Keith Cos. Adds Staff to Work on Power Plants

Keith Cos. Inc., a Costa Mesa engineering and consulting company, said Tuesday that it has increased its engineering services staff by more than 20% to meet growing demand for power plant development throughout the western U.S.

The company said in a press release that the new employees are primarily engineers and project management professionals. A recent market profile put Keith’s staff at about 470 people.

The company said its expansion signals a number of positive trends in the industry, showing primarily that deregulation and rapid economic growth are driving increasing demand for energy resources.

This trend has pushed utility companies and private-sector industrial companies to construct power generation plants, Keith said.

Shares of Keith gained 72 cents Tuesday to close at $8 a share on Nasdaq.