Black & Veatch
Global employee-owned engineering, construction, consulting and infrastructure services company.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Black & Veatch is a privately held, employee-owned engineering, procurement, construction and consulting company headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Established in Kansas City in 1915 by Ernest Bateman Black and Nathan Thomas Veatch, the firm developed from a regional engineering partnership into a multinational infrastructure-services provider. Its work covers the full life cycle of major infrastructure assets, including feasibility studies, advisory services, engineering and design, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and program management. The company serves public- and private-sector clients in energy, water, telecommunications, government infrastructure, industrial process facilities, mining, data centers, cybersecurity, electrified transportation and smart-city development. Its energy activities include conventional generation, transmission and distribution, liquefied natural gas, renewable power, storage and grid modernization. In 2020, Black & Veatch announced that it would stop pursuing new coal-based design and construction work, reflecting a strategic emphasis on renewable energy and other lower-carbon infrastructure opportunities. Its water practice includes treatment plants, water resources, wastewater, reuse, biosolids and resilience projects. Digital-infrastructure work includes private telecommunications networks, data centers, connectivity, operational-technology cybersecurity and infrastructure supporting electric vehicles. Black & Veatch combines professional-services capabilities with construction delivery through businesses such as Overland Contracting Inc., Black & Veatch Construction Inc. and Bird Electric. The company has also used specialist ventures and acquisitions to extend its reach. Diode Ventures was formed in 2017 to develop infrastructure and land-use solutions for the digital economy, while the 2023 acquisition of Bird Electric added electrical construction, emergency power restoration, renewable-energy, electric-vehicle-charging and connectivity capabilities. Its international history includes the formation of Black & Veatch International in 1963, projects in Asia and other overseas markets, and work for governments and infrastructure owners in more than 100 countries. The firm has participated in large public infrastructure and defense-related programs, including U.S. military construction during the Second World War, Atomic Energy Commission work at Los Alamos, and biological-threat-reduction infrastructure in Ukraine. The Ukraine work has also been referenced in online conspiracy claims concerning biological laboratories and COVID-19. Available reporting describes the company’s role as infrastructure and technical support under a U.S. government biological-threat-reduction program; the claims connecting that work to the origins of COVID-19 are not established by the cited evidence. Black & Veatch has remained privately held rather than becoming a publicly traded company. Steve Edwards led the company as chairman, president and chief executive officer from 2013 until his retirement, when Mario Azar became chairman and chief executive officer in 2022. The company reports a global workforce, more than 100 offices and completed projects across six continents. Financial and ranking figures vary by reporting period and should be read in the context of the relevant annual source.
History
Black & Veatch traces its origins to 1915, when Ernest Bateman Black and Nathan Thomas Veatch formed an engineering partnership in Kansas City. The firm initially operated with a small staff but expanded as demand grew for public works, industrial facilities and utility infrastructure. During the Second World War, the U.S. War Department engaged the company in reconstruction and development work at military installations, including Camp Robinson in Arkansas, Camp Chaffee in Arkansas and Camp Hale in Colorado. After the war, the company broadened its government and technical portfolio. In 1948 it began work for the Atomic Energy Commission at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Nathan Veatch was appointed in 1950 by President Harry Truman to the President’s Water Pollution Control Advisory Board, linking the firm’s leadership with national water-policy discussions. Black & Veatch International was established in 1963, creating a formal platform for overseas business. The firm opened its first regional office in Denver in 1964 in connection with the design of a large water-treatment plant and later won a contract in 1967 to produce a 60-megawatt generating unit for Thailand’s Yanhee Electricity Authority, now associated with EGAT. The company continued to develop its corporate infrastructure in the Kansas City region. It opened a major Overland Park facility in 1976, expanded the site in 1996 and repurchased the property in 2009, designating it as the world headquarters. Its technical capabilities also expanded through acquisitions and internal development. The 1985 acquisition of Pritchard Corporation brought PRICO liquefaction technology into the business, while the power division introduced the POWRTRAK computer-aided engineering and project-management system in 1988. A major organizational change occurred in 1999, when Black & Veatch moved from a general-partnership structure to an employee-owned corporation. That structure remains central to its identity and distinguishes the company from many publicly traded engineering and construction competitors. Construction capabilities were organized through businesses including Black & Veatch Construction Inc., established in 1991, and Overland Contracting