Beca Group Limited
TypePrivate
IndustryProfessional Services Consultancy
Founded1920
FounderArthur Gray
HeadquartersAuckland
Number of locations
25
Area served
Asia-Pacific
Key people
Amelia Linzey (CEO)
RevenueNZD $541.2 million (2018)
Number of employees
4,000
Websitewww.beca.com

Beca Group Limited (generally referred to as Beca) is one of the largest employee-owned professional services consultancy firms in the Asia-Pacific. The company has more than 4,000 staff working across 25 offices around the globe, with headquarters located in Auckland, New Zealand.[1]

History

Beca was founded in 1920 by Arthur Gray on his return to New Zealand after World War I, where he purchased an engineering practice that would later become Gray and Watts, then Gray Watts & Beca. A merger with Wellington firm Hollings & Ferner in 1968 formed Beca, Carter, Hollings & Ferner, with the firm eventually known as Beca Group Ltd.[2]

The company's name reflects the contribution of George Beca, CBE, DFC, D.Eng (Hon) (1921–2001), who joined the partnership of Gray and Watts in the early 1950s and led the firm for many years.[3] Beca has had several name changes following amalgamations. Beca Steven existed from 1989 to 2001 after amalgamation of Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner with Steven Fitzmaurice & Partners.

Earthquake Engineering

Beca has a long-standing reputation for excellence in earthquake engineering. John Hollings (founding partner of Hollings & Ferner) is regarded as the 'father of capacity design',[4] with his design for the Jerningham Apartment building in Wellington (completed in 1968) demonstrating the 'strong columns, weak beams' design philosophy that is the foundation for modern earthquake resilience in structures and features in almost all international seismic design codes.

The company was the engineer for the world's first base isolated structure: the South Rangitikei Viaduct, a 78 metre high, 315 metres long concrete railway viaduct completed in 1981, where the piers can 'step' up to 13cm off their foundations under earthquake loads, dissipating the earthquake's energy without causing any major structural damage.[5]

More recently, Beca's seismic retrofit work has been recognised with major international structural engineering awards, including the retrospective base isolation of lift shafts at Victoria University of Wellington's Rankine Brown Library[6] and seismic retrofit of 8 Willis Street,[7][8] an office building in central Wellington.

Awards

Beca was named the Best Provider to Power & Utilities sector at the 2019 Financial Review Client Choice Awards.[9]

2018[10]

  • Best Consulting Engineering Firm (revenue > $200 million)
  • Best Provider to the Government & Community sector, joint win
  • Best Provider to the Power & Utilities sector
  • Most Client-focused Practitioner – Hamish Denize

2017[11]

  • Best Professional Services Firm (revenue > $200 million), joint win
  • Best Consulting Engineering Firm (revenue > $200 million), joint win
  • Market Leader: New Zealand

2015[12]

  • Market Leader
  • Best New Zealand firm
  • Best Provider to the Power & Utilities sector
  • Best Professional Services sector provider
  • Best Property sector provider

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Beca". Beca. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  2. ↑ "The global transformation of Beca". stuff.co.nz. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: George Beca". New Zealand Herald. 1 June 2001. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Fardis, Michael (July 2018). "Capacity Design: Early History". Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics. 47 (14): 2887–2896. Bibcode:2018EESD...47.2887F. doi:10.1002/eqe.3110. S2CID 116644193 – via Wiley Online Library.
  5. ↑ "Innovative KiwiRail bridge recognised". KiwiRail. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "Rankine Brown Library - The Institution of Structural Engineers". www.istructe.org. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "8 Willis Street - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "8 Willis Street: Winner 2023". The Institution of Structural Engineers. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "2019 Client Choice Awards Winners". Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "2018 Client Choice Awards Winners". Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Be nice, be honest: how KMPG, Nous, GTA and Beca win and keep clients". Financial Review. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "2015 Client Choice Awards Finalists and Winners". Retrieved 28 March 2019.
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