Tetra Tech
A global consulting, engineering, program-management, and technical-services firm focused on water, environment, infrastructure, energy, resource management, and international development.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Tetra Tech is a United States-based professional-services company that provides consulting, engineering, program management, construction management, and technical assistance. Its work spans water resources, environmental protection, infrastructure, energy, resource management, environmental remediation, data and digital systems, cybersecurity, and international development. The company is headquartered in Pasadena, California, and serves government, commercial, utility, industrial, and international clients through a worldwide office network. The business began in 1966 as a water-management enterprise founded by Nicholas Boratynski, Henri Hodara, Bernard LeMéhauté, and Don Stern. Its early assignments included the design of structures for harbors, ports, and marinas; water-quality projects; oil and gas exploration support; and analysis of offshore military activities for the U.S. Department of Defense. This technical foundation established the company’s long-term emphasis on complex environmental and infrastructure problems rather than on a single engineering discipline. Tetra Tech became publicly traded in 1977, using the proceeds to broaden its capabilities. During this period it worked on flood prediction, acid-rain analysis, environmental-impact studies associated with pipeline construction, naval equipment installations, and petroleum exploration data. In the early 1980s, Honeywell acquired the company’s U.S. operations, while another group acquired Tetra Tech International. The business subsequently moved away from gas exploration and related products and expanded its data-systems activities. In 1988, Honeywell sold the engineering division to company employees, creating an independent Tetra Tech led by Li-San Hwang. The independent company grew through organic expansion and acquisitions. Its acquisition strategy added expertise in water resources, urban drainage, flood control, civil engineering, bridges and waterways, environmental restoration, hazardous-waste cleanup, mining, energy, digital systems, sustainable building design, and international development. Acquired international-development businesses strengthened the company’s work for government agencies and communities dealing with water, energy, environmental, governance, and post-conflict challenges. Tetra Tech has continued to use acquisitions to combine specialized engineering firms with broader program-delivery capabilities. Notable additions have included Coffey International, Glumac, Bridgenet, Norman Disney & Young, White Young Green, Coanda Research and Development, Hoare Lea, Enterprise Automation, RPS Group, Amyx, LS Technologies, and Convergence Controls & Engineering. These transactions expanded the company’s presence in sustainable design, environmental consulting, computational modeling, automation, cybersecurity, federal contracting, and international operations. The company is organized around government-focused and commercial/international activities. Its client base includes the U.S. federal government, state and local governments, utilities, commercial enterprises, industrial companies, and international institutions. Tetra Tech’s positioning is that of a technically specialized, multidisciplinary advisor capable of taking projects from assessment and design through implementation, program management, construction management, and long-term environmental or infrastructure support. Its major themes include clean water, climate and resilience, sustainable infrastructure, environmental compliance and remediation, energy transition, digital transformation, and public-sector delivery.
History
Tetra Tech was founded in 1966 as a water-management business by Nicholas Boratynski, Henri Hodara, Bernard LeMéhauté, and Don Stern. Its first activities centered on waterway structures, ports, marinas, water-quality controls, petroleum exploration support, and technical analysis for defense-related offshore operations. The company’s early specialization in water and environmental systems became the basis for its later multidisciplinary consulting model. The company offered common stock on the American Stock Exchange in 1977. Public-market capital supported expansion into flood-frequency and flood-level prediction, acid-rain research, environmental-impact studies for gas-pipeline construction, U.S. Navy equipment installation, and oil-exploration data analysis, including work connected with Alaska’s North Slope. In 1982, Honeywell acquired Tetra Tech’s U.S. operations, while Tetra Tech International was acquired separately. The business then reduced its exposure to gas exploration and moved toward data systems and engineering services. Honeywell sold the engineering division to a group of employees in 1988. Li-San Hwang, who had joined the company in 1967, led the resulting independent Tetra Tech. The company returned to public trading on Nasdaq in 1991, issuing additional shares to finance expansion. During the following years it acquired firms specializing in urban drainage, flood control, civil engineering, bridges, waterway design, environmental restoration, and hazardous-waste cleanup. Reported gross revenue reached $96.5 