CRB

What CRB does

CRB is a privately held engineering, architecture, construction, and consulting firm founded in 1984, headquartered in the United States with 21 offices across the US, Canada, and Europe and a workforce of 1,001-5,000 employees. The firm serves enterprise clients in two primary verticals: life sciences (pharmaceutical manufacturing, biologics, gene and cell therapy, ATMPs, R&D facilities) and food and beverage manufacturing (pet food, alternative proteins, supplements, confectionery, dairy, beverages). CRB delivers projects through four integrated service pillars (Engineering, Architecture, Construction, and Consulting) unified by its proprietary ONEsolution integrated project delivery methodology, which aligns stakeholders on quality, cost, and schedule from initial planning through operational readiness.

The technology stack centers on integrated project delivery rather than standalone software products. CRB combines control systems integration, virtual design and construction, process simulation and computational fluid dynamics, and operational readiness services to deliver highly regulated facilities. The firm has executed projects including a CapEx validation saving $2.5MM in CIP equipment at CSL Seqirus, a biostorage design cutting energy use by 60% with $500K annual savings, and process simulation reducing CIP media by 74% and energy by 50%. CRB also publishes the Horizons industry research series (Life Sciences, Food Safety, Market Conditions), drawing on surveys of 300-400+ industry executives to support thought leadership demand generation.

CRB's go-to-market is enterprise field sales, with a Chief Client Officer overseeing business development, account management, and vertical market teams, supported by Regional Vice Presidents across US regions, Canada, and Europe and a dedicated VP Life Sciences shaping pursuit strategy for global opportunities. Pricing is project-specific and quote-based rather than publicly disclosed, with revenue mechanics tied to large multi-year capital programs. The firm is ranked #2 by ENR in pharmaceutical manufacturing design and #8 in food and beverage manufacturing design (2022), with sustained top-decile ENR rankings through 2026, and has received the ISPE Company of the Year award three times. Notable customers include AstraZeneca, Genentech, Pfizer, Takeda, Boehringer Ingelheim, Catalent, Pharmavite, BioMarin, and Herbalife. Leadership includes President and CEO Vahid Ownjazayeri, COO Daniel Backman, CFO Ken Olson, and a newly hired VP National Construction from Lonza Biologics; co-founder Jeff Biskup transitioned to an emeritus board role in March 2026.

Name

CRB

Legal name

CRB

Website

https://crbgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

CRB is a privately held engineering, architecture, construction, and consulting firm founded in 1984 that delivers integrated design-build services to enterprise clients in the life sciences and food and beverage manufacturing industries across 21 offices in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-sever-du-moustier

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering Services: Process and facility engineering solutions including automation engineering, MEP, structural engineering, process engineering, and packaging engineering for life sciences and food & beverage facilities.
2. Architecture Services: Architectural design services for life sciences and food & beverage facilities, creating purposeful, high-performance space with interior design and lab planning capabilities.
3. Construction Services: Construction services including construction management, pre-construction, procurement, and staff augmentation for highly regulated advanced technology facilities.
4. Consulting Services: Strategic consulting including assessments, Industry 4.0 consulting, operations improvement, operational readiness, sustainability services, and robotics & intralogistics for facility optimization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CRB is a privately held engineering, architecture, construction, and consulting firm that designs and builds cGMP-compliant manufacturing facilities for life sciences and food & beverage companies. Its flagship ONEsolution™ methodology integrates all four disciplines to deliver projects from concept to production in under two years. The firm also provides standalone engineering, architecture, construction, and consulting services for clients that require only one or two of these capabilities.

Product overview

CRB is a provider of sustainable engineering, architecture, construction and consulting solutions serving the global life sciences and food & beverage industries. The company's offerings are organized around four core service pillars: Engineering Services (including automation engineering, control systems integration, process engineering, MEP, packaging, and structural engineering), Architecture Services (focused on life sciences and food & beverage facility design), Construction Services (including construction management, procurement, virtual design and construction), and Consulting Services (including Industry 4.0 consulting, operational readiness, process simulation, robotics, sustainability, and strategic facility planning). The flagship methodology is ONEsolution™, an integrated project delivery approach that unifies all services from planning through operational readiness. CRB also produces industry research reports including the Horizons: Food Safety, Horizons: Life Sciences, and Horizons: Market Conditions reports. The company operates across 21 offices in the United States, Canada, and Europe serving biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and food & beverage clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ONEsolution: Integrated project delivery method that leverages combined expertise and technical excellence of ONE project team to deliver facilities in a safe, lean and collaborative way.

Products and services

• ONEsolution™
• Engineering Services
• Architecture Services
• Construction Services
• Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Design-build advantage delivers facilities from concept to production in under two years
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lonza BiologicsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2026John R. Lupa Jr. joined CRB as VP of National Construction from Lonza Biologics, where he oversaw $500 million in capital investments including the design and commissioning of a large-scale mammalian facility in Vacaville, California. This represents a talent acquisition and industry expertise transfer rather than an active partnership.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IPS (Integrated Project Services): IPS is a privately held, U.S.-headquartered engineering, architecture, construction, and validation firm focused on pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device facilities. It is the closest direct peer to CRB, with a comparable integrated delivery model serving overlapping regulated manufacturing end markets.
• Burns & McDonnell: Burns & McDonnell is a privately held, U.S.-based engineering, architecture, and construction firm with a sizable food & beverage and life sciences practice. It is comparable to CRB in business model (employee-owned, integrated services, mid-to-large program focus) and end markets, though it operates at substantially greater scale.
• Black & Veatch: Black & Veatch is a privately held global engineering, procurement, and construction firm with growing presence in biopharma and food & beverage facility delivery. Comparable to CRB in employee-owned structure, integrated delivery model, and regulated industrial end-market focus.

Broad incumbents

• Jacobs Solutions: Jacobs is a global professional services firm with a large life sciences and advanced facilities practice. It competes with CRB for major pharma/biotech capital programs but operates as a much larger, diversified AEC and consulting incumbent rather than a specialty mid-market firm.
• AECOM: AECOM is a large global infrastructure consulting firm with an active life sciences and industrial facilities practice. It is comparable to CRB in serving regulated manufacturing end markets, but competes from a much broader transportation, water, and environment platform.
• Fluor Corporation: Fluor is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, and project management firm with a life sciences and advanced manufacturing portfolio. It is comparable to CRB in delivering complex regulated capital programs, but at materially larger scale and across broader end markets.
• WSP Global: WSP is a Canada-based global professional services firm with growing life sciences and industrial facilities capabilities. It is comparable to CRB in providing engineering and consulting to regulated manufacturing clients, particularly across North America, but at much greater scale.
• Arcadis: Arcadis is a Netherlands-based global design and consultancy firm with a presence in industrial and life sciences facility design. It is comparable to CRB in offering integrated engineering, architecture, and consulting for advanced manufacturing clients, particularly in Europe.
• Stantec: Stantec is a Canada-based global engineering, architecture, and consulting firm with a life sciences and industrial practice. It is comparable to CRB in end-market exposure and integrated services, but with broader infrastructure and environmental consulting lines.

Regional players

• JE Dunn Construction: JE Dunn is a privately held U.S. construction firm with significant life sciences and advanced manufacturing experience. It is comparable to CRB's construction services and overlaps on regulated facility projects in the U.S., and is directly connected via CRB board advisor Dirk Schafer (former JE Dunn COO).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crbgrp
• Xx.com/crbgrp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CRB