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Chicago Bridge & Iron Company

Defunct large engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company
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CB&I, originally known as Chicago Bridge & Iron Co, is a global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm that specializes in storage solutions for infrastructure and industrial projects. Founded in 1889 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, CB&I designs, fabricates and installs storage tanks and terminals, along with a range of other industrial structures.

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CB&I administrative headquarters
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Chicago Bridge & Iron Works, 1912 catalog
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History

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CB&I was founded by Horace E. Horton of Rochester, Minnesota when he moved to Chicago, Illinois, USA in 1889. Horton, an experienced engineer, capitalized on the booming infrastructure needs of the era, initially focusing on bridge construction, which was essential for expanding rail networks across the Midwest. By the late 1890s, CB&I diversified beyond bridge construction, taking on projects such as railroad roundhouses, locomotive turntables, roof trusses and bulk liquid storage, coinciding with the western expansion of railroads across the United States and the discovery of oil in the Southwest. CB&I played a role in water infrastructure improvements, constructing elevated water tanks and standpipes to meet growing municipal needs.[4] CB&I quickly became known for design engineering and field construction of elevated water storage tanks, above-ground tanks for storage of petroleum and refined products, refinery process vessels and other steel plate structures.[5] CB&I was at the forefront of several technological advancements, including the construction of the world’s first field-erected spherical pressure vessels (Hortonsphere vessels) and the development and commercialization of the floating roof by John H. Wiggins, which revolutionized petroleum storage by improving safety, reducing evaporation losses, and minimizing tank corrosion.[6] As such, CB&I supported the expansion of oil exploration outside the US, starting operations in South America in 1924, in Asia two years later and in the Middle East in 1939.[5] Also in the 1920s, CB&I also entered into licensing agreements with European counterparts like Motherwell Bridge & Engineering Ltd. and Whessoe Ltd.[6]

According to one of the founder's heirs, "The old joke is that Chicago Bridge & Iron isn't in Chicago, doesn't build bridges and doesn't use iron."[7]

During World War II, CB&I was selected to build Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs), which carried troops and supplies to American and Allied troops fighting in Europe and the Pacific theater. CB&I was chosen because of their reputation and skills, particularly welding. Since the coastal shipyards were busy building large vessels for the war effort, such as aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers, there was no alternative but to use the inland waterways and shipyards for the production of smaller ships.[8] As a result of these and other wartime production activities, CB&I ranked 92nd among US corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[9][verification needed]

CB&I was acquired by Praxair in 1996; Praxair retained the carbon dioxide business and CB&I spun off its engineering and construction business in a 1997 IPO.[7][10]

2000-present

In 2001, CB&I headquarters moved from Chicago to The Woodlands, Texas.[11] In 2003 it bought John Brown Hydrocarbons, renaming it at first CB&I John Brown, and later CB&I UK Limited.[12]

The firm acquired Lummus Global from ABB on November 19, 2007, adding approximately 3,000 employees.[13][14] In 2012, CB&I Technology (formerly Lummus) was awarded a contract by Indian petrochemicals major, Reliance Industries,[15] to provide paraxylene (P-Xylene) (PX) technology for an aromatics complex in India. The complex was started up in April 2017,[16] making Reliance the world's second largest producer of paraxylene.[16]

In 2012, CB&I agreed to buy The Shaw Group for about US$3 billion,[17][18][19] completing the acquisition in February 2013.[20] The subsidiary that was formed as a result, CB&I Stone Webster—a result of The Shaw Group's earlier acquisition of Stone & Webster during its bankruptcy—was again sold, in January 2016, to Westinghouse Electric Co., for US$229M.[21][22]

For 2017, revenue for CB&I was $6.7 billion, down from the year before.[1]

In May 2018 the company was acquired by McDermott International for US$6 billion.[23][24] That year, McDermott announced that it would sell the headquarters facility in The Woodlands to Howard Hughes Corporation.[25] After being acquired by McDermott, CB&I's stock ceased being listed on the NYSE on May 11, 2018. Gary P. Luquette was the chairman of the combined company.[26] McDermott struggled to integrate its acquisition of CB&I, and in January 2020 was facing bankruptcy.[27] On January 21, 2020, McDermott announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[28]

