Chas. T. Main Inc. was an engineering company of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

founded in 1893 and specialized in power generation—mainly hydroelectric power. In 1985, the company was bought by

Parsons Corporation Parsons Corporation (Parsons) is an American technology-focused defense, intelligence, security, and infrastructure engineering firm headquartered in Centreville, Virginia. The company was founded in 1944. Parsons has more than 16,000 employees ...

History

It was founded in 1893 by Charles T. Main, an engineer for the textile mills of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. It was privately owned by its senior engineers, it being felt that this would leave decision making to those that knew the industry best. In addition to the then-traditional business of water and steam power, Main soon expanded into the new field of water resource engineering and

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

. In 1949 it began an association with the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...

working on projects relating to

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exh ...

-based

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

s. It rose to become a worldwide player in the utility industries, providing many wide-ranging engineering services. For example, in the mid-1950s Charles T. Main was responsible for the building of a hydro-electric plant in Turkey (

Sarıyar Dam Sarıyar Dam is a dam north of the town of Sarıyar in the Nallıhan district of Ankara Province. It is west of the city of Ankara, the central Anatolian capital of Turkey. It is also located upstream of Gökçekaya Dam on the Sakarya River ...

) and developing a plan to unify development of the water resources of the Jordan River Valley for its surrounding countries, Jordan, Syria, and Israel. Main also provided economic and consulting services including forecasting, impact, allocation, and feasibility studies. Former Main consultant John Perkins is author of the book ''

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man ''Confessions of an Economic Hit Man'' is a semi-autobiographical book written by John Perkins, first published in 2004. Perkins, John. 2006 004 New York: Plume. . The book provides Perkins' account of his career with engineering consulting ...

'', which deals with the issues of

third world The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

debt and

neo-colonialism Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, g ...

. In the mid 1980s, mismanagement led to the downfall of Main and it was bought by

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

in 1985, which changed its name to Parsons Main, Inc. in January 1992.

References

{{Authority control Engineering companies of the United States Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1893 Technology companies disestablished in 1985 1893 establishments in Massachusetts 1985 disestablishments in Massachusetts Consulting firms established in 1893