Raba Kistner, Inc.

What Raba Kistner, Inc. does

Raba Kistner, Inc. is a privately held engineering consulting and program management firm founded in 1968 in San Antonio, Texas, and a subsidiary of Dutch TIC conglomerate Kiwa since 2022. The firm delivers geotechnical engineering, construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET), environmental consulting (including compliance, due diligence, air quality, and stormwater/SWP3), transportation construction engineering and inspection, building envelope consulting, and program/project management services. Services are organized across the full project lifecycle — Planning, Design, Construction, and Operations & Maintenance — and span 12 market sectors including federal, state and local government, transportation, education, healthcare, energy, commercial, industrial, civil infrastructure, multi-family housing, utilities, and recreation/sports/public facilities. Differentiated technology assets include the proprietary ELVIS web-based design and construction quality management system used on multi-billion-dollar DOT projects, the Simpli Stormwater cloud compliance platform, and what the company describes as one of the largest geotechnical data archives in the Southwest.

The firm operates from more than 20 offices across Texas plus Louisiana, South Carolina, Nebraska, Utah, and Mexico, employing over 850 credentialed professionals (PMP, PE, AIA, LEED, CQA, NICET) and holding an unusually broad accreditation stack — ISO 9001:2015, AASHTO, A2LA, US Army Corps of Engineers validation, TxDOT and UDOT laboratory/inspector certifications, WAQTC participation, and ASTM E 329 compliance. Raba Kistner has executed more than $100 million in federal projects, more than $12 billion in transportation construction value under full-service QA, and more than $5 billion in SWP3 contracts since 2014. Revenue is project-by-project and quote-based under multi-year contract cadences; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company has expanded primarily through acquisitions — Project Control and PC Sports (2013), Red River Archaeology (2015), Timber Creek Environmental (2018), Construction Sciences Australia (2019), Drake Environmental (2021), Rice & Gardner (2022), Browne Engineering Partners (2024), and Square One Consultants (2026) — and continues to pursue regional densification in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Utah, and Mexico.

Leadership is split across a CEO (Chris L. Schultz), CFO (Renan Pierre-Louis, appointed 2020), Executive Vice President/Chief Development Officer (Mike Frisbie), and multiple division-specific COOs and Marketplace Leaders; founder-era principal Gary W. Raba now serves as Chief Growth Officer. The firm's go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting state DOTs, federal agencies (notably US Army Corps of Engineers), municipalities, educational systems, healthcare systems, utilities, energy companies, and large commercial/industrial clients. Distribution is direct delivery through Raba Kistner's own staff and offices, with marketing emphasis on industry conferences, thought-leadership publishing, and credentialed track record rather than digital demand generation.

Name

Raba Kistner, Inc.

Legal name

Raba Kistner, Inc.

Website

https://rkci.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Raba Kistner is a San Antonio-based engineering consulting and program management firm with 850+ employees, serving government, transportation, education, healthcare, energy, and industrial clients across Texas and the U.S. through geotechnical, materials testing, environmental, and inspection services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices21 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Geotechnical Engineering Services: Subsurface investigation, laboratory testing, and engineering evaluation services for foundations, pavements, and construction sites. Includes drilling, CPT services, geophysical studies, and specialty testing.
2. Construction Materials Engineering and Testing: Quality assurance/quality control services for construction materials including concrete, soil, masonry, asphalt, steel testing. Special inspections and third-party testing for suppliers.
3. Environmental Consulting Services: Environmental compliance management, air quality services, environmental due diligence (Phase I, II, III ESA), environmental planning and permitting across planning, design, construction, and operations phases.
4. Program and Project Management: Program management, project management, and owner's representation services for new construction, renovation, and expansion projects through subsidiaries Project Control and PC Sports.
5. Transportation Quality Assurance: Construction engineering and inspection (CE&I) services for transportation infrastructure including QA/QC programs, independent review, and quality documentation using ELVIS system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Raba Kistner is a premier engineering consulting and program management firm providing geotechnical engineering, construction materials engineering and testing, environmental consulting, and program/project management services across the full project life cycle (planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance). Services include subsurface investigation, laboratory testing, QA/QC inspection, environmental due diligence, permitting, and owner's representation, supported by proprietary technology platforms including ELVIS (quality management) and Simpli Stormwater (compliance management).

