Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech, Inc. was founded in 1966 as Water Management Group of Tetra Tech Inc.,[2] by four individuals in Pasadena, California, to provide engineering services to waterways, harbors, and coastal areas.[3] The company has increased its size and scope of business substantially through internal growth and strategic acquisitions.[4]

During its early years, the company designed waterway structures at harbors, ports, and marinas; supported water quality control projects; supported oil and gas exploration projects; and calculated the effects of offshore military activities for the Department of Defense.

In 1977 Tetra Tech offered common stock on the American Stock Exchange and used this capital to expand its services, from developing methods to predict the level and frequency of floods and causes of acid rain to environmental impact studies of gas pipeline construction and installing Hydro Products equipment for the U.S. Navy.[3] By 1979, Tetra Tech was helping to analyze data used in exploring Alaska's North Slope for oil.[2]

In 1982 Honeywell, Inc. purchased Tetra Tech's U.S. operations and another group acquired Tetra Tech International.[3] Under Honeywell, Tetra Tech's engineering services, especially environmental, grew steadily. The company phased out gas exploration and related products and phased in data systems.[3]

In 1988 Honeywell sold Tetra Tech's engineering division to a group of company employees. Dr. Li-San Hwang, who joined the company in 1967, led the new independent Tetra Tech.[5] Honeywell retained the data systems division and a Tetra Tech co-founder to head it. Since its split from Honeywell, the company has grown from 300 employees to more than 13,000.[2]

In 1991 Tetra Tech issued 1.4 million shares of stock on the NASDAQ exchange.[6] The cash infusion permitted more acquisitions of engineering firms specializing in water resources (urban drainage and flood control), civil engineering (bridges and waterway design), environmental restoration, and hazardous waste cleanup.[3] Gross revenues totaled $96.5 million by 1994.[7]

During the early 2000s, the company's environmental remediation and water services continued to grow. There was also a transition in executive leadership. In 2005 Dr. Hwang retired, and Dan Batrack, who joined Tetra Tech in the early 1980s, became CEO.[8]

The remainder of the decade to 2014 involved growth by acquiring firms in Canada, Australia, and South America in its core (water and infrastructure) and new markets (mining and energy). Tetra Tech also acquired firms that provided international development services to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). These new acquisitions focused on implementing sustainable strategies for water, energy, and the environment in Africa, Asia, and South America and facilitating stability and growth in countries in the aftermath of social conflicts or failed governing institutions.[3]

In 2016 Tetra Tech commemorated its 50th anniversary.[9] As part of the Company's anniversary it launched the Global Clean Water Fund grant program in partnership with Engineers Without Borders. Tetra Tech donated $50,000 to 6 projects around the world that provided clean, safe water for communities in need.[10] Tetra Tech also celebrated 25 years as a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ Stock Market Exchange in December 2016.[11]

Beginning in 2017 Tetra Tech expanded its sustainable infrastructure design practice.[1] Tetra Tech acquired two sustainable infrastructure companies in 2017 and 2018 with reach across the western United States, Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, the United Kingdom, and Canada.[12]

In January 2018 Tetra Tech acquired an aviation technology solutions firm that expands Tetra Tech's aerospace data analytics, environmental and acoustic consulting, and 3-dimensional airspace visualization capabilities for federal and commercial aviation customers.[13]

In July 2019 Tetra Tech acquired UK-based engineering firm WYG, expanding Tetra Tech’s geographic presence and advancing Tetra Tech’s strategy to be a premier global high-end consulting, engineering, and program management firm.

Headquartered in Pasadena, California, Tetra Tech has more than 20,000 associates in 450 offices worldwide.[1] Its clients include a diverse base of international, U.S. state and local government, U.S. federal government, U.S. commercial, and international clients. No single client, except for U.S. federal government clients, accounted for more than 10 percent of the company's revenue in fiscal 2017.[1]

The company is organized in two business groups: Government Services Group (GSG) and Commercial/International Services Group (CIG).[1]

In 2016, Tetra Tech was accused of faking soil sample results in San Francisco, California, after the U.S. Navy identified 386 “anomalous” soil sample results out of the more than 25,000 taken at Hunters Point Shipyard over the past 20 years.[14] In April 2018, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency comments, released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), suggested that between 90 and 97 percent of the soil sample results were "neither reliable nor defensible."[15] Also in April, Tetra Tech responded that both conclusions were inaccurate and offered to pay for independent re-testing. Tetra Tech CEO Dan Batrack said, “We believe that any concerns can be directly addressed by actually re-testing and analyzing the areas in question.”[16]

In May 2018, two former supervisors involved in the cleanup of radioactive contaminants at the old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard pleaded guilty to falsifying soil sample results.[17] In January 2019, the U.S. Justice Department sued Tetra Tech, accusing the engineering company of submitting false billing claims to the U.S. Navy that were based on falsified soil and building test data.

In July 2019, the San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure Commission approved initial plans for the construction of more homes at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, citing the California Department of Public Health’s certification that the area is clean and safe for residents. [18] [19]