Jacobs Associates and McMillen LLC Announce Intent to Merge

Jacobs Associates and Boise, Idaho-based engineering and construction firm McMillen LLC announced Nov. 4 that the two firms intend to merge. McMillen Jacobs Associates will have a staff of 380, working out of 19 offices across North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

“Since first sitting down to discuss a possible merger, we found our core values and company cultures are very similar and compatible. Both firms emphasize technical excellence and client relationships,” said Jacobs Associates president Dan Adams. “We each have a high level of engineering and management expertise and complement one another well. Unifying our businesses and beliefs will allow us to better serve our clients and provide expanded opportunities for our employees, particularly in the design-build arena.”

“We have always believed it’s about putting our clients first, not about getting bigger,” explains McMillen president Mara McMillen. “By merging with Jacobs Associates, we can now offer expanded technical capabilities from staff we highly respect. The merger also enables us to geographically expand our self-performing construction group. One integrated company increases our employees’ opportunities to build their careers in a broader range of disciplines and to become stockholders in the company.”

Jacobs Associates has focused primarily on detailed design and construction engineering in the heavy civil underground market since it started doing business in 1954. Merging with McMillen LLC helps Jacobs Associates achieve three of its strategic initiatives: growing construction management, redefining how design-build is delivered, and diversifying beyond tunnels. McMillen LLC, which was founded in 2004, is an environmental, engineering, and heavy civil self-performing construction firm with close ties to the hydroelectric infrastructure and water resources industries. Merging with Jacobs Associates will expand McMillen’s geographical reach as well as strengthen its engineering capabilities in rock mechanics, grouting, and underground structures.