URS Corporation
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| 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.
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[edit] 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]
[edit] 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]
[edit] Collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge
The I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed in August of 2007, 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]
[edit] Cable failure of Minneapolis Sabo pedestrian bridge
The Martin Olav Sabo Bridge over Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis experienced failure of two if its longest support cables on February 20, 2012. URS Corporation was the design consultant for the bridge that was completed in 2007. These failures resulted in closures of Hiawatha Avenue and the adjacent light rail between Mall of America and downtown Minneapolis for safety precautions while support structures were put in place. Rail service was restored after four days while Hiawatha Avenue road traffic remained closed for staging of construction equipment.[13] This failure occurred less than 18 months after URS Corporation settled for $54.2 million in response to lawsuits brought by victims of the Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse.[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] 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. June 12, 2009. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJD6ms7nbPH0.
- ^ 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. November 13, 2008. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aM5VGT6j0iJo&refer=us.
- ^ URS – Investor Relations - Financial Press Releases - Individual Releases
- ^ [1]-Firm to look into failure of cables on Martin Sabo bridge, StarTribune.com, February 22, 2012.
- ^ [2]-Engineering firm agrees to pay damages for bridge collapse, Legalbrief Today, August 25, 2010.
