What Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) does

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) is a privately held national engineering and consulting firm founded in 1968 and headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The firm provides geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, construction materials testing and inspection, and geophysics services to commercial, infrastructure, data center, government/military, healthcare, and education clients. UES operates through a decentralized model of more than 100 branches and 65+ in-house laboratories across 20+ states, employing approximately 4,000 professionals including engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, archaeologists, ecologists, and hydrologists. Its laboratories hold AASHTO and USACE accreditations that pre-qualify the firm for transportation and federal infrastructure work.

UES generates revenue primarily through project-based professional services engagements, priced via quotes tied to scope, complexity, and regulatory requirements rather than subscription or product licensing. The firm operates a National Accounts program that allows multi-region delivery to enterprise clients, and is increasingly targeting the data center vertical through specialized offerings such as Data Center Modeling and Thermal Resistivity Testing. Since 2019, the firm has executed more than 25 acquisitions under the sponsorship of Palm Beach Capital, using M&A as the primary engine for geographic and capability expansion. The acquisition of Marino Engineering Associates added subsidence and geoforensic expertise, while recent deals (Amtech Solutions, BEC, Andreyev Engineering) have extended the firm into building envelope, environmental, and hydrogeological services. Recognition in the ENR Top 500 Design Firms rankings climbed from #85 to #34, and Zweig Group has named UES the fastest-growing AEC firm in the U.S. for four consecutive years.

Name

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES)

Legal name

Universal Engineering Sciences, LLC

Website

https://teamues.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) is a national engineering and consulting firm providing geotechnical, environmental, materials testing, and geophysics services through 100+ branches, 65+ laboratories, and ~4,000 professionals across 20+ states, serving commercial, infrastructure, data center, government, healthcare, and education clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geotechnical Engineering & Environmental Consulting

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Geotechnical & Subsurface Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

EHS Management Systems & ISO Consulting (ISO 14001/45001) (BPAHAJAF)

Keywords

• Geotechnical engineering services
• Environmental consulting
• Construction materials testing
• Building inspection services
• Subsurface site investigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices29 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Geotechnical Engineering Services: Professional engineering services for subsurface investigation, foundation design recommendations, and soil analysis. Project-based professional services revenue.
2. Environmental Consulting Services: Environmental site assessments, remediation, permitting, and compliance services. Includes Phase I & II assessments, PFAS consulting, asbestos/lead services.
3. Materials Testing (Field & Lab): Construction materials testing and inspection services including concrete, asphalt, soil testing. AASHTO-accredited laboratory services.
4. Inspection Services: Building code compliance inspections, threshold inspections, special inspections, field inspections and code compliance services.
5. Geophysical Services: Geophysical technologies including concrete scanning, utility locating, and subsurface imaging services.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

UES provides professional geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, construction materials testing, geophysical services, and building code compliance inspections for public and private construction and development projects across the United States. The firm operates a national network of more than 100 branches and 65+ laboratories, delivering project-based engineering services from subsurface investigation and foundation design through environmental permitting and quality assurance inspection.

