Black & Veatch is an engineering, procurement and construction firm founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1915 by Ernest Bateman Black and Nathan Thomas Veatch, two University of Kansas graduates. It specialized from the start in power generation and water infrastructure, moved its headquarters to Overland Park, Kansas in 1976, converted from a general partnership to an employee-owned corporation in 1999, and reported roughly 13,000 employees and $5.1 billion in revenue as of 2025. Its 22-acre Lamar Avenue campus is being redeveloped as a mixed-use district under a plan approved by the Overland Park city council in May 2026.

Summary

Ernest Bateman Black and Nathan Thomas Veatch, Jr. formed their partnership in August 1915 in Kansas City, Missouri, with 12 employees. 123 Both had grown up in Kansas, graduated from the University of Kansas, and worked previously for the J.S. Worley Company. 3 The firm’s early work was water systems, sewers, roads and electric lighting for small communities; its first federal contract, from the War Department during World War I, was the design and construction supervision of Camp Pike near Little Rock, Arkansas. 3

Over the following century the firm built a practice split between power generation and water and wastewater, expanded internationally from 1962–63 with the formation of Black & Veatch International, and became one of the larger U.S. design and construction firms. 13 As of 2025 it reported approximately 13,000 employees and $5.1 billion in revenue, ranked by Engineering News-Record as the 14th-largest design firm in the United States, and was described as the sixth-largest 100% employee-owned company in the country as of October 2025. 1

Founding and early work

The partnership’s first year produced two large contracts, one in power and one in water — the two markets that would define it. 2 Through the 1920s and 1930s the firm designed municipal waterworks, sewer systems and small generating plants across the Midwest. It survived the Depression on a mix of the Jackson County road program (the county-court era associated with Harry S. Truman) and utility rate studies generated by the 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act. 3

During World War II the firm supervised Army camp and airbase construction and performed classified work connected to atomic weapons development at Los Alamos, formalizing a Federal Division in 1946; it began work for the Atomic Energy Commission at Los Alamos in 1948. 13 Ernest Black died in 1949, leaving N.T. Veatch as sole owner until a 1956 reorganization re-established a multi-partner structure with Veatch as managing partner. 3 Veatch was appointed to President Truman’s Water Pollution Control Advisory Board in 1950. 1

Growth, headquarters and ownership

Black & Veatch’s offices tracked its growth across the state line. The firm occupied a Country Club Plaza office from 1935, built a custom two-story headquarters in 1956 (expanded with a third floor in 1963), and in 1976 opened a 276,000-square-foot building at 11401 Lamar Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas, which became its headquarters. 13 The Overland Park campus was expanded in 1996, and the company repurchased the building in 2009, designating it the World Headquarters. 1 A separate 8400 Ward Parkway headquarters building in Kansas City, opened in 1989 and expanded in 1996, served the firm during the same period. 3

The firm doubled in size between 1971 and 1975 and grew by acquisition thereafter — Trotter-Yoder & Associates and Southern Science Applications (1977), and the Pritchard Corporation with its PRICO liquefaction technology (1985). 31 In 1995 it merged with Britain’s Binnie & Partners, adding roughly 1,200 employees. 3

In 1999 Black & Veatch converted from a general partnership to an employee-owned corporation, the structure it retains. 1

Notable projects

  • Singapore-Tuas seawater desalination plant — Black & Veatch provided complete design and permitting services, plus construction, commissioning and operations support, for the US$90 million, 36-million-gallon-per-day plant, which supplies about 10% of Singapore’s water demand; it was named Desalination Plant of the Year at the 2006 Global Water Awards. 4
  • Taiwan nuclear units (1996) — as part of a General Electric–led consortium, the firm took a reported $1.8 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors for Taiwan Power Company. 3
  • Thailand power generation (1967) — an early international award for a 60-megawatt generating unit. 1
  • Schneider National zero-emission fleet charging depot (2023). 1
  • Missouri Hyperloop feasibility report (2018), produced with the University of Missouri. 1

Recent developments

Mario Azar became chairman and chief executive in 2022, succeeding Steve Edwards. 1 In 2021 the firm divested its Europe and Asia water businesses, which were acquired by the RSK Group and renamed Binnies — reversing the 1995 Binnie & Partners merger. 1 In 2023 it acquired Bird Electric Enterprises, LLC, adding about 600 employees and electrical construction capability, and in 2024 it stood up a global operational-technology cybersecurity practice. 1 The company announced in 2020 that it would stop taking on new coal-based projects. 1

On May 29, 2024, Black & Veatch announced a refined operating structure built around five client-facing units — Power Providers; Fuels and Natural Resources; Technology, Commercial and Industrial; Governments and Communities; and Strategic Advisory and Lifecycle Resiliency Services. The release put headcount at more than 12,000 as of the first quarter of 2024, a 17% year-over-year increase, and reported 24.5 million construction hours in 2023. 5

