22.09.15
EC Harris and Hyder Consulting become Arcadis
Design and consultancy firms EC Harris and Hyder Consulting, whose extensive rail portfolios include Crossrail 2 and HS2, are losing their individual brand identities and will now be known as Arcadis, the name of their Dutch parent company.
The launch of the unified global brand follows two years of investment in joining up its employees and systems under a single operating model, according to Arcadis, headquartered in Amsterdam, which acquired EC Harris in 2011 and Hyder Consulting last year.
HS2 Ltd appointed EC Harris’s Alistair Kirk as the project’s programme and strategy director. Kirk led the company’s infrastructure business in the Middle East and was later involved in developing Arcadis’ view on the requirements for the new multi modal transportation system in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He started working in the project from September last year, where he is responsible for the integration, planning and control of the overall HS2 programme.
Infrastructure teams at EC Harris and Arcadis in Europe have also collaborated with their counterparts at Hyder to bag the contract for phase 1 of the £27bn Crossrail 2 project. The commission for phase 1 involved developing a route selection report and concept designs supported by cost and risk analyses, which will enable Transport for London to open full public consultation on the scheme next year.
Alan Brookes, CEO of Arcadis in the UK, said as the new brand was unveiled: “In the UK we will see our expert teams from EC Harris and Hyder Consulting come together and go to market as one powerful, integrated Arcadis brand. This will help provide a clarity and consistency of approach to our clients who are already benefitting from our global collaboration.
“This shows how, by building on the strength of each of our individual brands, we are jointly in a far stronger position to respond to multiple challenges. The move to Arcadis reflects our broader ability to adapt to market issues, learn from best practice examples around the world and constantly innovate to deliver the best solutions.”
The logo has been “refreshed” for the first time since the late 1990s.
Experts from both EC Harris are Hyder Consulting have been frequent contributors to RTM, for example:
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