Product overview

UES is a national engineering and consulting firm offering specialized services through a unified platform. The company provides three interconnected core service areas: Environmental & Earth Sciences (environmental consulting, geotechnical engineering), Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions (materials testing, field inspections, code compliance), and Geophysical Technologies (concrete services, geophysics, virtual design consulting). These core offerings are augmented through an acquisition strategy that has brought over 25 companies into the UES family, including Andreyev Engineering (hydrogeological services), Marino Engineering Associates (subsidence/geoforensic engineering), Amtech Solutions (building envelope), BEC (environmental consulting), and specialized testing services like thermal resistivity and data center modeling. The company serves diverse industries including transportation, infrastructure, data centers, power, healthcare, education, and government/military sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Geotechnical Engineering Subsurface investigation, soil analysis, and foundation design recommendations for construction and development projects.
• Environmental Consulting Phase I and II environmental site assessments, remediation, permitting, PFAS consulting, asbestos/lead services, NEPA compliance, and natural resource management for development projects.
• Construction Materials Testing (Field & Lab) AASHTO-accredited field and laboratory testing of concrete, asphalt, soil, and other construction materials to verify quality and specification compliance.
• Geophysical Services Subsurface imaging, utility locating, concrete scanning, and geophysical anomaly detection including high-resolution seismic imaging for karst and mining features.
• Field Inspections & Code Compliance Building code compliance, threshold, and special inspections for construction projects including Florida milestone inspections under SB 4-D.
• Virtual Design Consulting (BIM / Digital Twin) BIM, SIM, Civil 3D/Revit modeling, GIS databases, reality capture, LiDAR point-clouds, 360 photos, and Scan-to-BIM services supporting data center and infrastructure projects.
• Thermal Resistivity Testing Thermal needle probe testing of thermal conductivity and resistivity for underground transmission lines, geothermal systems, solar fields, substations, oil and gas pipelines, and data centers.
• Subsidence & Geoforensic Engineering Advanced subsidence engineering, stability designs, failure analyses, mine stabilization, and proprietary steel strap foundation repair for mining-influenced sites.
• Hydrogeological Services Groundwater flow modeling, saltwater intrusion modeling, aquifer recharge and protection studies, and related hydrogeological engineering.
• Building Envelope Services Building envelope and related consulting services including roof and wall inspections, assessments, and consulting.
• Environmental Site Investigation & Remediation Brownfields, groundwater, property redevelopment, site investigation, remediation, and litigation support environmental services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fort Myers laboratory achieved 'No Action Required' designation in US Army Corps of Engineers Materials Testing Center re-validation inspection
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Terracon Consultants: Terracon is a national employee-owned firm providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities services. Closest direct comparable to UES in service mix, scale (~5,000+ employees), AASHTO-accredited lab footprint, and acquisition-led geographic expansion model.
• Kleinfelder: Kleinfelder offers geotechnical, environmental, construction materials testing, and inspection services across infrastructure, energy, and water markets. Similar multi-disciplinary professional services model, comparable North American footprint, and overlapping client base in transportation and utilities.
• Haley & Aldrich: Haley & Aldrich is an employee-owned geotechnical and environmental consulting firm specializing in subsurface and built-environment challenges. Closely comparable niche expertise, particularly in complex subsurface and environmental remediation work that maps directly to UES's Marino/Andreyev/BEC capabilities.
• ECS Group of Companies: ECS provides geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities engineering services through a regional branch model. Highly comparable in service portfolio, AASHTO lab accreditation, regional branch expansion, and target end markets (commercial, transportation, education).

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a global consulting and engineering firm with deep water, environment, and infrastructure practices. Competes with UES's environmental and geotechnical practices and has the scale to pursue larger federal programs where UES typically plays a subconsultant role.
• AECOM: AECOM is one of the largest global infrastructure consulting firms with extensive geotechnical and environmental practices. Overlaps with UES on transportation, environmental, and federal projects; notably former AECOM Chairman/CEO Michael Burke is now UES's Chairman.
• WSP USA: WSP is a major global engineering consultancy with significant Earth & Environment practice overlap post-Golder acquisition. Competes with UES for large environmental and transportation programs and brings international scale advantages.
• Stantec: Stantec is a global engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with North American geotechnical and environmental practices. Overlaps with UES in infrastructure, environmental, and community development segments where both compete for municipal and private work.
• TRC Companies: TRC provides environmental, consulting, and engineering services focused on power, infrastructure, and sustainability. Overlaps with UES in environmental consulting and remediation practice areas and serves similar utility and industrial clients.

Emerging players

• GeoEngineers: GeoEngineers is a specialized geotechnical and environmental science consulting firm with strong West Coast presence. Comparable in niche geotechnical and geo-environmental expertise, though smaller in scale than UES.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXK2FHVTcS5o9uLEKO7RuYg
• Facebookfacebook.com/teamues
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/teamues
• Instagraminstagram.com/team_ues
• Xx.com/team_ues

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries27 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A11 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Universal Engineering Sciences (UES)