CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — TEC Inc. joined international firm Cardno in a merger announced yesterday afternoon at 4 pm EDT.

The merger with Cardno, a professional services firm founded in 1945 with headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, means that TEC, a 330-person environmental and infrastructure consulting firm, becomes a key part of an international industry leader with a combined resource base of more than 4,600 staff working on projects in more than 85 countries.

Richard Heiderstadt, President of TEC, said the merger marks an important step in the next chapter of growth for TEC.

“Our motivation to seek a partnership with an international firm like Cardno was three-fold. First to provide our clients with a wider range of services and locations; second to provide our talented staff with additional opportunities for career development; and third to accelerate the growth of TEC across the U.S. and overseas,” Mr. Heiderstadt said.

“TEC is a growth-oriented, profitable business and by combining with Cardno we will be able to expand organically and look to complement our existing discipline offering with targeted acquisitions,” said Mr. Heiderstadt.

TEC brings to Cardno specialized expertise in environmental management, asset management and infrastructure management. Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, TEC has 15 mainland U.S. offices and 5 off-shore offices including Hawaii, Guam, Germany, Belgium, and Italy.

Major clients of TEC include U.S. Government clients such as the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, National Park Service, and the General Services Administration.

Cardno brings to TEC a broader range of environmental, natural resource management, engineering, international development assistance, project management and planning services across many countries including Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, China and United Arab Emirates.

Additionally, Cardno’s leadership in social infrastructure work was a compelling reason for TEC to consider this relationship. Cardno provides opportunities for TEC staff to become part of a committed, global focus to help developing nations and countries adversely affected by natural disasters and conflict to build and implement social and physical infrastructure programs.

“The potential synergistic benefits from our combined firms are enormous for our staff, our clients and our financial performance,” commented Heiderstadt.

Managing Director and CEO of Cardno, Mr. Andrew Buckley, said that the Cardno and TEC union follows the successful business model Cardno has implemented in other countries.

“TEC will now be a platform for the expansion of both Cardno and TEC throughout the Americas and Europe,” said Mr. Buckley.

With the addition of TEC, Cardno’s American operations now comprise 2,400 staff across 115 offices with branch offices in Canada, Ecuador, Peru, United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium. Cardno’s other U.S. businesses include Cardno ENTRIX, Cardno ERI, Cardno WRG, Cardno TBE, Cardno Emerging Markets and XP Solutions.

President of Cardno USA, Michael Renshaw, said the merger with TEC will significantly expand Cardno’s environmental capabilities and will provide access to U.S. government clients, an expanded geographic footprint in the U.S. and Europe and mutual opportunities to enhance service delivery to our clients.

“TEC’s business culture and growth potential make it an ideal platform for further expansion of our combined businesses across North and South America in providing a wide range of environmental consulting services. With the addition of TEC, around 55 percent of Cardno’s 4,600 staff are currently deployed or reside outside Australia,” Mr. Renshaw said.

Following Cardno’s normal strategy, TEC’s key management will become Cardno shareholders and remain active in the company.

7 Mile Advisors served as M&A advisor to TEC on the transaction.

About TEC: TEC was established in 1990 and has offices strategically located throughout the U.S., Europe and the Pacific Rim. The firm provides expertise to public and private clients in engineering, environmental management, architecture, planning, infrastructure, and energy. TEC has delivered projects for a variety of clients including the U.S. Department of Defense, the World Bank, General Services Administration, National Park Service, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. More information about TEC is available at www.tecinc.com.

About Cardno: Founded in 1945, Cardno partners with public and private clients to solve engineering, environmental and social challenges in nine key markets. With 115 offices in the Americas and 180 worldwide, Cardno provides clients with access to over 4,600 professionals focused on delivering customized consulting solutions to plan, design and construct social and physical infrastructure. Cardno is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange [ASX: CDD]. www.cardno.com.

SOURCE Cardno USA