
The success of a firm is largely the result of the efforts of a team; how well that team works together and how well each individual does their job.
—Don Durden, Founder
OVERVIEW
From the roads we drive on, to the schools our children attend, to the water we drink from the tap in our home, all of these were made possible by the design and planning of civil engineers and surveyors.
Since 1983, Civil Engineering Consultants (CEC) has prioritized making a positive difference and improving quality of life for the great state of Texas. Our employees specialize in a wide variety of professional civil engineering, construction management, and surveying services, catering to both public and private projects.
Since inception, founder Don Durden recognized San Antonio’s potential for growth due to a combination of strong municipal leadership, effective agency coordination between the City, County, State, and utility owners, military presence, tourism, and proximity to Mexico and major coastal ports. Today, CEC has locations in Laredo and College Station that provide the same customer service and quality of life promotion as our headquarters in San Antonio.
HISTORY
CEC is a civil engineering, construction management and surveying firm founded on April 18, 1983 in San Antonio, Texas. At that time, the staff consisted of just three people – two project engineers and a draftsman.
Since then, we have expanded geographically to include offices in Bryan/College Station and Laredo. Our staff has grown to its present size and is now composed of engineers, draftsmen, surveyors, computer technicians, and support personnel. Despite our growth, our primary objective continues to be to provide quality services at a reasonable price. Our practical approach, our cooperative attitude, and the timeliness with which we execute our duties compel many of our clients to repeatedly request CEC to provide them with professional engineering and surveying services.
We were founded with an important set of principles:
- Provide a quality product
- Be an integral part of the client’s team
- Bring integrity to each and every job
- Have respect for clients and fellow employees
- Strive to exceed the goals set forth by our clients.
The continued success of CEC is the result of implementing these principles on every project.

The original CEC logo (1983)
We Make a Difference:
CEC makes a positive difference whenever we are involved, making the world a better place and improving the quality of people’s lives. Our values are:
Integrity and Ethical Behavior
We conduct ourselves ethically in all we do, endeavoring to integrate our values in every aspect of our individual and corporate lives, always holding paramount our duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
Honesty
We are honest in all our dealings, whether they are with clients, co-workers, or the public at large. We endeavor to do what we say we will do; when circumstances do not allow us to keep our commitments, we communicate with those affected at the earliest possible time.
Quality
Quality is an integral part of all that we do and a defining characteristic of the enduring legacy of CEC. We define quality as meeting client expectations for consistency and excellence in our documents and deliverables, business processes, professional practices, working relationships, as well as the results and outcomes achieved.
Success
We conduct ourselves in a professional business-like manner to produce results that meet or exceed the financial and growth expectations of our shareholders, employees, clients, sub-consultants and vendors, and our bankers.
Cooperation
We work together as a team for the ultimate success of the company.
Respect
We endeavor to earn the respect of those we work with by being competent, honest, and ethical in all we do. We treat others with respect whether they are our clients, our co-workers, our competitors, or the public.
Family
Because healthy families are more likely to produce successful citizens, we support business practices that support healthy families and family values. We consider it important for members of our employees’ families —especially their children—to understand and appreciate the contributions our employees make in and through their jobs. Accordingly, we nurture the relationships between our employees’ families and our company.