Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Consulting, Engineering services
Founded	1966 (1966)
Founder	Nicholas Boratynski, Henri Hodara, Bernard LeMéhauté, Don Stern
Headquarters	Pasadena, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Dan Batrack (CEO)
Products	Consulting, engineering, program management, construction management
Number of employees	30000 (2023)
Website	www.tetratech.com

Tetra Tech, Inc. is an American consulting and engineering services company headquartered in Pasadena, California. It provides expertise in consulting, engineering, program management, and construction management within sectors such as water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development.

History

Established in 1966 by Nicholas Boratynski, Henri Hodara, Bernard LeMéhauté, and Don Stern, Tetra Tech originally concentrated on waterway engineering, water quality management, support for oil and gas exploration, and projects for the Department of Defense.

The firm went public on the American Stock Exchange in 1977 to finance growth into areas including flood forecasting, acid rain studies, environmental impact evaluations, and military equipment installations. By 1979, it was conducting data analysis related to oil exploration activities in Alaska’s North Slope region.

In 1982, Honeywell acquired Tetra Tech’s U.S. operations while the international division was purchased separately. The company transitioned from focusing on gas exploration products to specializing in data systems. In 1988, Honeywell divested the engineering segment back to Tetra Tech employees under the leadership of Dr. Li-San Hwang. Following this spin-off, the workforce expanded from 300 employees to more than 14,000 by 2014.

The company became listed on Nasdaq in 1991, securing capital to pursue acquisitions in water resources engineering, civil engineering, environmental remediation, and hazardous waste management. By 1994, revenues had climbed to $96.5 million.

Dr. Hwang retired in 2005 with Dan Batrack succeeding him as CEO. In celebration of its 50th anniversary and a quarter-century as a publicly traded entity on Nasdaq in 2016, Tetra Tech partnered with Engineers Without Borders to launch the Global Clean Water Fund, contributing $50,000 to six international clean water initiatives.

Acquisitions

Between 2010 and 2014, Tetra Tech expanded its footprint through acquisitions across Canada, Australia, and South America, emphasizing sectors such as water resources, infrastructure development, mining operations, and energy projects. The company also integrated firms specializing in international development services for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aiming to support sustainable water management, energy solutions, and environmental programs across Africa, Asia, and South America to foster post-conflict stability.

Notable acquisitions include Coffey International (October 2015), Glumac (October 2017), Bridgenet and Norman Disney & Young (January 2018), as well as White Young Green—a UK-based consultancy acquired in 2019 and rebranded as Tetra Tech by 2021. In February 2021, Tetra Tech added Coanda Research and Development Corporation to its portfolio; this firm specializes in engineering consulting with strengths in computational fluid dynamics and data analytics.

Additional strategic purchases during 2021 encompassed IBRA-RMAC Automation Systems (focused on digital water infrastructure), The Kaizen Company (international development), Hoare Lea from the UK (sustainable engineering design), and Enterprise Automation (consulting on digital transformation within water systems).

In April 2022, Tetra Tech was granted a patent for its innovative Volans 3D animation and visualization software. That year also included the acquisition of The Integration Group of Americas (TIGA), a systems integration enterprise.

In January 2023, Tetra Tech completed its largest acquisition to date with the $691 million purchase of RPS Group—a British environmental consulting firm. That same month saw the acquisition of Amyx, Inc., a cybersecurity and technology company based in Reston, Virginia. Early in 2024, the company further extended its presence within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sector by acquiring LS Technologies followed by Convergence Controls & Engineering, a specialist in industrial automation technology integration.

These acquisitions underscore Tetra Tech’s strategic focus on broadening its global capabilities across consulting services, engineering expertise, digital innovation, and sustainable infrastructure development.

Operations

Based in Pasadena, California, Tetra Tech employs approximately 30,000 individuals working across 550 offices worldwide. Its client portfolio spans international organizations, U.S. federal, state, and local government entities, as well as commercial industries. Apart from contracts with the U.S. federal government, no individual client contributed more than 10% of the company's revenue during fiscal year 2017.

The organization is structured into two primary divisions: the Government Services Group (GSG) and the Commercial/International Services Group (CIG).

Soil sample controversy

In 2016, Tetra Tech was accused of manipulating soil sample data at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard site in San Francisco after the U.S. Navy identified 386 questionable samples among more than 25,000 collected over twenty years. By April 2018, the EPA indicated that between 90% and 97% of the soil samples might be unreliable. Tetra Tech challenged these assertions and proposed financing independent retesting efforts. CEO Dan Batrack highlighted the company’s commitment to resolving these issues through comprehensive re-examination.

In May 2018, two former supervisors who had participated in the remediation project admitted guilt for fabricating soil sample information. Subsequently, in January 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Tetra Tech alleging submission of fraudulent billing claims to the Navy based on false test results.

Despite these controversies, in July 2019, San Francisco’s Office of Community Investment authorized additional residential development at Hunters Point, supported by certification from the California Department of Public Health confirming the area’s safety for inhabitants.