Indiana and New York Architects Merge

June 19, 2012

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - RW Armstrong, a global engineering consulting, design management, and architecture firm based in Indianapolis, Ind., announced that it has completed a merger agreement with CHA Consulting, Inc. (CHA), a full-service infrastructure engineering and planning firm headquartered in Albany, NY. The alliance creates a combined force of more than 1,200 employees in 46 offices in the U.S., Canada, the Middle East, North Africa, and Azerbaijan. The merger is expected to create a workforce of 2,000 by 2016. Both firms will continue to operate under their own names.

RW Armstrong and CHA are two of the largest design firms in the U.S., both consistently ranking in the top 200 of Engineering News-Record’s annual top 500 design firms. Combined revenues position the firm to advance into the top 60. The merger creates a firm that offers full-spectrum architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) capabilities from planning and urban design to power and energy; aviation and rail to water services; and roads, bridges and highways to stadiums and higher education.

“This merger unites two firms with a common strategic vision, passion and a powerhouse of talent,” said Jim Wade, RW Armstrong’s President. “Our clients, whether they’re in Austin or Abu Dhabi, may have very different needs but share one common objective: they’re increasingly reliant on their AEC partners to deliver more than just on-time, on-budget results. Their success depends on our ability to be innovative and agile, to help them deliver exceptional value to their clients. The talent we’ve assembled has upped our game exponentially and will help us set the bar in our national and global markets.”

“On both sides, our employees are as dedicated to helping each other as they are to helping our clients,” said Ray Rudolph, CEO of CHA. “This drive to succeed, paired with a more-comprehensive mix of services and greater depth and breadth of talent, and positions us to meet our clients’ complex business challenges, regardless of market. Not only does this merger benefit our clients, but it opens up exciting new personal and professional development opportunities for our employees around the world.”

RW Armstrong's advisory team was led by Infrastructure Services banker Stephen Clarke, a Managing Director at Morgan Joseph TriArtisan LLC, and Brian Fennerty, a Partner at Faegre Baker Daniels. Anthony Norris and Sachin Shah of Ropes & Gray were the legal advisors for CHA.

About RW Armstrong

RW Armstrong is a global engineering consulting, design management, and architecture firm that brings dynamic thinking and strategic vision to clients around the world. Founded in 1961 in Indianapolis, Ind., the firm has grown to 500 employees and 16 offices in the U.S., Middle East, North Africa, and Azerbaijan. RW Armstrong is a single-source provider, delivering planning, design, architecture, project/construction management, building services, planning and urban design, and environmental planning services. The firm serves aviation, water services, municipal, transportation, Department of Defense, government, and developer markets. For more information, visit www.rwArmstrong.com.

About CHA

CHA Consulting, Inc., headquartered in Albany, NY, is a highly diversified, full service engineering firm providing a wide range of planning and design services to public and private clients throughout the U.S. and Canada. CHA was selected by Engineering News-Record / New York as their 2012 Design Firm of the Year. Founded in 1952 the firm has more than 730 employees in 30 offices from Maine to Florida to Texas. CHA serves a diverse range of end markets including transportation, utilities, rail, energy, aviation, environmental, education, industrial, health care, and municipal. For more information, visit www.CHACompanies.com.

Source: RW Armstrong