The RETEC Group

The RETEC Group was an American environmental management consulting and engineering firm. The company provided services in the environmental and business sectors, including transportation, manufacturing, oil and gas, government, and electric utility. [http://rejournal.com/nj/sections/news/NJNews.aspx?newsID=7990 "Rejournal News" Rejournal Commercial/Investment Real Estate] accessed 03/18/2008]

In 1985, 12 employees from another environmental consulting firm, which had just replaced its management team, founded The RETEC Group. These 12 founders were located in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. 17 years later, the company employed over 600 people in 23 offices throughout the United StatesClark, Judith F., and Robert J. Allison. MASSACHUSETTS From Colony to Commonwealth. United States of America: American Historical P, 2002. 318-319] . In January 2007, RETEC was acquired by AECOM Technology Corporation.

Overview

After founding the company in 1985, the 12 employee founders opened three office locations (Concord, Pittsburgh, and Ft. Collins). Each of the 12 founders, along with four external board members, helped fund the initial startup of the firm. With no backlog and only enough cash to sustain operations for six months, they hoped the business venture would prove successful. In 2001 THE RETEC GROUP reported revenues of $115 million.

Along with financial success in 2001, the firm had these additional distinctions in the U.S.:
* 45th largest environmental firm
* 14th largest all-environmental firm
* 17th largest firm in hazardous waste work
* 19th largest in fossil fuel work
* 21st largest in refinery and petrochemical plant work

In 2002, the company had grown from the original 12 to 600 employees and from 3 to 23 offices in the U.S. from Seattle to Concord. This resulted in a compounded average annual growth rate of 25 percent since their second full year of operation. This rate was continually above the average growth rate for the industry.

In January 2007, THE RETEC GROUP was acquired by AECOM Technology Corporation, a principal global provider of professional technical and management support services in transportation, facilities and the environmental market.

Focus

RETEC considered itself a competitor in the national environmental market. Their focuses included :

* On-site remediation of difficult-to-treat wastes (coal tars and oily residuals)
* Using technologies for separation (biotreatment and thermal treatment)
* Operations and maintenance services at client sites
* Environmental consulting
* Management consulting related to best practices

Before their acquisition, the company worked with major national utilities such as:

* Coal-tar cleanup of manufactured gas plants
* Petroleum refiners (oily residuals from up-stream production and downstream refining)
* Railroads (diesel spills, tie-treating operations)

Major projects

* The Kendall Square Redevelopment project, Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Remediation of BP Carson Refinery, Carson, California
* Brownfield Development of BP Refinery, Casper, Wyoming

Official acquisition

A press release on January 29, 2007 announced the official acquisition of RETEC. RETEC was acquired by AECOM, and put into the subsidiary of ENSR, another environmental firm [ [http://www.ensr.aecom.com/NewsMedia/51/53/index.html "AECOM Acquires RETEC" ENSR|AECOM] accessed 03/18/2008] .

References