million by 1994. The company broadened its geographic and technical footprint through acquisitions in Canada, Australia, South America, and other regions. It entered or expanded in mining, energy, and international development, including work implementing sustainable water, energy, and environmental programs for the U.S. Agency for International Development and other public-sector clients. In 2005, Hwang retired and Dan Batrack, who had joined Tetra Tech in the early 1980s, became chief executive officer. The acquisition program accelerated from the mid-2010s onward. Coffey International was acquired in 2015, followed by Glumac in 2017, Bridgenet and Norman Disney & Young in 2018, and White Young Green in 2019. In 2021, Tetra Tech added Coanda Research and Development, IBRA-RMAC Automation Systems, The Kaizen Company, Hoare Lea, and Enterprise Automation. These deals extended the company into computational fluid dynamics, water-infrastructure instrumentation, international development, sustainable engineering design, automation, data analytics, and operational-technology cybersecurity. Tetra Tech pursued further digital and engineering integration through the Volans visualization technology, The Integration Group of Americas, and the acquisitions of RPS Group and Amyx in 2022 and 2023. RPS, a United Kingdom-based environmental consultancy, was the company’s largest acquisition at completion. Later expansion included LS Technologies and Convergence Controls & Engineering in 2024. The resulting company combines environmental and water expertise with government contracting, infrastructure, sustainable design, digital engineering, automation, and cybersecurity. Tetra Tech commemorated its fiftieth anniversary in 2016 and marked twenty-five years of Nasdaq trading that year. Its global business serves federal, state, and local governments; commercial and industrial customers; utilities; and international clients. The company’s continuing strategic emphasis is on solving complex problems involving clean water, environmental quality, resilience, infrastructure modernization, energy, resource management, and public-sector program delivery.
- 2023
RPS Group acquisition completed
[1]Tetra Tech completes its largest acquisition, adding the UK environmental consulting firm RPS Group.
- 2021
Expansion into automation and sustainable engineering
[1]Tetra Tech acquires several firms, including Hoare Lea and Enterprise Automation, strengthening sustainable design, automation, analytics, and cybersecurity.
- 2016
Fiftieth anniversary and clean-water initiative
[1]The company marks fifty years and establishes the Global Clean Water Fund with Engineers Without Borders.
- 2015
Coffey International acquisition
[1]Tetra Tech acquires Coffey International, expanding international consulting and development operations.
- 2005
Dan Batrack becomes chief executive
[1]Li-San Hwang retires and Dan Batrack assumes the chief executive role.
- 1991
Nasdaq listing
[1]Tetra Tech issues shares on Nasdaq to support acquisitions and growth in engineering and environmental services.
- 1988
Engineering division becomes independent
[1]Honeywell sells the engineering division to employees, with Li-San Hwang leading the independent company.
- 1982
Honeywell acquires U.S. operations
[1]Honeywell purchases Tetra Tech’s U.S. operations while Tetra Tech International is acquired by another group.
- 1977
First public stock offering
[1]Tetra Tech offers common stock on the American Stock Exchange and uses the capital to broaden its technical services.
- 1966
Tetra Tech is founded
[1]Nicholas Boratynski, Henri Hodara, Bernard LeMéhauté, and Don Stern establish the company as a water-management business.
Products and positioning
A multidisciplinary engineering and consulting partner for complex water, environmental, infrastructure, government, energy, and international-development programs.
Consulting and engineering services · 1966
Water and environmental services
Tetra Tech’s core water and environmental offering covers water-supply planning, wastewater, water-quality management, flood control, watershed analysis, environmental assessment, restoration, remediation, and regulatory support. These services are delivered to public agencies, utilities, industrial customers, and international development clients, often across the full project lifecycle from investigation and design to implementation and program management.
Engineering and program management
Infrastructure services
Infrastructure work includes civil engineering, transportation-related design, bridges, ports, waterways, buildings, utilities, resilience planning, construction management, and major public-works program delivery. The company combines engineering disciplines with environmental and permitting expertise, allowing clients to address technical, regulatory, sustainability, and implementation requirements within one consulting platform.
Energy and natural-resources consulting
Energy and resource management
Tetra Tech provides advisory, engineering, environmental, and project services for energy and natural-resource programs. Its scope has included exploration analysis, mining, energy infrastructure, resource planning, environmental compliance, and sustainability. The business has evolved from early petroleum-related work toward a broader portfolio that includes resource efficiency, resilience, and environmental stewardship.
