CDM was founded as a partnership in 1947 by Thomas R. Camp, Herman G. Dresser, and Jack E. McKee. Dr. Camp headed the department of sanitary engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before leaving the university to set up a consulting practice. Dedicated to public health protection, he pioneered water treatment technologies such as dual-media filters and direct filtration for public water supplies. While Dr. Camp set the standard of technical excellence for CDM, Mr. Dresser established the tone and business practices of the firm, emphasizing the importance of employee development across all disciplines. Dr. McKee made professional contributions in water quality protection, groundwater recharge, and engineering education. He left the firm in 1949 to become a professor at the California Institute of Technology, later rejoining CDM on a part-time basis.
In its early years and throughout the 1950s, the partnership established its reputation in New England as an engineering practice specializing in water supply and water pollution control. Many early clients in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts remain CDM clients today.
In the 1960s, CDM expanded globally through major design contracts. We changed our structure from a partnership to a corporation in 1970, and made important mergers and acquisitions in New York, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, California, and Virginia. Growth continued abroad as well, as CDM International Inc. was formed as a subsidiary to manage the firm's projects outside the United States.
During the 1980s, while continuing to build our traditional base of water and wastewater expertise, CDM also made a strategic early entry into the hazardous waste management field, being named as program manager of one of EPA's first major Superfund contracts in 1981. To meet the unique service and contracting requirements of work in the federal sector, we established a wholly owned subsidiary, CDM Federal Programs Corporation, in 1986.
Expanding our expertise from scientific, engineering, and management consulting services to full-service capabilities, CDM formed our design-build, construction, and general contracting subsidiary, CDM Constructors Inc., in the early 1990s. At the same time, we strengthened our capabilities in transportation, operations, information management, and geotechnical services.
Thus, from a partnership of three brilliant engineers, CDM has grown into a leading global consulting, engineering, construction, and operations firm of more than 4,500 women and men working throughout the world.