Offices worldwide
COWI's head office is located in Copenhagen. It is supplemented by 11 regional offices throughout Denmark. The COWI Group maintains a further 35 branch offices and affiliated offices in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
Project offices in a large number of countries supplement the company's permanent offices. These offices are established, staffed and operated in accordance with the requirements of individual projects.
Employees
COWI has 6,000 employees including approximately 2400 based in Denmark. COWI employs engineers, biologists, geologists, economists, surveyors, anthropologists, sociologists and architects.
Consultancy
COWI provides consultancy services within the fields of engineering, environmental science and economics.
Independence
COWI retains absolute independence from contractors, manufacturers and suppliers and is not associated with any interest which might interfere with its work as a consultant.
Customers
The proportion of private customers is a third, while the remaining two thirds are public and semi-public customers.
Projects
COWI has carried out nearly 50,000 projects in over 175 countries, mainly in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The company is currently engaged in some 5,300 projects within a wide range of disciplines.
Languages
As an international consultant with a multinational staff, COWI carries out projects in all major languages.
Turnover
Turnover: EUR 536.6 million (figure for 2009)
Share of turnover by consultancy type
Our turnover is divided across four main types of consultancy services:
- Project management
- Design, invitations to tender and supervision
- Expert assistance, planning and analyses
- Products and deliveries
Ownership
COWI A/S is the parent company of the COWI Group. COWI is a Danish private limited company, with the COWI Foundation as the majority shareholder.
History
COWI was founded in 1930 by civil engineer Christen Ostenfeld (Dr Tech). From 1946 to 1973, the company operated as a partnership under the name of Chr. Ostenfeld & W. Jønson. The initials of the two senior partners lent the company its name.
In 1973, the company became foundation-owned and was renamed COWIconsult, Consulting Engineers and Planners AS. In 1995, the company changed its name to COWI Consulting Engineers and Planners AS, eventually becoming COWI A/S in 2001.
