Bechtel Corporation

• Date founded: 1898
• Industry: engineering; construction; project management
• Corporate headquarters: Reston, Virginia
• Type: Private

Overview

Bechtel Corporation is a global engineering, construction, procurement, and project management company known for its many high-profile projects, including the Hoover Dam and the Channel Tunnel. Based in Reston, Virginia, it is among the largest US construction companies. It is also one of America’s Largest Private Companies and one of the best employers for veterans according to Forbes.

The company is family-owned under the leadership of Brendan Bechtel. Bechtel employed over 50,000 people in almost fifty countries in the mid-2020s. Bechtel’s corporate leadership was based in multiple locations with offices worldwide.

History

W.A. Bechtel founded the family business with the intention of creating a legacy he could pass down to his children. He and his wife, Clara, left Peabody, Kansas, in 1898, when he was twenty-five years old and almost broke. He worked as a laborer on the railroads in the Oklahoma Territory. In 1899, the family—including his younger brother Arthur—moved to Oregon.

W.A. Bechtel worked for Southern Pacific Railroad. Eventually, he headed construction of the Richmond Belt Railroad and the Santa Fe Railroad in 1904. He became an independent contractor in 1906 with a subcontract on a Western Pacific Line project. He insisted his new construction company, W.A. Bechtel Co., be innovative and purchased the newest equipment—gasoline-powered trucks and a steam shovel.

Bechtel’s first large contract was a grading project in California for Western Pacific. Though he was barely making ends meet and needed a friend to vouch for his credit, he made a profit in the end. He continued to land subcontract railroad work in the West and suddenly found himself wealthy. His success led the owners of the Utah Construction Co. in Salt Lake City, the Wattis brothers, to invite him to work as partners. Bechtel and the Wattises worked together for decades.

As the company grew, so did the Bechtel family. In addition to W.A. and his brother, Art, W.A.’s sons—Warren Jr., Steve, and Ken—were also involved. The younger Bechtels served during World War I (1914–1918), then returned to supervise projects. In 1925, Bechtel formally incorporated the company.

In 1928, the project known as the Hoover Dam was approved by President Calvin Coolidge. The massive project required a $2 million bond for bidders, which was beyond the reach of most companies. A consortium known as Six Companies, Inc., put in a bid and was awarded the construction contract. The six members were Morrison-Knudsen Company, Utah Construction Company, Pacific Bridge Company, Henry J. Kaiser and W.A. Bechtel Company, McDonald and Kahn Ltd., and J.F. Shea Company. The consortium also won the contract to build a town to house workers. During construction, W.A. Bechtel died in Moscow while on a tour of the Soviet Union.

Following the success of the Hoover Dam project, the W.A. Bechtel Company worked on many other government jobs launched by the US Works Progress Administration to alleviate unemployment during the Great Depression. Bechtel constructed several dams and other projects, including building the eastern span of the Bay Bridge linking San Francisco and Oakland, California.

Steve Bechtel created the subsidiary Industrial Engineering Co., which made and applied a new coating to pipes to reduce corrosion. The company further diversified. The S.D. Bechtel Co. pursued engineering, management, and construction contracts in the petroleum industry, while the W.A. Bechtel Co. remained in charge of earthmoving projects, such as highway construction. Steve Bechtel later formed a new company, Bechtel-McCone-Parsons Corp. (BMP), to build refineries. He also anticipated the growth of the petroleum industry in the Middle East and the need for ships to transport fuel. His predictions were on target, and when World War II (1939–1945) swept across Europe, BMP won contracts to build cargo ships for Britain and the US Navy. Bechtel’s Calship shipyard in Los Angeles Harbor built cargo ships as well as Victory ships and tankers. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ken Bechtel established another shipyard, Marinship, in Sausalito, California. Other Bechtel projects included restoring military jeeps and modifying airplanes and building military bases.

In 1945, Steve Bechtel consolidated W.A. Bechtel Co. and BMP as Bechtel Brothers McCone Co. (BBM). The energy industry, including pipelines and power work for Southern California Edison (SCE), occupied much of the company’s attention. After briefly retiring, Steve Bechtel returned at his brothers’ urging and restructured the company again.

Steve Bechtel retired in 1960, turning the business over to his son, Steve Bechtel Jr. The new company head restructured management and organization. New projects included a saltwater conversion plant, which provided the first fresh water for St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands.

