KBR

The overview

Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) is one of the world’s largest engineering, construction and services companies supporting the energy, hydrocarbons, government services and civil-engineering infrastructure sectors. The firm has a distinct American identity having originated from companies that began in New York and Houston, Texas.

Now headquartered in Houston, its business operations span Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and its global workforce totals over 35,000 people. In the UK, the firm has offices in Leatherhead, Surrey, and in Greenford, Middlesex.

Business lines and services

Globally, the firm provides a range of services to various markets from ten business units. In the UK, there are six:

• Government and infrastructure
• Services
• Upstream
• Technology
• Downstream
• Ventures.

Services provided in these business lines

• Construction and design and build
• Engineering (engineering and process technologies for ‘grassroot and revamp projects’ and front end engineering designs)
• Lifecycle services (process improvement)
• Logistics
• Operations and maintenance (including facilities management)
• Procurement
• Project and programme management (including construction management and risk management)

Key markets

KBR operates in a number of different markets, including:

• Civil infrastructure: including the aviation, renewable energy, transportation and water sectors
• Government and defence
• Hydrocarbons: the biofuels, carbon capture and storage, chemicals, coal gasification, gas-to-liquids (GTL), liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil and gas, petrochemicals, refining, and syngas and fertilizers sectors.
• Industrial: including the chemical and pulp and paper sectors
• Mining and minerals: including the coal and iron ore sectors
• Power

The firm’s client base includes national and international oil and gas companies, independent refiners, and petrochemical and fertiliser producers. It is particularly proud of its experience in the government and defence sector in the US and the UK. In the UK it has been involved in (and is currently completing) projects for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and both the Home, and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices.

Areas of strength

KBR is a strong player in the gas-to-liquids (GTL) and liquified natural gas (LNG) markets. It is currently working on what will be the largest GTL complex in the world in Ras Laffan, Qatar. It has also provided project management and consultancy services in preparation for some high profile events, including the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Investment and asset management experience

Through its ‘Ventures’ business unit, KBR provides investment and asset management services to projects where it has a direct role in engineering, construction, construction management or operations and maintenance. It has also gained experience in Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects, having helped to develop and finance some of the earliest toll roads in the US and the UK. In the UK it has expanded into military PFI-based projects. For example, it raised £1.6 billion in capital for the MoD’s Project Allenby/Connaught, a 35-year project to provide construction and support services for British soldiers’ working and living accommodations. KBR is now a joint owner of the special purpose company to see this project through.

Expanding its capabilities

KBR differentiates itself as a technology-driven firm, paying tribute to its roots in the M.W. Kellogg Ltd. company, which emerged as a pioneer in engineering technology. Other KBR capabilities originate from Brown and Root, which specialised in road construction before moving into major infrastructure and energy projects. Since the firms merged in the late 1990s, KBR has continued to strengthen its range of businesses for various markets.

KBR is particularly proud of its experience in the government and defence sector.

It is now attempting to be a global ‘contractor of choice’ through making strategic expansions to its capabilities and geographic reach. Recently, it heightened its presence with new centres in Angola, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Perth, Australia. In 2008, it acquired Alabama-based BE&K, giving access to new industries, and in 2010, it acquired Houston’s Energo Engineering, adding to its structural engineering capabilities. These join a substantial group of subsidiary operations that enlarge KBR’s worldwide capabilities, including Allstates Technical Services LLC, Catalyst Interactive, GVA and Roberts and Schaefer Company.

Rankings and awards

• Ranked at number 9 in Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) annual ‘Top 500 Design Firms’ list in 2011 (based on revenue). ENR is a US-based provider of news, analysis and commentary for professionals in the construction industry.
• KBR’s International Government and Defence business unit was ranked top supplier overall by the UK MoD in the MoD/KBR Performance Report for 2010.
• The same business unit received the Gold Award in 2011 for its high level of occupational health and safety management from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in the UK.

Salary and benefits

KBR states that it offers competitive salaries; for the 2012 recruitment cycle, graduate starting salaries have been advertised at around £28,000.

Other perks

• 25 days' annual leave
• Private healthcare
• Pension scheme (with company contribution)
• Retirement and savings plans
• Season ticket loan

Flexible working

The firm is also said to operate an ‘Alternate Work Week’ initiative; this allows employees to work additional hours over a two week period to take alternative Fridays off. Its core working hours of between 10am and 4pm also mean that there is some flexibility in start and finish times.