Product overview

Raba Kistner, Inc. is a premier Engineering Consulting and Program Management Firm founded in 1968, offering a comprehensive portfolio of professional services organized across the project lifecycle (Planning, Design, Construction, and Operations & Maintenance phases). The company's core offerings center on geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, environmental consulting, and program/project management services. Key proprietary products include ELVIS (a web-based quality management platform for transportation projects) and Simpli Stormwater (a cloud-based stormwater compliance management system). The firm operates through multiple divisions including Project Control (program management), PC Sports (sports/entertainment facilities), and Rice & Gardner (environmental compliance), all unified under the parent Raba Kistner brand. Services are delivered across 12 market sectors including Civil Infrastructure, Commercial, Education, Energy, Federal, Healthcare, Industrial, Multi-Family Housing, Recreation/Sports, State & Local Governments, Transportation, and Utilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ELVIS (Engineering and Laboratory Vital Information System)
• Simpli Stormwater
• Project Control (Program Management Services)
• PC Sports
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Construction Materials Engineering & Testing (CoMET)
• Construction Engineering & Inspection (CE&I)
• Environmental Compliance Management
• Environmental Due Diligence (Phase I, II, III ESA)
• Air Quality – Permitting
• Geology & Hydrogeologic Investigations
• Pavement Design
• Forensic Services
• Structural Steel and Mechanical Piping Inspection and Testing
• Building Envelope Consulting
• Geophysical Studies
• Archaeology/Cultural Resources
• Rice & Gardner (Program Management Consulting)
• Browne Engineering Partners
• Square One Consultants

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed over $100 million in federal market projects on bases and facilities from Texas to Hawaii
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments12 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Browne Engineering PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Raba Kistner integrated Browne Engineering Partners in December 2024 to strengthen regional expertise in the Gulf Coast region.
• Rice & GardnerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Rice & Gardner joined Project Control in 2022, expanding project management and consulting capabilities.
• Drake Environmental LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Drake Environmental LLC joined Raba Kistner in 2021. Specializes in stormwater/SWP3 protection and management including erosion and sediment control. Has been trusted with SWP3 contracts on more than $5 billion in projects since 2014. Offices in College Station, Houston and Austin.
• Construction SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Raba Kistner joined Australian Engineering firm Construction Sciences, PTY, LTD in 2019, creating international alignment before the Kiwa acquisition.
• Timber Creek Environmental LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Timber Creek Environmental LLC joined Raba Kistner in 2018. Based in Conroe with additional offices in San Antonio and Dallas, the firm focused on supporting manufacturing/industrial sector clients with environmental services.
• Red River ArchaeologyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Acquired Dallas-based archaeology firm Red River Archaeology in 2015 to expand cultural resources and archaeology services.
• Project ControlcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Acquired program management firm Project Control in 2013, expanding service offerings to include program management, project management, and owner's representation services. Project Control specializes in planning, funding, scheduling, sequencing, and strategic allocation of resources.
• PC SportscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013PC Sports is the sports and entertainment division of Project Control, acquired in 2013. Specializes in program management for sports venues and entertainment complexes, with experience on projects including Milwaukee Bucks arena and Golden State Warriors Chase Center.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves19 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kleinfelder: Kleinfelder is an employee-owned engineering, environmental, construction management, and inspection-services firm operating across the US. It directly competes with Raba Kistner on transportation QA/QC, environmental compliance, geotechnical work, and federal projects.
• Terracon Consultants, Inc. Terracon is the largest US employee-owned geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities consulting firm. It is a near-direct competitor in construction materials testing, geotechnical engineering, and environmental services across Raba Kistner's core geographies and federal/state client base.
• Haley & Aldrich: Haley & Aldrich is a US geotechnical, environmental, and facilities engineering consultancy. It is highly comparable to Raba Kistner in core geotechnical and environmental due-diligence practice, with similar public-sector and infrastructure clients.
• ECS Group of Companies: ECS provides geotechnical, construction materials, environmental, and building-facilities consulting across the US. Its construction materials testing/geotechnical services, multi-state lab network, and DOT accreditation model mirror Raba Kistner's service offering.
• GeoEngineers, Inc. GeoEngineers is an earth-science and technology consulting firm offering geotechnical engineering, environmental, and natural-resources services across the western US. It overlaps heavily with Raba Kistner's transportation, environmental, and water infrastructure work.

Broad incumbents

• WSP Global Inc. WSP is a global engineering professional services firm with strong US transportation, environmental, and property practices. It is a broad incumbent competitor for the same DOT, federal, and large-program-management clients as Raba Kistner.
• Jacobs Solutions Inc. Jacobs is a global professional services firm with significant transportation, environmental, water, and federal infrastructure practices. It competes with Raba Kistner for state DOT, federal, and large design-build QA/QC engagements as a mega-incumbent.
• Stantec Inc. Stantec is a global engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting firm. Its environmental, water, transportation, and buildings practices make it a broad-incumbent competitor to Raba Kistner's full-lifecycle service offering.
• AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm with extensive transportation, environmental, and federal-civil practices. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Raba Kistner on large transportation and federal engagements but operates across far broader end markets.

Regional players

• Burns & McDonnell: Burns & McDonnell is a US engineering, architecture, construction, and consulting firm with deep Texas/Southwest presence, heavy transportation, environmental, and federal practices. Comparable in scale, sector mix, and project types, but operates as a much broader consultant with international reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/rabakistner
• Facebookfacebook.com/rabakistner
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/raba-kistner-consultants-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/rabakistner

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries9 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 Raba Kistner, Inc.