Wardrop sold to U.S.-based Tetra Tech

Another well-known Canadian consulting engineering company has been bought by a U.S. operation.

Wardrop Engineering, a firm with over 50 years of history in Canada, was sold to Tetra Tech, Inc. of Pasadena, California.  The announcement came on January 31.

Tetra Tech has 10,000 employees worldwide and specializes in water, the environment and energy.

Wardrop began in Winnipeg in 1955 and was one of the first consulting engineering firms in the city. It opened a second office in Thunder Bay in 1956 and then expanded into a multi-disciplinary firm during the 1960s. It now has 1,200 employees, with 10 offices across Canada and offices in several other countries, including the United Kingdom and India. In 2008 the company had revenues of approximately U.S. $120 million and won one in a series of awards as an employer, being cited as one of the  “Best Employers for New Canadians.”

In a statement about the acquisition by Tetra Tech, Shayne Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Wardrop, said: “Tetra Tech is the partner that we’ve been looking for. Tetra Tech will provide broad opportunities for our people and help us to better serve our customers at every stage of the project life cycle.  With access to Tetra Tech’s construction management and self-performance capabilities, we can now provide full, turn-key solutions. This transaction is the largest in our industry between U.S. and Canadian firms and it underscores how North American firms can work together to create a global execution platform for high-end services.”

Wardrop is to join Tetra Tech’s Environmental Consulting Services division.