KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Continued service diversification and movement toward sustainability and integrated delivery models helped Burns & McDonnell maintain a strong standing among the nation’s leading design and construction firms. Burns & McDonnell had a record-breaking sales year in 2020, with $5.3 billion in sales, the support of nearly 15,000 projects and hiring more than 600 employees. This helped the firm maintain the No. 9 spot on the 2021 annual survey of Top 500 Design Firms by Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine.

“When the pandemic hit, the change in our markets was quick and drastic, so we had to pivot resources to the markets that were in demand — logistics, food and consumer products, and mission-critical, specifically,” says Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. “The diversity of our services allowed us to recover from the severe decline in the oil/gas markets to the markets where the work was. We continue to uncover solutions to the numerous challenges the pandemic is presenting to our clients and communities.  With our strong sales in the last few months, we anticipate growing by more than 10% in 2021.”

The continued movement to sustainability and carbon neutrality is driving massive investments in renewable energy. Heightened demand for electrical transmission, distribution and generation services propelled Burns & McDonnell to a No. 1 ranking in the Power category for the sixth consecutive year.

“We are seeing many more integrated project delivery opportunities in the markets we serve,” says John Olander, COO and president of the firm’s Transmission & Distribution Group. “The urgency of necessary critical infrastructure repairs, updates and upgrades to power and water infrastructure, airports, roads and bridges is driving the trend toward an integrated approach, such as engineer-procure-construct (EPC) and design-build, in every sector. We continue to see increased alternative project delivery opportunities in the water, commercial and transportation sectors, especially where the needle had been slower to move toward an EPC and design-build solution.”

This year’s ranking is the fourth top-10 distinction within the Top 500 Design Firms in the firm’s history. The firm ranked No. 36 in the Top 50 Designers in International Markets.

Along with its No. 1 ranking in Power, Burns & McDonnell ranks among the top 20 firms in five categories, including:

• No. 6 in Manufacturing
• No. 16 in Sewer and Waste
• No. 8 in Industrial Process/Petroleum
• No. 18 in Hazardous Waste
• No. 4 in Telecommunications

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 7,600 engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities with more than 60 offices globally. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.