Project Design Group Inc.

What Project Design Group Inc. does

Project Design Group, Inc. (PDG) is a privately held, multi-discipline consulting and design engineering firm founded in 2003 and headquartered in Mobile, Alabama. The firm delivers engineering, project management, and construction support services to industrial manufacturers across six process-industry verticals: Pulp, Paper and Forest Products; Chemical and Specialty Chemical; Petrochemical; Power; Refining; and Commercial. Each project is staffed under an account-manager-led model intended to function as an extension of the client's own team, with engagement scope ranging from single-equipment specifications to full multi-disciplinary design of complex industrial systems.

PDG's core service modules cover Project Management, System Process/Design, Civil/Structural, Mechanical, Piping, Electrical/Instrumentation, Document Management, Scheduling/Planning/Estimating, and 3D Laser Scanning. Delivery relies on established engineering software platforms rather than proprietary technology: CADWorx for 3D plant design and layout, Caesar II for piping stress analysis, SKM for power system studies (short circuit, load flow, protective coordination), STAAD for structural finite element analysis, and the Leica RTC360 with Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS for 3D laser scanning and as-built documentation. The firm carries notable technical depth in high-pressure (up to 2800 psig) and high-temperature piping and in process units spanning pulping, recovery boilers, batch and continuous chemical reactors, distillation, catalytic cracking, cogeneration, and energy storage.

The business model is project-based professional services with custom quote-based pricing and multi-year contract cadence. Revenue is generated entirely through engineering service engagements; no SaaS, subscription, or product licensing model exists. The firm is co-owned by founders Chuck Knight (President/CEO) and Wes Gerhardt, P.E. (Executive Vice President/CFO/Principal Engineer), both former Kellogg Brown & Root employees, with a senior-heavy staff averaging 25+ years of industry experience. Geographic concentration is in the Southeast US / Gulf Coast region, with stated nationwide project delivery capability. There are no disclosed funding rounds, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or institutional investors, consistent with a closely held consulting partnership.

Name

Project Design Group Inc.

Legal name

Project Design Group, Inc.

Website

https://pdgeng.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project Design Group, Inc. is a privately held, Mobile, Alabama-based multi-discipline engineering consulting firm founded in 2003 that delivers process, mechanical, piping, civil/structural, electrical, and project management services to enterprise industrial manufacturers in the Pulp & Paper, Chemical, Petrochemical, Power, Refining, and Commercial sectors, primarily across the Southeast US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Engineering Design Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction Engineering & Constructability Consulting (BPAHAIAN)

Keywords

• Industrial engineering design
• Multi-discipline engineering services
• Plant design consulting
• Process piping engineering
• 3D laser scanning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mobile

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Full-service consulting and design engineering services provided to industrial manufacturers. Services include project management, system process/design, civil/structural, mechanical, piping, electrical/instrumentation, document management, scheduling/planning/estimating, and 3D scanning. Revenue is generated through professional service engagements for projects of varying scales, from small plant projects to large scale capital projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Project Design Group, Inc. (PDG) is a multi-discipline consulting and design engineering firm providing project management, process, civil/structural, mechanical, piping, electrical/instrumentation, document management, scheduling/planning/estimating, and 3D scanning services. The firm delivers full-service engineering for industrial manufacturers across chemical, pulp and paper, petrochemical, power, refining, and commercial sectors, primarily in the Southeast US.

