KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell and Infinite Energy Construction (IEC), an electrical contractor and certified minority-owned business enterprise (MBE), have entered an alliance to begin jointly providing electrical transmission and distribution engineering services.

IEC Engineering, a newly formed business unit within IEC, will work primarily with the Transmission & Distribution (T&D) Group at Burns & McDonnell on projects for electric utilities. Many large utilities are launching multibillion-dollar capital investment programs to upgrade and expand transmission and distribution infrastructure in response to new system demands, which are being driven by renewable energy sources and the expected rapid growth of charging stations needed by electric vehicles.

As part of these capital investment plans, many utilities have made commitments to allocate a share of this spending toward diverse suppliers that can provide a range of engineering, construction and other specialty services. IEC Engineering has already begun hiring engineering staff and is actively performing design on projects.

IEC has a long-standing relationship with Burns & McDonnell spanning nearly 20 years, providing electrical construction services as a subcontractor on a number of projects.

“It’s hard to overstate the impact this collaboration will have on IEC,” says Nilson Goes, president of IEC. “This is an opportunity to enter a very important market that we could not otherwise replicate. We have a long relationship with Burns & McDonnell and consider them to be mentors and friends as well as business partners. We hold similar values as companies and will do whatever it takes to continue earning trust on every project.”

As an electrical contractor, IEC has worked extensively across the U.S. on commercial, military, aviation and industrial projects, providing skilled electrical tradespeople for design-build, design-assist and design-bid-build projects.

“We have a longstanding commitment to go the extra mile with our minority-owned and women-owned business partners to mentor them and help them grow, not just to give them project work from time to time,” says Daniel Sierra, a business development manager at Burns & McDonnell focusing on electrical substation projects. “IEC has a culture and commitment to clients and the community that mirrors what we believe at Burns & McDonnell. We see great things ahead for this alliance.”

As new staff are added to IEC Engineering, Burns & McDonnell will provide extensive training and development aimed at establishing best practices and capabilities utilizing new technology-enabled processes.

“We’ve spent many years developing strong relationships with a diverse supplier base and have come to see that we gain as much value from them as they do from us,” says Luke Ezell, a substation project manager with Burns & McDonnell. “This team creates a win-win for everyone.”

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 10,000 engineers, construction and craft professionals, architects, and more to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities. Founded in 1898 and working from more than 60 offices globally, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.

About IEC

Founded in 1996 in Kansas City, MO, IEC has grown from a regional electrical contractor to a General Contractor serving Federal and Institutional clients throughout the United States. IEC leverages its electrical self-performance capabilities as well as its electrical engineering capabilities to create and deliver value on any project we undertake. Higher standards, higher performance — it’s more than a tagline, it’s the visible commitment to excellence you’ll see from every IEC professional and in each project we complete. Learn more about IEC.