- URS Corporation
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URS Corporation 
Type Public Traded as NYSE: URS Industry Engineering Founded 1951 Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States Area served Worldwide Key people Martin M. Koffel (CEO and Chairman) Revenue 
US$ 9.249 billion (2009)Operating income US$ 469.0 million (2009)Net income US$ 269.1 million (2009)Total assets US$ 6.04 billion (2009)Total equity US$ 3.905 billion (2009)Employees 46,500 (2010) Website URScorp.com URS Corporation is an engineering design firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS is a full-service, global organization with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Contents
History
As of September 2010, the firm had approximately 46,500 employees worldwide, in more than 40 countries.[1]
With the acquisition of Washington Group International, URS Corp. was able to obtain Fortune 500 status for the first time in 2008 with a rank of 449, up from 505 the previous year.[2] Since appearing on the Fortune 500 list URS has continued to climb, in 2009 URS climbed 185 places to 264, and to 252 in 2010. [3]
Mergers and acquisitions
In 1996, URS acquired Greiner Engineering for $73.5 million.[4] Greiner Engineering had been established in 1908 by John E. Greiner. Greiner was a former engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and worked at one time for Gustav Lindenthal, including on the Seventh Street Bridge.[5]
In November 2007, URS acquired Washington Group International for $3.1B and currently operates it as the "Energy and Construction Division".[citation needed]
On June 12, 2009, URS Chief Executive Officer Martin Koffel indicated the company is still on the hunt for "transformative acquistions". An analyst with Gabelli & Co. stated that KBR, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, and Foster Wheeler AG may be possible takeover targets.[6]
On September 10, 2010, URS completed its acquisition of the British engineering firm Scott Wilson Group.[7]
On June 2, 2011, URS completed its acquisition of Apptis Holdings, Inc. for a purchase price of $260 million in cash. [8]
Collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge
Main article: Collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridgeThe I-35W bridge in Minneapolis in 2007 collapsed killing 13 people and injuring 145. In 2003, URS was retained by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to conduct a fatigue evaluation and a redundancy analysis of the bridge. Lawsuits filed in 2008 and 2009 cite the company with negligence. In 2010 these lawsuits were settled out of court without the finding of negligence or wrong doing on the part of URS.[9]
In November 2008, The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the collapse of the I-35W bridge was the "inadequate load capacity, due to a design error by Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates, Inc., of the gusset plates at the U10 nodes, which failed under a combination of (1) substantial increases in the weight of the bridge, which resulted from previous modifications, and (2) the traffic and concentrated construction loads on the bridge on the day of the accident." URS was not involved in the work being conducted on the bridge at the time of the collapse or in the design of the bridge.[10][11][12]
See also
- Top 100 US Federal Contractors
References
- ^ "URS Corporation > About Us > History". http://www.urscorp.com/About_URS/index.php?s=2. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ "Fortune 500 2008: URS". Fortune. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/snapshots/10820.html. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ "Fortune 500 2010: Fortune 1000 Companies 201-300". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/full_list/201_300.html.
- ^ COMPANY NEWS-URS ACQUISITION OF GREINER IS PUT AT $73.5 MILLION, New York Times, January 12, 1996.
- ^ Weingardt, Richard (2005) (Google books). Engineering Legends. ASCE Publications. pp. 42–45. ISBN 9780784408018. http://books.google.com/books?id=035S8UOIzcEC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ URS Seeks ‘Transformative Acquisitions’ for Growth (Update2) - Bloomberg
- ^ MarketWatch.com
- ^ URS 0.01 : URS Completes Acquisition of Apptis Holdings, Inc. | 4-Traders
- ^ URS – Investor Relations - Financial Press Releases - Individual Releases
- ^ http://www.ntsb.gov/pressrel/2008/081114.html
- ^ Minnesota Bridge Engineering, Load Cited in Failure (Update2) - Bloomberg
- ^ URS – Investor Relations - Financial Press Releases - Individual Releases
External links
Categories:- Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
- Companies based in San Francisco, California
- Companies established in 1951
- Geotechnical engineering companies
- Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States
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