FORT MILL, S.C -ESP Associates, Inc. (“ESP” or the “Company”), a leading multidisciplinary engineering design and infrastructure consulting firm, today announced the completion of two strategic acquisitions to expand its professional talent and service capabilities in the growing Texas and Colorado markets.
The two acquisitions include CivilCorp, LLC (“CivilCorp”), a full-service transportation and public works engineering, geospatial and inspection firm based in Texas, and Ditesco, LLC (“Ditesco”), a Fort Collins, CO-based civil engineering and program, project and construction management firm. With the additions of CivilCorp and Ditesco, the ESP family of companies is closing in on the goal that management established in 2018 when it partnered with Strength Capital Partners, LLC (“Strength”) of building an ENR Top 150 Design Firm in North America.
“We are excited to welcome CivilCorp and Ditesco to the ESP family,” said ESP President, Joe Hendrick. “From our first interactions with Ben (Galvan) and Tommy (Kuykendall, Jr.) at CivilCorp and Keith (Meyer) at Ditesco, it was clear that we found partners who share our values around integrity, authenticity and a commitment to employees and the clients and communities we serve. As we continue to expand ESP’s national footprint, we are committed to maintaining localized, people-focused relationships to ensure our companies and talented professionals remain trusted resources for our clients and partners.”
Mark McCammon, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Strength, added, “Our vision for ESP is to build a broadly diversified, market leading infrastructure growth platform supported by long-term environmental and demographic investment trends. The addition of CivilCorp and Ditesco enhances the platform’s capabilities in critical infrastructure markets – transportation, water resources and public utilities – while expanding our reach in the rapidly growing Texas and Colorado regions. We are thrilled to welcome both organizations to the ESP family of companies.”
With the close of the transactions, both the CivilCorp and Ditesco organizational structures will remain unchanged and continue to operate under the direction of their existing leadership teams. “Throughout ESP’s nearly 40-year history, we have prioritized maintaining a small firm feel while delivering large firm capabilities,” Hendrick said. “From top-to-bottom, the professionalism, technical expertise and entrepreneurial-spirit of the CivilCorp and Ditesco teams made them a natural fit with ESP. This partnership will provide tremendous opportunities for our employees to grow and excel, and we look forward to building on the combined organization’s successful track record of delivering forward-thinking, innovative solutions to our clients and communities.”
In conjunction with the acquisition closing, ESP successfully completed a refinancing of its debt facility that provides the Company with a highly-efficient capital structure and ample liquidity to support continued growth investment in talent, technology, and strategic M&A. ESP and its family of companies will continue to pursue an aggressive organic growth strategy bolstered by acquisitive expansion with an emphasis on the transportation, water, utilities, environment, and community infrastructure markets.
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP acted as legal counsel and Stifel acted as exclusive debt placement agent to ESP.
About ESP Associates
ESP Associates, Inc., a portfolio company of Strength Capital Partners, is a multidisciplinary engineering design and infrastructure consulting firm providing clients with civil engineering, surveying and mapping, planning and landscape architecture, geo-environmental, environmental, subsurface utility engineering, construction engineering inspection, and water resource management services. Built on an entrepreneurial spirit, ESP is structured to stay innovative and adaptive. Since its inception in 1986, ESP has continually expanded its breadth of services, geographic reach, technology capabilities, and organizational talent to deliver complete project solutions that meet the growing needs of its clients. Now with more than 750 employees in 35 offices across the U.S., ESP is well-equipped to solve the complex challenges for today’s rapidly changing environment. For more information, visit www.espassociates.com.
About Strength Capital Partners
Founded in 2000, Strength Capital Partners is a private equity firm with offices in Birmingham, MI, Cincinnati, OH and Denver, CO. Strength invests throughout the United States in lower-middle market business with $2 – $20 million in EBITDA. They pursue investments in a wide range of industries with a focus on manufacturing, distribution, infrastructure and industrial services. Strength’s core strategy is “Industrial Consolidation” whereby they seek to grow and diversify their platform companies through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic growth. For more information, please visit www.strengthcapital.com.
