquired Texas based Goldston Engineering, a company specialising in marine and coastal transportation engineering services.[31]

In 2011, CH2M Hill acquired the transportation consulting unit of Booz Allen Hamilton.[32]

In September 2011, CH2M Hill acquired the consulting engineer based in the United Kingdom, Halcrow Group.[33] In October 2014, the company acquired TERA Environmental Consultants, an environmental consulting firm based in Canada that has worked with pipeline and powerline clients and oil and gas companies, for thirty years.[34]

Other activities

In April 2015, the company removed the word "Hill" from its branding, and unveiled a new logo.[35] In March 2017, the company renewed its lease at Honey Creek Corporate Center.[36] In June 2017, the company reiterated its support for the Paris Agreement.[37]

Acquisition by Jacobs Engineering Group

In December 2017, Jacobs Engineering Group acquired CH2M for US$3.3 billion in cash and stock.[38][39][40]

References

  1. ^ a b "CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd. 2016 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. ^ Harden, Mark; Proctor, Cathy (June 22, 2016). "Colorado companies played big roles in expanding Panama Canal; questions linger". American City Business Journals.
  3. ^ CH2M Hill Project Managers (2000). Project Delivery System : A System and Process for Benchmark Performance. CH2M Hill. ISBN 0965261603. OCLC 668106433.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ DOUGLAS, ERIN (August 2, 2017). "CH2M, one of Colorado's largest companies with a rich history here, sold to Texas engineering giant". The Denver Post.
  5. ^ "OSU HONORS TOP ALUMS FOR SERVICE, ACHIEVEMENTS". Oregon State University. July 16, 2009.
  6. ^ "CH2M HILL, consulting partner win $124 million Singapore contract" (PDF). 2000.
  7. ^ Rowson, Jessica (June 17, 2009). "Singapore sewerage: No space to waste". New Civil Engineer.
  8. ^ "Rocky Flats cleanup completed". The Denver Post. Associated Press. October 13, 2005.
  9. ^ "NUCLEAR CLEANUP OF ROCKY FLATS" (PDF). Government Accountability Office. July 2006.
  10. ^ Reese, Carol M.; Sorkin, Michael; Fontenot, Anthony (July 8, 2014). New Orleans Under Reconstruction. Verso Books. ISBN 9781781682746.
  11. ^ "CH2M HILL and GE to Design and Build US$660 Million Gas-Fired Power Plant: Largest in Australia" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. June 12, 2007.
  12. ^ SLAVIN, ERIK; HAE-RYM, HWANG (June 10, 2007). "South Korea selects contractor to help relocate U.S. bases". Stars and Stripes.
  13. ^ "CH2M Hill Selected as $5-billion Panama Canal Expansion Program Manager". Engineering News-Record. August 17, 2007.
  14. ^ "CH2M HILL Team Selected as Program Manager for Expansion of Panama Canal" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. August 17, 2007.
  15. ^ Leach, Peter T. (August 16, 2007). "CH2M to manage Panama Canal expansion". The Journal of Commerce.
  16. ^ "CH2M Hill, partners to oversee $22B 'Crossrail' project in London". American City Business Journals. April 1, 2009.
  17. ^ "CH2M Hill, partners win 2012 Olympic contract in London". American City Business Journals. August 30, 2006.
  18. ^ SHANLEY, WILL (August 30, 2006). "CH2M Hill wins 2012 Olympic contract". The Denver Post.
  19. ^ "CH2M Hill among 3 Colorado firms playing major roles at Olympics". The Denver Post. June 29, 2012.
  20. ^ "DOE Selects CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company for Plateau Remediation Contract at its Hanford Site" (Press release). United States Department of Energy. June 18, 2008.
  21. ^ "Department of Energy Cites CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Violations" (Press release). United States Department of Energy. April 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "CH2M HILL Selected to Provide Project Management Consultancy Services for the Iraq Common Seawater Supply Project" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. March 19, 2013.
  23. ^ a b c "CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd. 2004 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  24. ^ "CH2M Hill buys blast chamber company, technology". American City Business Journals. August 23, 2002.
  25. ^ "CH2M Hill Wins Prize In Bankruptcy Contest Lockwood Greene is sold by bankrupt J.A. Jones for $95.5 million as bid trumps two competitors". December 22, 2003.
  26. ^ "CH2M HILL Acquires BBS Corporation" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. October 1, 2005.
  27. ^ "CH2M Hill closes on BBS Corp. acquisition". American City Business Journals. October 4, 2005.
  28. ^ "CH2M Hill Finalizes Acquisition of VECO" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. September 7, 2007.
  29. ^ "Trigon EPC Acquired by CH2M Hill". Hart Energy. January 2, 2008.
  30. ^ "CH2M HILL Finalizes Acquisition of Colorado-Based Trigon EPC" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. December 17, 2007.
  31. ^ "CH2M HILL Finalizes Acquisition of Texas-Based Goldston Engineering" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. March 5, 2008.
  32. ^ "CH2M Hill buys Booz Allen Hamilton unit". May 11, 2011.
  33. ^ "CH2M Hill to take over Halcrow". The Construction Index. September 26, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  34. ^ Proctor, Cathy (February 28, 2014). "CH2M Hill buys Canadian firm focused on energy and environment". American City Business Journals.
  35. ^ Harden, Mark (April 13, 2015). "CH2M is over the Hill: Engineering giant unveils new name, logo". American City Business Journals.
  36. ^ Ryan, Sean (March 27, 2017). "CH2M renews office lease at Honey Creek". American City Business Journals.
  37. ^ "CH2M statement on recent Paris Climate Accord decision" (Press release). PR Newswire. June 6, 2017.
  38. ^ "Jacobs Completes CH2M Acquisition, Creating $15 Billion Professional Services Leader Focused On Delivering Innovative Solutions for a More Connected, Sustainable World" (Press release). Jacobs Engineering Group. December 18, 2017. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  39. ^ "Jacobs to Acquire CH2M to Create Premier $15 Billion Global Solutions Provider" (Press release). Business Wire. August 2, 2017.
  40. ^ Chuang, Tamara (December 18, 2017). "CH2M, one of Colorado's largest private companies, is swallowed up by Texas firm". The Denver Post.

External links