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Quietly
going about business
One
of the greatest disasters in American history has focused
a spotlight on one of Virginia's most important but
least-known businesses.
Richmond-based
Earth Tech was instrumental in reopening Wall Street
after the Sept. 11 tragedy. It vacuumed up dust and
ash, disassembled stranded cars and disposed of hazardous
materials such as gas, oil and antifreeze. The worldwide
engineering and infrastructure services company continues
to be a part of the clean up, though employees are reluctant
to talk about it for security reasons.
"We
… designed and built portable wastewater treatment
plants so that (New York City) residents could continue
to receive clean drinking water," says Scott Phillips,
director of business development.
Earth Tech has expertise in many areas - water, energy,
transportation, land use, architecture, construction
and telecommunications - and working relationships with
many of the region's largest businesses. It's been instrumental
in the anthrax cleanup on Capitol Hill. Even so, the
company - with 7,500 employees worldwide and $1.3 billion
in revenues last year - has remained largely a low-profile
operation.
"We're
intimately involved in many aspects of every Virginian's
daily life in a very quiet kind of way," Phillips
says. "Much of our work is performed under attorney-client
privilege, which limits our ability to speak broadly
on matters with which we're involved."
Besides
clean-up scenarios, Earth Tech also designs power plants
and wastewater treatment centers. It offers environmental
support for the state's major railroads and maintains
several private and municipal wastewater treatment plants
around the commonwealth.
-
Mike Ashley
Return to Virginia Business - April
2002
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