While Bechtel pioneered the growth of nuclear power plants in the United States and elsewhere, the company also suffered from the industry’s demise. The Three Mile Island plant accident in Pennsylvania in 1979 changed the public’s perception of nuclear energy. Bechtel oversaw the cleanup of Three Mile Island and went on to develop new technologies, such as converting natural gas to gasoline and waste to energy.

In 2024, Bechtel signed a contract to build the Woodside, Louisiana, liquefied natural gas terminal, set to be a major contributor to the Gulf Coast’s liquefied natural gas production. The same year, it was selected to design and construct the Copperton Phase 2 Solar project, one of the world’s largest copper mines, as part of its sustainability initiatives.

However, some scandals also occurred in the 2020s. The company faced scrutiny of its performance after missing deadlines and exceeding its budget for NASA's Mobile Launcher 2 project.

Impact

Many of Bechtel’s projects have made lasting impacts around the world. The Hoover Dam alleviated flooding of the Colorado River and generated electricity. It and many other dam projects provided drinking water and power across the West.

Bechtel was among the first companies to support and develop nuclear power plants. By the mid-1980s, Bechtel was credited with half the nuclear power plants in developing countries and more than 40 percent of those in the United States.

Pipelines, one of the main focuses of the company, impacted communities and nations around the world. For example, oil was transported via pipeline from the Arctic to refineries in the southern United States. This oil was crucial to North America during the oil crisis of the 1970s.

Major projects, including the Trans-Arabian pipeline, transformed Saudi Arabia. Bechtel also built highways in the desert. New pipelines enabled the country to transport its oil riches to seaports and around the world.

Late in the twentieth century, Bechtel’s Scientific and Nuclear Development Department worked for the US space program. Bechtel engineers also developed refining and recovery processes, which separated oil from sand and were used in open-pit copper mines. The company also built a plant to export liquefied natural gas from Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

Bechtel took on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District project in San Francisco, designing and constructing a 71.5-mile double-track line, including a 3.8-mile tunnel under San Francisco Bay. BART has relieved highway congestion and has since been extended.

In the 2020s, Bechtel outlined several key sustainability goals to support widespread clean energy implementation and sustainability initiatives. Collaborating with Energy Resources Australia, Bechtel’s Ranger Mine Rehabilitation Project aimed to evaluate the possibilities of rehabilitating the defunct uranium mine called Ranger Mine. For example, to support clean energy development, the company’s copper mining projects include the QB2 Project at Teck’s Quebrada Blanca copper mine and the infrastructure project at the Los Pelambres mine, both in Chile. The company also emphasized the importance of infrastructure, like wind and solar facilities, that connects communities and supports clean energy transitions.

Bibliography

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“Bechtel Report 2022.” Bechtel, 2023, www.bechtel.com/Bechtel/media/html/Bechtel-Report-2021/index.html. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

“Hoover Dam.” US Bureau of Reclamation, 12 Mar. 2015, www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/damfaqs.htmll. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

“Impact Report.” Bechtel, 2023, impact.bechtel.com/2022/assets/pdf/Bechtel-Impact-Report.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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“The Men of Six Companies.” PBS/American Experience, pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/hoover-companies. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Sangeorge, Robert. “Bechtel Engineer and Company Clash over TMI.” UPI, 23 Mar. 1983, www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/23/Bechtel-engineer-and-company-clash-over-TMI/4299417243600. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Strupp, Julie. "Bechtel Signs New Contract on $27B Louisiana LNG Terminal." Construction Dive, 10 Dec. 2024, www.constructiondive.com/news/bechtel-louisiana-lng-woodside-driftwood-construction/735097. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Swanson, Sandra A. “The Royal Commission and Bechtel Corp., Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia.” Project Management Institute, Feb. 2010, www.pmi.org/learning/library/royal-commission-bechtel-corp-infrastructure-project-2482

Tully, Shawn. “Meet the Private Company That Has Changed the Face of the World.” Fortune, 17 May 2016, fortune.com/bechtel-construction. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Wood, Molly. “One of the Most Powerful Unknowns: The Bechtel Corporation.” Marketplace, 7 Apr. 2016, www.marketplace.org/2016/04/07/one-most-powerful-unknowns-bechtel-corporation. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.