Inc., which developed as a specialist construction provider from 1996. In the twenty-first century, Black & Veatch expanded its infrastructure scope beyond traditional power and water engineering. It formed Diode Ventures in 2017 to address land, development and infrastructure needs associated with the digital economy. In 2018, the company and the University of Missouri released a report concerning a proposed Missouri Hyperloop, reflecting interest in advanced transportation and regional infrastructure concepts. In 2020, Black & Veatch announced that it would no longer pursue new coal-based design and construction projects, a notable portfolio decision that aligned its power business more closely with renewable energy and energy-transition work. In 2021, RSK Group acquired the company’s European and Asian water businesses, which were renamed Binnies. Leadership changed in 2022 when Mario Azar succeeded retiring chief executive Steve Edwards. Black & Veatch then expanded its self-perform construction and restoration capabilities through the 2023 acquisition of Bird Electric Enterprises, a Texas-based electrical contractor with national emergency power-restoration operations. The company also delivered a charging depot for Schneider National’s zero-emission fleet and in 2024 established a global operational-technology cybersecurity practice. Black & Veatch’s government-related work has included biological-threat-reduction infrastructure. In 2008, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency awarded the company an integrating contract under its Biological Threat Reduction Integrating Contracts program. In Ukraine, Black & Veatch supported the renovation and commissioning of a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory, including technical training and biosurveillance-related assistance. The project later became the subject of online misinformation and conspiracy theories. Reporting from the Associated Press describes the work as part of a U.S.-Ukrainian biological-threat-reduction effort and does not substantiate claims that the facility was connected to the origins of COVID-19. Today, Black & Veatch operates internationally across energy, water, digital connectivity, government, industrial and emerging infrastructure markets. Its business model combines consulting and advisory work with engineering, procurement, construction and operational services, allowing it to participate from early planning through asset delivery and long-term performance support.
- 2024
Global operational-technology cybersecurity practice launches
[1]Black & Veatch establishes a practice dedicated to protecting critical infrastructure operational technology.
- 2023
Bird Electric is acquired
[1]The transaction expands electrical construction, restoration, renewable-energy and charging capabilities.
- 2022
Mario Azar becomes chairman and CEO
[1]Mario Azar succeeds retiring chief executive Steve Edwards.
- 2021
European and Asian water businesses are sold
[1]RSK Group acquires the businesses, which become Binnies.
- 2020
Coal project strategy changes
[1]Black & Veatch announces that it will cease participation in new coal-based design and construction projects.
- 2017
Diode Ventures is formed
[1]The company establishes a venture focused on preparing infrastructure and sites for digital-economy development.
- 2015
Centennial anniversary
[1]Black & Veatch marks 100 years in operation.
- 2013
Steve Edwards becomes chief executive
[1]Steve Edwards assumes the roles of chairman, president and chief executive officer.
- 2008
Biological-threat-reduction contract awarded
[1]The Defense Threat Reduction Agency selects Black & Veatch as an integrating contractor for a biological-threat-reduction program, including work in Ukraine.
- 1999
Employee-owned corporation structure adopted
[1]Black & Veatch changes from a general partnership to an employee-owned corporation.
Products and positioning
Employee-owned, full-lifecycle infrastructure partner combining engineering, advisory, procurement, construction and operational capabilities across energy, water, digital connectivity and government markets.
Engineering and construction services
Energy and power infrastructure
Black & Veatch provides planning, engineering, procurement, construction and advisory services for generation, transmission, distribution and grid modernization. Its portfolio spans conventional power, renewable generation, storage, liquefied natural gas and energy-transition infrastructure. The company also supports owners with program management, commissioning, operations and asset-performance services.
Water infrastructure services
Water and wastewater infrastructure
The water business covers drinking-water treatment, wastewater treatment, water resources, reuse, resilience, conveyance and related public infrastructure. Services can extend from master planning and feasibility analysis through design, procurement, construction, commissioning and operational support for municipal, industrial and government clients.
Digital infrastructure services
Digital connectivity and data-center infrastructure
Black & Veatch develops and manages infrastructure supporting telecommunications, private networks, data centers and smart-city systems. The work combines site and utility planning, engineering, construction management, connectivity deployment and advisory services for organizations building distributed digital infrastructure.
Transportation electrification
Electrified transportation
The company supports fleet and transportation electrification through charging-depot planning, electrical infrastructure, power-system integration, construction and program delivery. Its 2023 charging depot for Schneider National illustrates the application of these capabilities to commercial zero-emission fleets.
