BLA

What BLA does

BLA, Inc. is a privately held civil engineering consulting firm founded in 1978 and headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, with a regional office in Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm provides professional engineering services across five integrated service lines: Transportation Design, Structural Engineering, Construction Engineering, Municipal Engineering, and Traffic & Safety Engineering. It serves government and municipal clients — villages, cities, counties, state departments of transportation, and toll authorities — across the greater Chicagoland and Indianapolis regions, executing projects ranging from small drainage improvements to major capital projects exceeding $100 million in construction cost.

The firm's offering covers the full project lifecycle, from Phase I planning and preliminary design through Phase II design engineering and Phase III construction engineering, including public information and community outreach. Notable technical work includes Illinois' first Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS), the first multi-lane roundabout in Lake County, and value-engineering studies that delivered $39 million in cost savings on the $204 million Longmeadow Parkway corridor. Underlying delivery relies on credentialed staff (P.E., S.E., PTOE, CFM, CWS) and standard civil-engineering design and project-management tooling rather than proprietary technology platforms.

BLA generates revenue through fee-based engineering consulting contracts billed on a per-project basis, procured via competitive bidding on public infrastructure projects and direct relationship-based engagement with municipal decision-makers. The firm has earned recognition including ASCE, ACEC, APWA, and CMAA awards, and multiple KDOT Consultant of the Year honors (2017, 2018, 2022), supporting repeat engagement with key public-sector clients.

Name

BLA

Legal name

BLA, Inc.

Website

https://bla-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

BLA, Inc. is a privately held civil engineering consulting firm founded in 1978, serving government and municipal clients in the greater Chicagoland and Indianapolis regions across transportation, structural, construction, municipal, and traffic engineering services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Itasca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: BLA generates revenue through fee-based engineering consulting contracts with government and municipal clients. Projects range from small drainage improvements to major capital projects exceeding $100 million in construction cost. Services are billed on a per-project basis for Phase I (planning), Phase II (design), and Phase III (construction engineering) services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BLA, Inc. is a civil engineering consulting firm that provides professional engineering services to public-sector clients including villages, cities, counties, and state departments of transportation. The firm delivers five core service lines: Construction Engineering, Municipal Engineering, Structural Engineering, Traffic & Safety Engineering, and Transportation Design, supporting infrastructure and public-works projects.

Product overview

BLA is a civil engineering consulting firm offering five integrated service lines: Construction Engineering, Municipal Engineering, Structural Engineering, Traffic & Safety Engineering, and Transportation Design. These services work together to deliver comprehensive infrastructure projects from preliminary design through construction management, serving municipal clients across the greater Chicagoland and Indianapolis areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Construction Engineering Construction-phase engineering services supporting public-infrastructure and public-works projects, typically delivered to government and municipal clients.
• Municipal Engineering Engineering services for municipal clients such as villages, cities, and counties, addressing local infrastructure and public-works needs.
• Structural Engineering Structural engineering services supporting the design and analysis of structures for public-sector infrastructure projects.
• Traffic & Safety Engineering Traffic and safety engineering services for roadway and public-right-of-way projects, typically delivered to state DOTs and municipal transportation authorities.
• Transportation Design Transportation design services for state departments of transportation and municipal agencies, covering roadway and corridor design.

Quantifiable outcome

• $39 million in savings through value engineering study on Longmeadow Parkway corridor
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wight & Company: Illinois-based design and engineering firm with civil, structural, and transportation capabilities serving municipal clients in the greater Chicago region — overlapping geography and engineering service lines with BLA.
• Clark Dietz: Civil and environmental engineering consulting firm headquartered in Illinois with offices across the Midwest, serving municipal, state, and county clients on transportation and infrastructure projects comparable to BLA's portfolio.
• HR Green: Multi-disciplinary engineering firm providing transportation, municipal, water, and construction services to public agencies across the Midwest — overlapping with BLA on Illinois and Indiana municipal and DOT engagements.
• Fehr Graham: Midwest civil engineering and environmental consulting firm serving municipalities, counties, and state DOTs — comparable in size and service breadth to BLA, with an overlapping Illinois presence.
• Christopher B. Burke Engineering: Illinois-based civil engineering consulting firm serving municipal, county, and state clients in transportation, water resources, and construction management — directly comparable to BLA in scale, geography, and service portfolio across the Chicagoland market.
• Baxter & Woodman: Midwest-focused civil engineering firm providing municipal, transportation, water, and structural engineering to villages, counties, and DOTs — highly comparable to BLA in client base, regional geography, and service mix.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Global engineering consulting firm with a sizable Midwest presence covering transportation, water, and municipal infrastructure — competes with BLA on public-sector procurements, on-call contracts, and program management work.
• Stanley Consultants: Larger, multi-state engineering firm with broad transportation, structural, and municipal capabilities — overlaps with BLA in service scope but operates at greater scale, longer geographic reach, and on bigger program-management contracts.
• WSP USA: Global engineering and professional services firm with a strong Illinois transportation and infrastructure practice — competes with BLA on large IDOT, toll authority, and county corridor projects and design-build pursuits.
• Burns & McDonnell: Major national engineering, architecture, and construction firm with significant transportation and infrastructure practices — competes with BLA on larger IDOT, toll authority, and corridor procurements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/bla_inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 BLA