Company

About Our Company

As a 100% ESOP, employee-owned company, we produce more, grow faster, earn higher profits, and have lower turnover. Our employees are empowered to deliver exceptional client and employee experiences, because when you succeed, we all thrive.

a photo of two men
Co-Founders Tony Withers and Sam Ravenel

Some WithersRavenel plaques with Community, Quality, and Collaboration

Promise

All in for your success

Mission

Giving, growing, and creating together

Vision

Be the premier, multi-disciplinary firm creating inspired places—one person, one project, and one community at a time

40 Years in Business

Since our founding in 1983, we have expanded our business to serve both the public and private sectors from offices across North Carolina. We have enjoyed significant growth in both employees and revenues.

An animated car driving past company milestones since 1983

Our Core Values

  • Integrity

    We conduct business fairly and ethically regardless of the circumstances. We keep promises with a can-do attitude.

  • Respect

    We do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We treat our clients and each other with respect at all times because respect is a precursor to trust, and trust is the foundation of all successful working relationships.

  • Collaboration

    We are better together when we practice teamwork through communication and cooperation with our team members, clients, and communities.

  • Quality

    We strive for quality in our work, our service, our communications, and our relationships, both internal and external.

  • Sustainability

    By working hard and smart, we will make a fair profit. Profit enables us to reinvest in our community, our company and our employees, creating a sustainable cycle of high morale, quality work, good
    reputation and positive financial performance.

  • Community

    We invest in our communities through our work, our service, our relationships and our contributions. Our services are vital to improving the quality of life in our communities.

We're Honored

From our business growth and project success to wellness programming, WithersRavenel has received a host of company and individual awards.

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Company History

  • 1983

    • Withers & Ravenel, P.A. established by Hamilton “Tony” Withers and Sam Ravenel
    • Headquarters opened in Cary, NC

  • 1986

    • Withers & Ravenel hires first employee

  • 1990

    • Jim Canfield (current company President) is hired

  • 1991

    • Withers & Ravenel hires first surveyor and adds surveying capabilities
    • Withers & Ravenel Environmental Engineering formed

  • 1994

    • Withers & Ravenel enters first contract with Preston Development Company, one of the premier land developers in the Triangle
    • Withers & Ravenel enters first contract with Badin Shores, a resort community in New London, NC

  • 1996

    • Withers & Ravenel undertakes first of many projects for the North Carolina National Guard

  • 1998

    • Withers & Ravenel merges WR Environmental Engineering and WR Engineering & Surveying

  • 2001

    • Company name is officially changed to Withers & Ravenel, Inc.

  • 2002

    • Withers & Ravenel Water Resources department formed to focus on public sector work

  • 2003

    • Withers & Ravenel adds GIS capabilities

  • 2004

    • Office opened in Wilmington, NC
    • Withers & Ravenel wins its first American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) award for the Horry County Solid Waste Landfill Remediation Project

  • 2005

    • Employee count breaks 100
    • Withers & Ravenel begins work on the first property in Chatham Park, which began as only 13 parcels totaling 1,804 acres (today, it covers more than 8,000 acres and counting)

  • 2006

    • Employee count breaks 200
    • Withers & Ravenel acquires Kenneth Close Surveying, Inc.

  • 2007

    • Office opened in Greensboro, NC

  • 2013

    • Withers & Ravenel enters first of many contracts with BB&T to provide environmental due diligence services

  • 2014

    • Withers & Ravenel becomes an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) company

  • 2015

    • Withers & Ravenel re-brands as WithersRavenel to reflect a company of employee-owners all working together
    • WithersRavenel holds first Owners’ Day to celebrate culture of ownership
    • Offices opened in Pittsboro, NC & Raleigh, NC

  • 2016

    • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) capabilities added

  • 2017

    • WithersRavenel named one of Triangle Business Journal’s Best Places to Work
    • WithersRavenel enters strategic partnership with WR-Martin (formerly Martin-McGill)
    • Office opened in Asheville, NC

  • 2018

    • WR-Martin officially becomes part of WithersRavenel
    • One of the first hired employees retires after 32 years of service
    • WithersRavenel celebrates 35 years of successful business

  • 2019

    • As part of our transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) company, WithersRavenel officially becomes 100% employee-owned
    • WithersRavenel adds a Client Experience Team

  • 2020

    • WithersRavenel launches a Transportation Department

  • 2021

    • WithersRavenel acquires Koonce, Noble, & Associates of Lumberton
    • WithersRavenel opens new offices in Charlotte and Lumberton

  • 2022

    • WithersRavenel launches a focus on Innovation

  • 2023

    • WithersRavenel gears up to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding.

What Our Clients Are Saying

WithersRavenel creates this seamless process for clients. They put together a structured workflow for your project from start to finish. And along the way, they’re constantly offering new ideas and strategies and rethinking public engagement in order to maximize your message and your reach. What we needed for our project was a partner who could do a lot of heavy lifting in a short period of time…concerning a topic that’s not easy to talk about [hurricane devastation, recovery, and community resiliency]… and they delivered in a comprehensive and meaningful way.
Colleen Robertson Public Information Officer & Brand Manager City of New Bern

The benefits of being an employee-owner

Find out what it is like to work at WithersRavenel.

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