What Crist Engineers does

Crist Engineers, Inc. is a privately held Arkansas professional engineering consulting firm founded in 1938 by Marion L. Crist. Headquartered in Little Rock with offices in Fayetteville and Hot Springs, the firm specializes in the planning, design, construction observation, startup, and operations assistance for municipal water supply, treatment, distribution, and storage systems, as well as wastewater permitting, collection, treatment, and disposal infrastructure. Supporting services include general civil engineering, electrical, instrumentation and controls, telemetry, solid waste, and energy-related engineering. The firm markets "cutting edge" water distribution system computer modeling for simulation and upgrades analysis as a core technical capability.

The firm's primary customers are Arkansas municipalities, regional public water authorities, and state agencies — including the City of Hot Springs, Central Arkansas Water, Benton Washington Regional Public Water Authority, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and Paragould Light Water & Cable. Revenue is generated through project-based professional service fees on competitively bid municipal contracts and RFPs, with a sales-led go-to-market model and direct client engagement. The firm does not publish pricing and operates exclusively within Arkansas.

The company is management-led, with key principals Matthew D. Dunn (President), Craig A. Johnson (Vice President), and Brian N. Wintle (Secretary/Treasurer, Partner). It has accumulated 9 ACEC Engineering Excellence awards at state and national levels between 2022 and 2025, including a 2025 ACEC National Engineering Excellence Award for the Lake Ouachita Blakely Mt. Tunnel Lake Tap and Intake project. The firm has no disclosed external investors, no subsidiaries, no acquisitions, and no geographic expansion beyond Arkansas.

Name

Crist Engineers

Legal name

Crist Engineers, Inc.

Website

https://cristengineers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crist Engineers is a privately held Arkansas engineering consulting firm founded in 1938, specializing in planning and design of municipal water, wastewater, and public works projects for Arkansas municipalities, public water authorities, and state agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Water and Wastewater Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Engineering Services (54133)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

Keywords

• Municipal water engineering
• Wastewater treatment design
• Civil engineering consulting
• Water distribution modeling
• Public works infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Rock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Municipal Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering services for municipal water supply, treatment, distribution and storage improvements, and wastewater permitting, collection, treatment, and disposal improvements. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting fees for design, planning, construction observation, startup, and operations assistance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Crist Engineers provides professional engineering consulting services for municipal water supply, treatment, distribution and storage improvements, and wastewater permitting, collection, treatment, and disposal improvements. The firm also delivers general civil engineering, electrical/instrumentation/controls, telemetry, solid waste, and energy services, spanning planning, design, construction observation, startup, and operations assistance, supported by water distribution system computer modeling for simulation and infrastructure upgrades.

Product overview

Crist Engineers is a professional engineering consulting firm offering a unified portfolio of water and wastewater management services. The core offerings include water supply/treatment/distribution/storage improvements and wastewater permitting/collection/treatment/disposal improvements, supported by specialized add-on services in civil engineering, electrical systems, instrumentation and controls, telemetry, solid waste, and energy. The firm also provides cutting-edge water distribution system computer modeling for simulation and infrastructure analysis. Services span the full project lifecycle from planning and design through construction observation, startup, and operations assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Supply, Treatment, Distribution and Storage Improvements Planning, design, construction observation, startup, and operations assistance services for municipal water supply, treatment, distribution, and storage infrastructure projects.
• Wastewater Permitting, Collection, Treatment, and Disposal Improvements Engineering services for wastewater permitting, collection, treatment, and disposal improvements for municipal clients.
• General Civil Engineering Services General civil engineering services provided by qualified and experienced personnel for municipal and private clients.
• Water Distribution System Computer Modeling Cutting edge computer modeling tools for water distribution system simulation and distribution system upgrades analysis, used to support infrastructure planning and design decisions.

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• City of Hot SpringscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrist Engineers has an ongoing strategic partnership with City of Hot Springs, completing multiple high-profile projects including Lake Ouachita Lake Tap & Intake Structure, Sanderson Dam Bridge, Water Supply Project, and various wastewater improvements. Projects have received multiple ACEC awards.
• Paragould Light Water & CablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPLWC engaged Crist Engineers for biosolids processing improvements including preliminary engineering report and final design for a facility to stabilize dewatered biosolids to Class A exceptional quality product. Construction cost was $4,575,697.
• Central Arkansas WatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for water treatment plant improvements, including Ozark Point WTP Lime and ZOP Improvements, intake gate replacements, and clearwell modifications.
• Benton Washington Regional Public Water AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple projects including South Transmission System Parallel Line Project, distribution system improvements phases, and water treatment plant improvements with waste residual lagoons.
• Arkansas Game & Fish CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrist Engineers serves as prime consultant for Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery Renovations, providing mechanical engineering for fish hatchery improvements including mechanical bar screens (25.6 MGD and 51.2 MGD).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Hawkins-Weir Engineers: Arkansas-based engineering firm offering water/wastewater, civil, and environmental services to municipal and industrial clients. Comparable in size, geography, and municipal water/wastewater focus.
• Garver: Multi-discipline engineering firm headquartered in Arkansas with a substantial water/wastewater practice serving municipalities across the South. Closely comparable to Crist in terms of municipal focus, geographic origin, and project types (treatment plants, distribution, intake structures), though substantially larger and multi-state.
• McGoodwin Williams & Yates: Arkansas-based consulting engineering firm providing water, wastewater, transportation, and site development services to municipalities. Direct regional competitor with similar size, service mix, and government client focus as Crist.
• FTN Associates: Little Rock, Arkansas-based environmental and water resources engineering firm with deep municipal water/wastewater expertise. Closely matches Crist's customer base, geography, and project scope; competes head-to-head on many Arkansas municipal bids.

Broad incumbents

• HDR: Global engineering firm with a top-tier North American water/wastewater practice serving municipal utilities. Competes with Crist on Arkansas program management and treatment plant design work, particularly on larger pursuits.
• Black & Veatch: Global engineering, procurement, and construction firm with one of the largest municipal water/wastewater practices in the world. Competes with Crist on larger Arkansas municipal programs and represents the type of scaled incumbent whose pricing pressure is a key bear-case factor for Crist.
• Tetra Tech: Global consulting and engineering firm with strong water resources and municipal water/wastewater capabilities. Comparable service overlap with Crist and a frequent competitor on environmental and water infrastructure pursuits.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with a major North American water practice serving municipal utilities. Represents the largest scale of competitor that bids against small regional firms like Crist on major programs.
• Burns & McDonnell: Employee-owned engineering firm with a sizable water group serving municipal and industrial clients across the US. Comparable in municipal water focus though broader geographically and substantially larger than Crist.
• Jacobs Solutions: Global professional services firm with significant water and wastewater infrastructure practice serving US municipalities. Competes with Crist on larger municipal programs and increasingly active in Arkansas IIJA-funded pursuits.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cristengineers
• Facebookfacebook.com/cristengineers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/10651532
• Instagraminstagram.com/cristengineers
• Xx.com/cristengineers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Crist Engineers