What Strand Associates does

Strand Associates, Inc. is a privately held civil engineering firm established in 1946 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. The firm operates 12 offices across the United States and has completed projects in 48 states, serving primarily municipal government clients with comprehensive engineering services across six core service categories: Buildings and Facilities, Green Infrastructure Solutions, Municipal/General Civil, Transportation/Aviation, Wastewater, and Water Supply. Strand is ranked #173 by Engineering News-Record among the Top 500 Design Firms and is led by President and CEO Matthew Richards, P.E. and Chairman Theodore Richards, indicating closely-held ownership.

The firm's technical capabilities center on specialized domain expertise developed over 80 years, including nationally recognized leadership in roundabout design (250+ roundabouts in 15 years), TMDL analysis and negotiation, dynamic wastewater collection system modeling (XPSWMM, SewerCAD, InfoWorks, Hydra), and biological nutrient removal process modeling using BioWin. The firm has designed 400+ miles of sanitary sewer and pressure mains, 100+ water wells, 50+ airports with 2M+ square yards of airfield pavement, and 20 miles of stream restoration across 26 projects in six states.

Strand generates revenue through project-based professional services delivered under multi-year master service agreements with municipal clients, with individual task orders approved on a per-project basis. Client relationships typically span several decades, supported by the firm's designation as city, town, or village engineer for numerous municipalities. The firm's GTM relies on long-term client relationships, industry conference presence, professional awards (APWA, ACEC), and ENR ranking visibility rather than aggressive outbound sales motion.

Name

Strand Associates

Legal name

Strand Associates, Inc.

Website

https://strand.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Strand Associates is a privately held civil engineering firm founded in 1946, operating 12 offices across the US and serving municipal governments with water, wastewater, transportation, and infrastructure engineering services under long-term master service agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Services - Project-Based: Professional engineering services billed on a project basis through task orders approved by municipal councils. Long-term master service agreements with government clients provide ongoing revenue streams with individual project scopes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Strand Associates is a full-service civil engineering firm providing planning, design, and construction observation services for water, wastewater, transportation, municipal, and building infrastructure projects. The firm operates 12 offices nationwide serving municipal governments and industrial clients with multi-disciplinary engineering expertise spanning environmental, structural, electrical, mechanical, and transportation disciplines.

Product overview

Strand Associates is a full-service engineering firm established in 1946, offering comprehensive engineering and design services across six primary service categories: Buildings and Facilities (architectural and MEP design), Green Infrastructure Solutions (sustainable stormwater and environmental services), Municipal/General Civil (infrastructure and utility engineering), Transportation/Aviation (roadway and airport infrastructure), Wastewater (treatment plant and collection system services), and Water Supply (treatment and distribution systems). The firm operates 12 offices nationwide and is ranked 173 by Engineering News-Record. Rather than a unified software product, the company provides professional engineering services tailored to municipal and private sector clients across water, wastewater, transportation, and building infrastructure projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Buildings and Facilities Full-service architectural and engineering design for commercial, industrial, civic, and manufacturing facilities including civil, structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, and information technology services.
• Green Infrastructure Solutions Sustainable stormwater management, watershed planning, stream restoration, CSO/SSO abatement, BMP design, LEED green building design, and MS4 compliance services integrating multiple engineering disciplines.
• Municipal / General Civil Civil engineering services including stormwater management, sanitary sewer systems, water distribution, natural gas distribution, GIS mapping, surveying, land development, and infrastructure asset management.
• Transportation / Aviation Transportation planning and engineering for highways, urban arterials, roundabouts, bridges, traffic signals, tollways, ITS systems, and general aviation airport infrastructure development.
• Wastewater Wastewater treatment plant planning, design, and construction services including process modeling, collection system modeling, CSO/SSO/CMOM management, permitting, regulatory compliance, and biosolids management.
• Water Supply Water supply engineering including source supply development, water treatment, distribution systems, hydraulic modeling, system master planning, water storage facilities, and corrosion control services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Saved clients millions in treatment plant upgrades through TMDL review and negotiation
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Washington City CouncilcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMaster service agreement renewal for technical engineering services covering water and wastewater engineering including wastewater compliance and general engineering for six years. The updated master service agreement replaces the prior 2013 agreement, with task orders submitted to council for approval on a per-project basis.
• Johnson County Board of Zoning AppealscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBargersville Utilities received unanimous approval from the Johnson County Board of Zoning Appeals for a use variance to construct a new 24,000-square-foot drinking water treatment facility at 956 Stone Road in Greenwood, Indiana.
• Antioch Park DistrictcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSequoit Creek Park project in Antioch, Illinois recognized as one of Illinois' top infrastructure projects, winning top award from American Council of Engineering Companies. Project included exposed and restored Sequoit Creek, inclusive playground, and Italian-made performance space pavilion.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Black & Veatch: Privately held global engineering, procurement, and construction firm with deep water, wastewater, and municipal infrastructure practices — directly comparable to Strand's core service lines and similar closely-held ownership profile.
• Burns & McDonnell: 100% employee-owned engineering firm with strong water, environmental, and transportation/aviation practices serving municipal and industrial clients — directly comparable in scale (ENR Top 500), ownership model, and service mix.
• HDR Inc. Employee-owned engineering and architecture firm with major water, wastewater, transportation, and environmental practices — directly comparable in service portfolio and ENR Top 500 ranking tier, with a larger geographic footprint.
• Brown and Caldwell: Privately held environmental engineering firm focused on water and wastewater — a direct specialty peer for Strand's wastewater and water supply service lines.
• Stantec: Publicly traded global engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with strong water and municipal practices — directly comparable across Strand's six service categories with a meaningfully larger scale.
• Kimley-Horn: Privately held engineering and planning firm with strong transportation, aviation, and municipal practices — directly comparable to Strand's transportation/aviation specialty and similarly project-based municipal GTM.
• Tetra Tech: Engineering and consulting firm with leading water, environment, and sustainable infrastructure practices — directly comparable to Strand's environmental engineering and resource recovery work, with a larger water-focused practice.
• TRC Companies: Publicly traded engineering, environmental consulting, and construction management firm — comparable in serving municipal and industrial clients across water, transportation, and environmental markets, though with a broader energy transition overlay.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with water, transportation, and environment practices — operates broadly across the same end markets as Strand but at a vastly larger scale and with a global footprint.
• Jacobs Solutions: Global professional services firm with major water, transportation, and environmental infrastructure practices — broad incumbent that overlaps with Strand's full municipal engineering portfolio but at materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/strandassociatesCOL

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Strand Associates