Stone & Webster

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stone & Webster was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles Stone and Edwin Webster in 1889. Stone & Webster was acquired by The Shaw Group in 2000. The company provides engineering, construction, environmental services, and plant operation and maintenance. The company has long been involved power generation projects and has worked on most American nuclear power plants. In the early 20th century, Stone & Webster was also known for operating streetcar systems in many cities across the United States; examples include Dallas, Houston and Seattle.

1 History
2 Washington State
3 1940s to Present
4 References
5 External Links

[edit] History

Charles Stone and Edwin Webster first met in 1884 and became close friends while studying electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1890, only two years after graduating, they formed the Massachusetts Electrical Engineering Company. The name was changed to Stone & Webster in 1893. Their company was one of the earliest electrical engineering consulting firms in the United States^[1].

Stone & Webster's first major project was the construction of a hydroelectric plant for the New England paper company in 1890. Stone & Webster not only had valuable insight into developing and managing utilities but they also had keen intuition for businesses to invest in. Through the panic of 1893, Stone & Webster were able to acquire the Nashville Electric Light and Power Company for a few thousand dollars and later sold it for $500,000^[2].

Throughout the next ten years, Stone & Webster acquired interest in large number of utilities while offering managerial, engineering and financial consulting to a number of independent utility firms. Even though Stone & Webster were not a holding company, their financial and managerial presence meant that they had considerable influence in policy decisions. They would often be paid in utility stock^[3].

By 1912, the company divided itself into three specialized subsidiaries^[4]:

Stone & Webster Engineering
Stone & Webster Management Association
Stone & Webster and Blodget Inc.

[edit] Washington State

By 1908, Stone & Webster listed thirty-one railway and lighting under its management including five located in Washington State. They were^[5]:

Puget Sound Electric Railway
Puget Sound International Railway and Power Company
Puget Sound Power Company
The Seattle Electric Company
Whatcom County Railway and Light Company

Stone & Webster was sensitive to the concerns of large utility holding companies and were careful to emphasize the complete independence of these utilities. In 1916, J.D. Ross, superintendent of Seattle City Light issued a critical report pertaining to Stone & Websters presence in Seattle and effectively showed that there were 49 companies under Stone & Webster's management^[6].

Stone & Webster was also involved in Puget Sound area street railways. In 1900, they had controlled and merged eight small rail lines in Seattle. Soon after, they also took over the street railway systems of Tacoma and Everett.

Due to the promise of Washington States natural resources for hydroelectric power and seemingly limitless development opportunities brought companies like Stone & Webster. Edwin Webster believed that outside capital was crucial to develop the resources of Washington, and chided those who thought otherwise. In 1905, Stone & Webster bought out the power and lighting properties that were once owned by the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company. These included the York Street Steam plant and the partially built Nooksack Falls Hydroelectric Power Plant. Stone & Webster took over construction operations and on September 21, 1906, Bellingham received power from the plant via a 47 mile long transmission line^[7].

[edit] 1940s to Present

Stone & Webster was involved in creating the facilities and laboratories for the Manhattan Project. Prior to its acquisition it was also part of the Maine Yankee decommissioning project.

The Shaw Energy and Chemicals division now encompasses Stone & Webster branded technology. Shaw's E&C division attempts to compete with other more successful engineering contractors such as Bechtel, Foster Wheeler, Jacobs and Technip. Whilst the company supplies a limited number of well regarded technologies such as Ethylene furnaces, the demand for these technologies is cyclical and the company has been unable to implement any business plan to mitigate the inevitable downturn in demand for its high-value services. The future of this division of the Shaw Group is therefore somewhat uncertain.