Cybersecurity and infrastructure advisory · 2024
Operational-technology cybersecurity
Black & Veatch’s operational-technology cybersecurity practice focuses on industrial and critical-infrastructure environments. Its stated purpose is to help asset owners identify and reduce cyber risks affecting systems that control energy, water, digital and other essential infrastructure.
Construction services
Construction and emergency restoration
Through Overland Contracting, Black & Veatch Construction and Bird Electric, the company delivers open-shop and union construction, engineering-procurement-construction services, project controls and emergency electrical restoration. Bird Electric also contributes capabilities in renewables, electric-vehicle charging and connectivity.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Black & Veatch centennial
Global
The company marked its hundredth year, highlighting its history in engineering, construction and infrastructure delivery.
Outcome. Corporate anniversary
Brand decisions
2023
Acquire Bird Electric EnterprisesM&ABackground
Black & Veatch sought to expand self-perform electrical construction, restoration and distributed-infrastructure capabilities.
Action taken
The company acquired Texas-based Bird Electric Enterprises.
Aftermath
The transaction added more than 600 employees according to the cited company history and broadened capabilities in restoration, renewables, charging and connectivity.
2021
Sell European and Asian water businessesM&ABackground
Black & Veatch reviewed the geographic composition of its water-services portfolio.
Action taken
RSK Group acquired the European and Asian water businesses and renamed them Binnies.
Aftermath
Black & Veatch retained its remaining operations while the divested businesses continued under RSK Group.
2020
Withdraw from new coal-based design and constructionStrategyBackground
The company was repositioning its power business amid increased emphasis on renewable energy and energy-transition infrastructure.
Action taken
Black & Veatch announced that it would stop participating in new coal-based design and construction projects.
Aftermath
The decision aligned the company’s stated strategy more closely with renewable-energy and lower-carbon infrastructure work.
1999
Adopt employee-owned corporate structureStrategyBackground
The firm had operated as a general partnership since its early history.
Action taken
Black & Veatch reorganized as an employee-owned corporation.
Aftermath
The employee-ownership model became a defining feature of the privately held company.
Recent events
- 2024
Black & Veatch establishes global operational-technology cybersecurity practice[1]
Product launch
The company created a global practice focused on protecting critical infrastructure operational technology from cyber threats.
- 2023
Black & Veatch acquires Bird Electric Enterprises[1]
M&A
The acquisition added a U.S. electrical-construction and storm-restoration business with capabilities spanning emergency power restoration, renewables, vehicle charging and connectivity.
- 2023
Black & Veatch completes charging depot for Schneider National[1]
Product launch · Other
The company completed a charging depot supporting Schneider National’s zero-emission fleet transition.
- 2022
Mario Azar succeeds Steve Edwards as chairman and chief executive[1]
Leadership change
Mario Azar became chairman and chief executive officer following the retirement of Steve Edwards.
- 2022
Online conspiracy claims link Black & Veatch’s Ukraine work to COVID-19[3]
Other
Social-media claims connected Black & Veatch’s biological-threat-reduction work in Ukraine with unsupported theories about COVID-19. Associated Press reporting described the company’s role as contractor support for a U.S. government program and did not establish the alleged connection.
- 2021
RSK Group acquires Black & Veatch water businesses in Europe and Asia[1]
M&A
Black & Veatch’s European and Asian water businesses were acquired by RSK Group and subsequently operated under the Binnies name.
- 2020
Black & Veatch stops pursuing new coal-based design and construction projects[1]
Regulation
The company announced a strategic shift away from new coal-based project design and construction, emphasizing renewable energy and related infrastructure opportunities.
Sources8 sources
- 1Black & Veatchen.wikipedia.org
- 2Black & Veatch official websitebv.com
- 3Associated Press fact check on Ukraine biological-laboratory claimsapnews.com
- 4GE Hitachi collaborates with five Canadian firms on SMR designs | WilmingtonBizwilmingtonbiz.com
- 5Kingswood-backed Versar acquires Black & Veatch's environmental services business unitprivateequityinternational.com
- 6Mission Critical Partners Acquires Black & Veatch’s Public Safety Consulting Businessprweb.com
- 7Orbital Marine Power teams up with Black & Veatch for tidal turbine optimisationrenewableenergymagazine.com
- 8SCG International partners with Black & Veatch for vehicle electrificationglobalcement.com
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