What Thiel Engineering does

Thiel Engineering is a specialty engineering and consulting firm founded in 1995 by Richard Thiel and operated as a sole proprietorship out of Oregon House, California. The firm focuses on containment system engineering for geotechnical projects, with core technical specialization in liner and cover system design using soils and geosynthetics across landfills, mining-heap leach pads, environmental closures, and liquid containment systems. Proprietary intellectual property includes lead authorship of the GundSeal Design Manual for GCL liner systems and the GSE Drainage Design Manual, plus an extensive peer-reviewed publication record that has earned industry recognition including the Inaugural Kerry Rowe Lecture keynote (Rome 2024) and Grand Award for Best Paper at Geosynthetics '99.

The company operates a sales-led, referral-driven business model delivering four service streams: (1) Consulting and Design Services covering feasibility, permitting, liner system design, slope stability analyses, geotechnical investigations, and peer reviews; (2) Construction Services including CQA monitoring, bidding support, and construction management; (3) Educational Services via ASCE two-day courses, IFAI short courses, manufacturer-tailored training, and regulatory organization courses; and (4) Legal Services covering expert witness, arbitration, forensic analyses, and litigation support. Customers span private waste companies (Waste Management, Republic Services, Recology, Waste Connections), heavy industry (BNSF, Weyerhaeuser), mining (Carlota Copper, Coeur d'Alene Mines), and government entities (LA County Sanitation Districts, Lane County, California Water Board).

The business is positioned as a deliberately small, high-expertise consultancy rather than a scale play. Multiple enterprise clients have multi-decade relationships (Weyerhaeuser 20+ years, BNSF 17 years across 35 sites in 20 states), but the firm explicitly "shies away from commodity-style services" and runs primarily on reputation and repeat business. Project experience extends internationally to Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and Europe, though always via project-based engagements rather than local office build-out. The firm's competitive position rests on the founder's individual 30+ years of specialized expertise, professional licensure across California and Oregon, and recognized national authority in geosynthetics engineering.

Name

Thiel Engineering

Legal name

Thiel Engineering

Website

https://rthiel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Thiel Engineering is a sole-proprietor specialty engineering consultancy founded in 1995 by Richard Thiel, providing containment system design, construction management, expert witness, and training services for landfills, mining-heap leach pads, and geosynthetics projects to waste companies, mining firms, government agencies, and engineering firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

Keywords

• Containment engineering
• Geosynthetics consulting
• Landfill design
• Civil engineering services
• Environmental engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Oregon House

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Design Services: Project-based professional services including permitting, pro-forma business analyses, feasibility evaluation, design of liner systems, geotechnical investigations, construction quality assurance, and regulatory assistance.
2. Construction Services: Construction-level design and construction management services for containment-system engineering projects.
3. Educational Services: Nationwide courses on landfill and liner system design; ASCE two-day courses; IFAI short courses; manufacturer-tailored courses; regulatory organization courses.
4. Legal/Expert Witness Services: Expert witness, arbitration, forensic analyses, mediation assistance, and litigation support for construction disputes and liner system failures.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Thiel Engineering is a small engineering and consulting firm founded in 1995 that provides construction-level design services for containment-system engineering projects such as landfills, mining-heap leach pads, environmental closures, large holding tanks, pipelines, and grading and drainage infrastructure. The firm delivers permitting, pro-forma business analyses, design, construction management, construction quality assurance (CQA), educational courses, and expert litigation and forensic services for waste management, mining, heavy industry, and governmental clients.

Product overview

Thiel Engineering is a small engineering and consulting business founded in 1995, specializing in containment system engineering and construction management. The company offers a portfolio of integrated services including Construction Services (cost estimates, CQA monitoring, construction management), Consulting and Design Services (landfill development, liner system design, slope stability analyses, geotechnical investigations), Educational Services (nationwide courses on landfill and liner system design), and Legal Services (expert witness, forensic analyses, arbitration). The firm provides construction-level design services for containment-system engineering projects such as landfills, mining-heap leach pads, environmental closures, large holding tanks, pipelines, and grading and drainage infrastructure, along with permitting and construction services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Construction Services Construction-level services for containment-system projects including cost estimates, bidding support, quality assurance (CQA) monitoring, contract administration, construction management assistance, documentation and final reports, earthwork, road and drainage, foundations, piping, geosynthetics installation, materials testing, and field inspection for enterprise and government clients.
• Consulting and Design Services Waste management consulting and design services covering landfill development, liner system design, slope stability analyses, and geotechnical investigations for private waste firms, mining companies, and government agencies operating municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, and ash monofills.
• Educational Services Nationwide educational courses on landfill and liner system design, including ASCE two-day courses, IFAI short courses, manufacturer-tailored courses, and regulatory organization courses that position the firm as a thought leader in geosynthetics and containment engineering.
• Legal Services (Expert Witness and Forensic) Expert litigation and forensic services for construction disputes and liner system failures, including expert witness testimony, arbitration, forensic analyses of slope stability failures, mediation conferences, depositions, and construction conflict resolution for law firms, insurance carriers, and courts.

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing professional affiliation; instructor for ASCE two-day Short Course on Design of Waste Containment Liner and Final Closure Systems presented 2-4 times per year from 2001-2012. ASCE membership for over 39 years.
• Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing affiliation with IFAI; instructor for IFAI short courses and conferences; served as Chairman for multiple IFAI Geosynthetics conferences; active member of Geosynthetics Institute affiliation.
• Geosynthetics InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated with the Geosynthetics Institute; lead author of GundSeal Design Manual published through the institute. Ongoing professional connection to industry standards organization.
• California State Water Resources Control BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngaged in 2015 for 2-year contract to develop training course curriculum and provide Geosynthetic Liner and Cover Design training to Water Board staff. Contract renewed for additional 2 years in 2019-20.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Anchor QEA: Mid-sized environmental and civil engineering firm offering waste containment, remediation, and geotechnical services. Comparable in providing specialized containment expertise to government and private clients.
• SCS Engineers: Environmental and civil engineering firm focused on solid waste management, providing landfill design, CQA, and closure services — directly overlapping with Thiel's primary waste-management segment.
• Geosyntec Consultants: Specialized environmental and geotechnical engineering consultancy with one of the leading geosynthetics and landfill containment practices in North America. Closest comparable in terms of technical depth in liner system design, slope stability, and containment engineering.

Broad incumbents

• Jacobs: Global engineering and consulting firm (including legacy CH2M-Hill, a current Thiel client) with substantial environmental and geosynthetics practices serving overlapping end markets.
• WSP: Global engineering firm whose environmental and geosynthetics practices (including legacy Golder Associates) overlap directly with Thiel's heap-leach, tailings, and landfill containment work.
• AECOM: Global engineering services firm with environmental and geosynthetics capabilities addressing similar landfill, mining, and remediation end markets, though at substantially greater scale and breadth.
• Stantec: Environmental and geotechnical engineering consultancy with solid waste and remediation practices that compete for similar municipal and mining containment engagements.
• Arcadis: International environmental and water engineering consultancy with practices adjacent to Thiel's waste containment and remediation focus, serving similar enterprise and government clients.
• Tetra Tech: Large environmental engineering consultancy with significant landfill, geosynthetics, and waste-management practices serving the same enterprise and government clients as Thiel Engineering, but as part of a broader portfolio.

Others

• Tensar International: Manufacturer of geosynthetics used in containment, mining, and civil applications — an enabling supplier in the same ecosystem as Thiel rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thiel-engineering

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Thiel Engineering