Improving Worldwide Living Standards Is Daily Business at Black & Veatch

(February 24, 2006, as appeared in the Kansas City Business Journal - National Engineers Week Supplement)
By Black & Veatch

National Engineers Week has adopted the theme "Engineers Make a World of Difference," which is extremely appropriate to Black & Veatch because its official mission statement is Building a World of Difference.® It is a statement the company has taken seriously since its establishment in 1915.

What does the phrase Building a World of Difference mean? Engineering companies certainly impact their local communities, but is it possible to affect the entire globe? To Black & Veatch, the answer is an emphatic "yes," and it has 90 years of activities on six continents to back that up. Building a World of Difference literally means making a measurable impact in more than 100 countries and improving the quality of life of millions of people.

For instance, a water supply and wastewater project in the Henan Province of China will dramatically affect 75 cities and villages, 2,700 schools and 259 medical facilities. Residents in Al Sadr City in northeast Baghdad no longer have to live with sewage in the streets after Black & Veatch completed a major rehabilitation project, logging 1 million man-hours in projects without a lost-time incident, a remarkable achievement for the volatile area. Through the use of portable "cellular on wheels" equipment and backup power sources, the hard-hit Gulf Coast states were able to carry life-saving communications following recent hurricanes.

Key Market Sectors
Building a World of Difference encompasses the energy, water, information and government markets served by Black & Veatch. In energy, the company is involved in more than 121,000 megawatts of power generation across the globe, more than any other company in the world. The company is a major player in nuclear design and is working on the next generation of safe nuclear reactors. It is an active partner in the Lungmen Nuclear Plant in Taiwan. In the United States, Black & Veatch is involved with more than 40 percent of active coal projects, including being awarded contracts on six projects during the last 12 months.

In water, 20 percent of the world's population drinks water each day through systems designed, constructed or supported by Black & Veatch. The company is a leader in converting salt water to potable water, as demonstrated at the Tuas Desalination Plant in Singapore. The company has also designed the two largest membrane filtration projects in the world and is leading a consortium of universities and other partners in research to fight waterborne pathogens.

In information, cell towers deployed by Black & Veatch now carry 5 million traffic hours daily, and the company has installed thousands of miles of fiber optic cable for the telecommunications industry. The government sector work includes missile defense projects in Alaska and the Marshall Islands, reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and nuclear weapons disarmament in Russia.

Being a Great Corporate Citizen
Black & Veatch believes in being a great corporate citizen. For 21 consecutive years, the company has been involved in the Christmas in October program, doing home improvement projects in the Kansas City area for those in need. More than 350 professionals volunteered their time last fall. In 2005, Kansas City-area professionals donated more than $600,000 to the United Way campaign, with more than $725,000 provided on a national level. The company also participates in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, the March of Dimes' WalkAmerica, the Corporate Challenge, Harvester's and various Salvation Army projects. Black & Veatch was also involved with tsunami and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, collecting clothing and money for disaster victims. Each of the 90 Black & Veatch offices around the world are similarly involved in community activities and practice great corporate citizenship.

Educating the Community
Engineering is a great career, and Black & Veatch is reaching out to students of all ages to demonstrate the impact they can have on helping to improve infrastructure and living standards worldwide. In elementary schools, kids learn about engineering and design through the Crayons to CAD program, while middle school students participate in the Future City Competition. Older students have access to engineering via the Explorers Post program.

For college students, Black & Veatch is an active recruiter of the top talent graduating from engineering schools at colleges and universities across the country and around the globe, and offers internships during the summer months for those pursuing engineering degrees.

Infrastructure that Impacts the World
Black & Veatch is involved in building the infrastructure that helps the world live and function. Whether through pure drinking water and safe sanitation, electricity at the flip of a switch, instant communications around the globe, or government security projects, keeping us safe from harm, the company takes these tasks seriously. For 7,000 worldwide professionals at Black & Veatch, Building a World of Difference is a way of life.

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