Development and government services
International development services
The international-development practice supports governments, donors, and communities with programs involving water, energy, environmental management, governance, economic growth, and institutional stability. Acquisitions such as Coffey International and The Kaizen Company expanded implementation capacity across Africa, Asia, South America, and other development markets.
Technology consulting
Digital, automation, and cybersecurity services
Tetra Tech’s technology-related services include data systems, digital transformation, control-systems integration, advanced analytics, platform virtualization, operational-technology and information-technology cybersecurity, automation, computational modeling, and visualization. These capabilities support water infrastructure, government programs, industrial operations, and engineering workflows.
Controversies
2016
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard soil-sample controversy
Tetra Tech faced allegations that soil-sample results from the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard cleanup in San Francisco had been falsified. The U.S. Navy identified anomalous results, while later comments cited by PEER questioned the reliability of a large portion of the dataset. Tetra Tech disputed those conclusions and offered to support independent retesting. In 2018, two former supervisors pleaded guilty to falsifying results, and in 2019 the Justice Department sued Tetra Tech over alleged false claims and billing connected with the cleanup.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Global Clean Water Fund
Global
To mark its fiftieth anniversary, Tetra Tech partnered with Engineers Without Borders and funded six projects intended to improve access to clean, safe water.
Outcome. Tetra Tech donated $50,000 across six projects.
Brand decisions
2023
Complete RPS Group acquisitionM&ABackground
Tetra Tech identified environmental consulting and international delivery as areas for continued expansion.
Action taken
The company completed its acquisition of UK-based environmental consulting firm RPS Group and also acquired Amyx, a cybersecurity and technology firm.
Aftermath
RPS became a major addition to Tetra Tech’s environmental and international consulting platform, while Amyx added federal technology capabilities.
Purchase price for RPS Group. $691 million (January 2023)
2022
Launch Volans technology and pursue RPS GroupM&ABackground
Tetra Tech continued combining engineering services with visualization, systems integration, and environmental consulting.
Action taken
The company received approval for a patent related to its Volans three-dimensional animation and visualization software, acquired The Integration Group of Americas, and made a successful takeover offer for RPS Group.
Aftermath
The actions strengthened digital visualization, systems integration, and environmental consulting capabilities, with the RPS transaction completing in 2023.
2021
Build a digital and sustainable-engineering platformStrategyBackground
Growing demand for sustainable buildings, automated infrastructure, analytics, and cybersecurity created opportunities to extend beyond traditional engineering consulting.
Action taken
Tetra Tech acquired Hoare Lea, Enterprise Automation, Coanda Research and Development, IBRA-RMAC Automation Systems, and added The Kaizen Company to its international-development practice.
Aftermath
The company expanded its sustainable design, modeling, automation, water-technology, international-development, and cybersecurity capabilities.
2015
Acquire Coffey InternationalM&ABackground
Tetra Tech sought to expand its international consulting and development platform and strengthen its presence in Asia-Pacific markets.
Action taken
The company acquired Coffey International and incorporated its engineering, consulting, and development capabilities.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened Tetra Tech’s international delivery capabilities.
Recent events
- 2024
Tetra Tech expands federal technology capabilities through LS Technologies[1]
M&A
Tetra Tech acquired LS Technologies, a Fairfax, Virginia-based contracting and consulting firm serving technology and government markets.
- 2023
Tetra Tech completes acquisition of RPS Group[1]
M&A
The acquisition of the British environmental consulting group RPS Group became Tetra Tech’s largest acquisition and significantly expanded its environmental and international consulting platform.
- 2017
Tetra Tech acquires Glumac[1]
M&A
The transaction added sustainable building and engineering design capabilities.
- 2016
Tetra Tech launches Global Clean Water Fund[1]
Campaign
For its fiftieth anniversary, the company created a grant program with Engineers Without Borders and funded clean-water projects in communities around the world.
- 2015
Tetra Tech acquires Coffey International[1]
M&A
The acquisition expanded Tetra Tech’s international consulting and development capabilities, particularly in Asia-Pacific markets.
Sources3 sources
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