The largest recent local development is the redevelopment of the headquarters campus itself. On May 6, 2026, the Overland Park city council voted 12-0 to approve rezoning and development plans for “Overland Park Plaza II,” a $1.34 billion mixed-use conversion of the 22-acre, 11401 Lamar Avenue campus into roughly one million square feet including 788 multifamily units (700 apartments, 88 townhomes), a 250-room hotel, retail, and a 25,000-square-foot child care facility — with a new Black & Veatch headquarters building occupying the majority of the office space. 67 The developer sought $286.5 million in public incentives ($227.7 million in tax increment financing, $19.8 million from a 2% community improvement district sales tax, and $39 million in sales-tax exemption via economic development revenue bonds); council members noted that the rezoning approval did not commit the city to the incentive package. 6

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “Black & Veatch,” Wikipedia. Founding 1915 by Ernest Bateman Black and Nathan Thomas Veatch with 12 employees; Overland Park headquarters at 11401 Lamar Avenue (1976) and coordinates; 1948 Atomic Energy Commission work at Los Alamos; 1950 Veatch appointment to Truman’s Water Pollution Control Advisory Board; 1963 Black & Veatch International; 1967 Thailand 60-MW unit; 1985 Pritchard/PRICO acquisition; 1996 headquarters expansion; 1999 conversion from general partnership to employee-owned corporation; 2009 headquarters repurchase; 2020 coal-project cessation; 2021 divestiture of Europe and Asia water businesses to RSK Group (renamed Binnies); 2022 Mario Azar succession; 2023 Bird Electric acquisition (~600 employees); 2023 Schneider National charging depot; 2024 OT cybersecurity practice; ~13,000 employees and $5.1 billion revenue (2025); ENR 2025 rankings; sixth-largest 100% employee-owned U.S. company as of October 2025 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16

  2. “History,” Black & Veatch. 1915 founding by E.B. Black and N.T. Veatch, University of Kansas graduates; 12 employees and one office; power and water focus; “110 years” framing; more than ~13,000 employees worldwide ↩ ↩2

  3. “History of Black & Veatch LLP,” FundingUniverse. August 1915 partnership formation in Kansas City, Missouri; J.S. Worley Company background; Camp Pike War Department contract; Jackson County road work and 1935 utility rate studies; WWII camp/airbase and Los Alamos work; 1946 Federal Division; Ernest Black’s 1949 death and Veatch as sole owner; 1956 reorganization; 1971–75 doubling; 1976 Overland Park building (276,000 sq ft); 1977 Trotter-Yoder and Southern Science Applications acquisitions; 1985 Pritchard Corporation; 1989/1996 8400 Ward Parkway headquarters; 1995 Binnie & Partners merger (~1,200 employees); 1996 $1.8 billion Taiwan Power nuclear contract; 1935 Country Club Plaza and 1956/1963 headquarters buildings ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  4. “Black & Veatch-Designed Desalination Plant Wins Global Water Distinction,” Water Online. Singapore-Tuas Seawater Desalination Project; complete design and permitting services on the US$90 million project plus construction, commissioning and operation support; 36 million gallons per day; ~10% of Singapore’s national water demand; Desalination Plant of the Year, 2006 Global Water Awards ↩

  5. “Black & Veatch Expands Business Structure to Meet Increasing Client Demand for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions,” Black & Veatch news release, May 29, 2024. Five client-facing units named; Mario Azar quotes; more than 12,000 employees as of Q1 2024, a 17% year-over-year increase; 24.5 million construction hours in 2023; 100-percent employee-owned ↩

  6. “Incentive questions linger as Black & Veatch rededux gets greenlight,” Johnson County Post, May 6, 2026. Unanimous 12-0 council approval of rezoning and development plans; $1.34 billion project; $286.5 million incentive request broken into $227.7M TIF, $19.8M CID sales tax and $39M sales-tax exemption; 788 multifamily units (700 apartments, 88 townhomes); 250-room hotel; 25,000 sq ft child care facility; new Black & Veatch headquarters occupying the majority of office space; Councilmember Melissa Cheatham’s caveat on incentives ↩ ↩2

  7. “Revised Black & Veatch HQ makeover plan in OP gets greenlight,” Johnson County Post, April 27, 2026. 22-acre property at 11401 Lamar Ave.; “Overland Park Plaza II”; approximately 750,000 of 1 million square feet as Black & Veatch’s new headquarters; five-phase buildout; removal of the originally proposed public park ↩

See also

Categories
  • Concept
  • Industry
  • Wwi
  • Postwar
  • Modern

On the record — ks.city/wiki/industrial-history/black-and-veatch · last revised 2026-08-13