COWI purchases select ILF US tunneling assets 10 May 2018

Selected assets of the of the US operating company of ILF Consultants has been acquired by COWI North America.

COWI secures selected ILF US tunneling assets

Certain tunnel design and construction projects and key tunneling staff from ILF USA will join the COWI North American operation to strengthen its tunnel expertise and expand its tunnel engineering base. The ILF assets add to previous US acquisitions by COWI of Jenny Engineering, Buckland & Taylor, Ben C Gerwick, and Ocean and Coastal Consultants. With nine offices across the US and Canada, COWI is set to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to complex engineering projects.

Among new ILF USA tunneling staff joining the company are Jim Morrison, PE and Zuzana Skovajsova, PE who bring complementary skills in tunnel design and noteworthy experience on several projects in California including preliminary engineering design for the California High Speed Rail Authority for the section between Bakersfield to Palmdale.

ILF assets include extensive SEM/NATM experience

With more than 36 years of engineering expertise, working in both consulting engineering and as Engineering Service Manager for Kiewit, Jim Morrison will join COWI as a Vice President. Zuzana Skovajsova is appointed Chief Tunnel Specialist with COWI, bringing with her extensive knowledge of the application of sequential excavation and ground support systems, as well as geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring.

Steven Kramer, Senior Vice President of COWI said: "These additions to the COWI team are a sign of the continued success and development of COWI's tunnel business in North America and worldwide. With their experience working on a variety of tunnel projects across the country, they add engineering strength and invaluable knowledge and expertise to our group."

In the meantime, the USA division of international consulting firm ILF, headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria, will continue its operations in USA and Canada in the areas of oil and gas, and transportation and structures, including those involving tunnels. ILF and COWI have collaborated on projects in the past and will continue to work in combination to explore opportunities in North America in the area of tunnel fire-life safety, an area in which ILF has established a particular expertise, and to take advantage of the shared experience provided by the new purchase.