Mott MacDonald's North American infrastructure company, Hatch Mott MacDonald, has acquired Coast & Harbor Engineering (CHE), a professional engineering firm specialising in the design and construction of coastal projects. The move expands the consultancy's international coastal engineering and ports business.

Founded in 2003, CHE specialises on the protection and restoration of coastlines and the development of port and harbour infrastructure and navigation-related projects. The company provided coastal engineering analysis, design, and construction oversight services to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority for the Cameron Parish Shoreline Restoration project.

The company also undertook a feasibility study for the Texas General Land Office as part of a shoreline stabilisation project to identify causes of erosion and determine feasible engineered alternatives to stabilise the shoreline for the next 25 years. CHE also performed vessel-induced surge modelling and analysis in order to provide an assessment of passing vessel hydrodynamic effects and forces on berthed vessels for the Canaveral Port Authority.

Hatch Mott MacDonald president and CEO Nick DeNichilo said:

"The impact of Hurricane Sandy, as well as other natural events, has underscored the importance of coastal restoration and enhancing the resiliency of infrastructure at a time when the impact of weather is more and more severe and unpredictable. We are delighted to welcome Coast & Harbor to the Hatch Mott MacDonald family as part of our rapidly growing coastal engineering and ports practice."

Hugo Bermudez, principal coastal engineer of Coast & Harbor Engineering, said:

"We are excited by the opportunity to join one of the fastest-growing and most innovative engineering companies in North America. At a time when ports and coastal infrastructure are increasingly multimodal, access to the broad-based resources of HMM will make it possible for us to compete for larger and more complex projects than ever before. Our current clients should also be pleased with the greater range of expertise we can bring to bear on their challenges."

Hatch Mott MacDonald was founded in 1996 by its parent companies, Hatch Ltd and Mott MacDonald.

In 2001, Hatch Mott MacDonald acquired Killam Associates, a New Jersey-based water, wastewater, and environmental services company. HMM has continued to follow a strategy of organic growth coupled with strategic acquisitions.

As of 2013, Engineering News-Record ranked HMM number 36 among its "Top 500 Design Firms in the United States.