In 2024, a consortium of investors led by Mason Capital completed the purchase of the company.[29] CB&I moved its headquarters back to The Woodlands, Texas.[11]

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Operations

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As of 2025, CB&I's product lines are:[30]

  • Water Storage: CB&I designs and constructs water storage solutions including reservoirs, water tanks, and facilities for water distribution systems.
  • Low Temperature and Cryogenic Storage: The company specializes in the design and fabrication of tanks for storing liquefied gases at extremely low temperatures, such as LNG and other cryogenic liquids.
  • High Pressure Storage: CB&I manufactures high-pressure storage vessels that are used for storing liquefied gasses at elevated pressures for industries such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, and industrial gases.
  • Specialty Plate Structures: CB&I constructs specialty plate structures tailored to specific industrial applications, including wastewater treatment vessels, nuclear containment vessels, nuclear fusion and quantum particle research infrastructure, bulk storage bins, silos, and other customized industrial components.
  • Atmospheric Storage: CB&I constructs ambient storage tanks for a wide range of liquids and gases that do not require cryogenic or high-pressure handling for use in industries such as petrochemicals, water treatment, and food processing.
  • Storage Terminals and Process Facilities: CB&I designs, engineers, constructs and commissions process and storage terminals. These facilities integrate storage tanks with process equipment, piping systems, instrumentation, and control systems for operational needs of industries such as oil refining, chemical processing, and LNG production.

Corporate headquarters are located in The Woodlands, Texas.[31]

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Major projects

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Historic structures

The company built bridges and other works of historic importance, including some listed on the US National Register of Historic Places.[32] These works include (with varying attribution):

World War II

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ABSD-5 at Manicani Island, Philippines repairing the USS Mississippi in July 1945

There was a great demand for ships and U.S. Navy vessels during World War II. For the war Chicago Bridge built in its Eureka, California shipyard Medium Auxiliary Floating Dry Docks ( or AFDM). These could repair ships in remote locations and could be move to more needed actions during the war.[50][51] Chicago Bridge also had shipyards in: Seneca, Illinois, Newburgh, New York and Morgan City, Louisiana.

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A LST unloading
  • LST

Built: LST-197 to LST-136; LST-511 to LST-522; LST-600 to LST-652; LST-777 to LST-774; and LST-1115 to LST-1152.[66] Examples: USS Bamberg County, USS LST-230, USS LST-231 / USS Atlas, USS Caddo Parish, USS Calaveras County, USS LST-511, USS Burnett County, USS LST-517, USS Calhoun County, USS Cape May County, USS Clarke County, USS Clearwater County, USS Coconino County, USS LST-607, USS LST-1115 / USS Pentheus, and USS LST-1116 / USS Proserpine.

  • Barges: YFN-611, YFN-612, and YFN-613
  • Floating derrick cranes: YD-120 and YD-121[67]
  • Tank barge: DPC-408 to DPC-419, to transport liquids.

Other projects

Other major projects include:

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Controversy

CB&I was revealed as a subscriber to the UK's Consulting Association, exposed in 2009 for operating an illegal construction industry blacklist; CB&I was one of 14 companies issued with enforcement notices by the UK Information Commissioner's Office.[70] A CB&I employee consulted the blacklist more than 900 times in 2007 alone, a 2010 employment tribunal was told.[71]

Chicago Bridge & Iron Beaumont

Main article: Chicago Bridge & Iron Beaumont

Chicago Bridge & Iron Beaumont was a yard owned by Chicago Bridge & Iron Company from 1982 to 2017 in Beaumont, Texas. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company Beaumont closed the Beaumont work yard, called Beaumont Island Park Fabrication Services, in 2017 after the site was flooded due to Hurricane Harvey in September 2017. In 2008 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company sold the site to Port of Beaumont. Port of Beaumont entered into a partnership with Allegiant Industrial Island Park to rebuild the 75 acres site.[72][73] Allegiant Industrial opened the Allegiant Industrial Island Park Campus on the site in October 2018. The site has 500,000 square feet of welding and fabrication space.[74]

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References

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