Our Story | Founded in 1983 | Employee Owned Company | WithersRavenel
 

WithersRavenel was founded on October 6, 1983, by Hamilton E. “Tony” Withers and Samuel F. Ravenel. In the three decades since, we have transitioned to 100% employee ownership to maintain our independence, secure our future, and share long-term successes among all employees. We have expanded our core discipline areas and our office locations. We have brought WR-Martin into our team, strengthening our portfolio of service offerings and achieving our vision of expanding into new markets.

Today, we are a company of passionate employee-owners delivering engineering, planning, and surveying services across North Carolina from the mountains to the sea.

At WithersRavenel, we design the places and the supporting infrastructure to enhance people’s health, happiness, and well-being. By matching our clients’ vision with multi-disciplinary technical expertise and a deep well of experience, we help them safeguard their natural resources, deliver critical utilities, create attractive spaces for recreation and commerce, and drive economic development through carefully planned land use. From concepts to concrete, we transform our clients’ dreams into realities that shape and reflect our shared values of integrity, respect, collaboration, quality, sustainability, and community.

  • Withers & Ravenel, P.A. established by Hamilton “Tony” Withers and Sam Ravenel
  • Headquarters opened in Cary, NC
  • Withers & Ravenel hires first employee
  • Jim Canfield (current company President) is hired
  • Withers & Ravenel hires first surveyor and adds surveying capabilities
  • Withers & Ravenel Environmental Engineering formed
  • 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
  • Withers & Ravenel undertakes first of many projects for the North Carolina National Guard
  • Withers & Ravenel merges WR Environmental Engineering and WR Engineering & Surveying
  • Company name is officially changed to Withers & Ravenel, Inc.
  • Withers & Ravenel Water Resources department formed to focus on public sector work
  • Withers & Ravenel adds GIS capabilities
  • 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
  • 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)
  • Employee count breaks 200
  • Withers & Ravenel acquires Kenneth Close Surveying, Inc.
  • Office opened in Greensboro, NC
  • Withers & Ravenel enters first of many contracts with BB&T to provide environmental due diligence services
  • Withers & Ravenel becomes an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) company
  • 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
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) capabilities added
  • 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
  • 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

Our People.

We’re an employee-owned company. This means we’re accountable to one another and to your satisfaction as our client. We know that our professional future literally relies on doing a great job, on time and on budget, for you. That’s the level of commitment you’ll discover when you choose WithersRavenel. We’re all in…for your success.

Your Success.

You’ve got a lot on the line. Whether in the private or public sector, people are
counting on you to deliver a project on time and on budget. At WithersRavenel, we know you have many stakeholders to please. Make no mistake, we’re here to make you look great.

Do you want to be part of our story?