Product overview

Project Design Group, Inc. (PDG) is a multi-discipline consulting and design engineering firm offering a unified portfolio of professional engineering services. The core service modules include Project Management, System Process/Design, Civil/Structural, Mechanical, Piping, Electrical/Instrumentation, Document Management, Scheduling/Planning/Estimating, and 3D Scanning (using Leica RTC360 technology). These services are delivered across six industry verticals: Pulp/Paper/Forest Products, Chemical/Specialty Chemical, Petrochemical, Power, Refining, and Commercial sectors. PDG leverages specialized engineering software including CADWorx for 3D plant design, Caesar II for piping stress analysis, and SKM for power system studies. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, serving clients primarily in the Southeast/Gulf Coast region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project Management Comprehensive project management services for industrial engineering projects, including cost estimates, cost control, construction technical bid packages, detail engineering, grant writing, in-plant support, outage support, project planning and scheduling, scope development, and work breakdown structure. Delivered to industrial manufacturers for projects ranging from small plant upgrades to large-scale capital projects.
• System Process/Design Process engineering and design services including process flow diagrams and mass balances, simulations and studies, P&ID development, hydraulic studies, relief system studies and calculations, process equipment specification, troubleshooting, and material selection. Targeted at industrial manufacturers in chemical, petrochemical, refining, and pulp/paper sectors.
• Civil/Structural Engineering Civil and structural engineering services including civil and site design, concrete design, fall protection systems, process sewer drainage studies, rigging and lift planning, foundations, structural steel design and analysis, total station surveying, and wind resistant lateral force systems. Delivered to industrial manufacturers for plant construction and modification.
• Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering and HVAC services including equipment specification and design for pumps, compressors, chillers, boilers, turbine generator sets, cooling towers, tanks, pressure vessels, columns, fired equipment, hydraulic network analysis, solids handling, failure analysis, and maintenance and lift planning. Targeted at industrial plant operators.
• Piping Engineering and Design Piping engineering and design services including plot plan layout, equipment arrangements, 3D plant design using CADWorx, pipe routing and fabrication isometrics, piping stress engineering and analysis using Caesar II, pipe specification development, maintenance and lift planning, field engineering, and high pressure (2800 psig) and high temperature experience.
• Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering Electrical and instrumentation engineering services including control logic detail development support, electrical single line and motor load list development, electrical equipment specification, fabrication quality and factory acceptance test audits, instrument specification, lighting and grounding plans, motor control schematics, power and control cable and tray sizing and routing, and power system studies using SKM modeling.
• Document Management Document management services for industrial engineering projects, supporting organized project records and deliverables.
• Scheduling, Planning, and Estimating Scheduling, planning, and estimating services including master MS Project schedules, acquisition schedules, schedule risk identification, cost estimating checklists, risk analysis, and risk management plans for industrial engineering projects.
• 3D Laser Scanning 3D laser scanning services using the Leica RTC360 scanner that emits 2 million points per second for improved retrofit designs, quality control verification, productivity gains, quick concept evaluation, facility life cycle management, and reduced surveying costs. Includes field scanning with VIS alignment, office registration with Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS, and publishing of deliverables including 2D plans, panoramas, and wireframe/surface models.
• Pulp, Paper and Forest Products Engineering Industry-specific engineering services for the pulp, paper, and forest products sector including pulping (Kraft, SemiChem, Brown Stock System, O2 Delignification), woodyard operations, boiler controls, paper machines, digesters, recovery boilers, steam distribution, stock prep, tissue machines, recycled fiber, and environmental studies. Delivered to pulp and paper manufacturers.
• Chemical and Specialty Chemical Engineering Industry-specific engineering services for chemical and specialty chemical manufacturers including 3D modeling, batch reactors, distillation units, feasibility studies, P&ID/Smart P&ID development, piping systems design, plant layout, process flow diagram development, safety tie-off systems, tankage and storage, and truck and rail loading facilities.
• Petrochemical Engineering Industry-specific engineering services for petrochemical operators including boilers and boiler controls, cooling towers, compressors, fired heaters, firewater, flare systems, heat exchangers, marine loading facilities, process controls, reactors, reboilers, refrigeration units, substations, thermal oxidizers, and truck and rail loading facilities.
• Power Engineering Industry-specific engineering services for power producing facilities including arc flash hazard analysis, boiler feedwater systems, cogeneration plants, condensate systems, de-gasification, energy storage, high voltage transmission, load studies, stress analysis, safety relief valve audits, selective non-catalytic reduction, turbine generators, and wastewater treatment.
• Refining Engineering Industry-specific engineering services for the refining industry including amine and sulfur systems, aromatics, bulk liquid storage, catalytic cracking and reforming, cokers, control rooms, crude/vacuum/atmospheric distillation, fluidized catalytic cracking, heat transfer equipment, hydrofluoric acid plants, hydrotreaters, hydrogen generation, marine facilities, process safety management, PSV and relief systems, and safety/risk management.
• Commercial Engineering Commercial sector engineering services including integrated project schedules, project management, project controls, construction management, architectural/building design, estimating and scheduling, front end engineering and design (FEED), greenfield and brownfield site development, laser scanning, MEP/HVAC, procurement, roads and infrastructure, utility distribution, and water/wastewater treatment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Accident-free project delivery
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Vantage RecruitersminorOthersVantage Recruiters provides recruiting services for Project Design Group. The company links to vantagerecruiters.com for recruiting-related services as part of their service offerings menu.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GHD: Global engineering and consulting firm with dedicated process industries and energy practices providing multi-discipline engineering design similar to PDG's industrial offering.
• Kleinfelder: Engineering, scientific, and consulting firm with process/industrial clients offering multi-discipline design and project services that overlap with PDG's civil/structural, mechanical, and electrical capabilities.
• Stantec: Engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with industrial process and power practices providing multi-discipline engineering consulting comparable to PDG's portfolio.
• Burns & McDonnell: Engineering, architecture, and consulting firm with substantial industrial/process and power practice, offering multi-discipline design similar to PDG but at greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• SSOE Group: Mid-sized multi-discipline engineering firm providing process, mechanical, electrical, structural, and project management services to industrial manufacturers in chemical, power, and process industries — closely aligned to PDG's service model.
• Hargrove Engineers + Constructors: Mobile, Alabama-headquartered multi-discipline engineering firm serving chemical, pulp/paper, refining, and power clients with similar project-based engineering services. Strong geographic and vertical overlap makes it the most direct peer to PDG.
• POWER Engineering Services: Engineering firm specialized in power and energy facility design including fossil, cogeneration, and renewable generation — directly comparable to PDG's Power vertical offering.

Broad incumbents

• Black & Veatch: Large global EPC and engineering firm with substantial process industries, refining, and power practices that overlap PDG's verticals but at significantly larger scale.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with industrial process and energy engineering practices offering multi-discipline engineering services similar to PDG, but with much broader geographic and market reach.
• Wood (John Wood Group): Global engineering and consulting major serving process, refining, chemicals, and power industries with full multi-discipline capabilities that overlap PDG's offerings but at far greater scale and scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pdgengineering
• Facebookfacebook.com/project-design-group-inc-348258931962138
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-design-group-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Project Design Group Inc.