What Wade Trim does

Wade Trim is a 100-year-old, employee-owned civil engineering consulting firm headquartered in Taylor, Michigan, founded in 1926. The firm delivers infrastructure planning, design, construction administration, and inspection services across drinking water, wastewater/wet weather, stormwater, transportation (roadways, bridges, multimodal), natural gas pipelines, power/electric distribution, site development, surveying, landscape architecture, and community planning. It serves a primarily B2B and B2G customer base, including municipal and state government agencies (City of Cleveland, NEORSD, MDOT, City of Ann Arbor, City of Tampa, Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority), regulated utilities (DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, Peoples Natural Gas), and a limited set of enterprise industrial clients (Ford Motor Company for the 320-acre Dearborn Research and Engineering Center). Wade Trim operates from offices across Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and New York, with approximately 251-500 employees.

Wade Trim's revenue is generated through professional service fees on project-based, multi-year contracts, with pricing negotiated per engagement under traditional design-bid-build, design-build, construction manager at risk, and job order contracting delivery methods. The firm has invested in an Advanced Design Technology practice that incorporates reality capture (drones, GPS, LiDAR, robotic total stations), Building Information Modeling, digital twins, AR/VR visualization, and 3D hydraulic modeling, along with proprietary tools including BoreAid horizontal directional drill modeling software, the FundingScout grant identification tool, the Hydraulic ToolKit mobile app, and the Innovation Alley Podcast for thought leadership.

The firm's competitive position rests on long-tenured practice leads (many with 25-50+ years of experience), active leadership in industry associations (ACEC, APWA, WEF, NYWEA, FEPA), and a continuous record of regional industry awards. In 2026 the firm celebrated its centennial and added senior leadership across Georgia, water practice, construction services, and conveyance, while pursuing new geographic expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and entering large mixed-use development advisory via the Blake Investment Partners consortium for the $260M Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment in St. Petersburg, FL.

Name

Wade Trim

Legal name

Wade Trim Group

Website

https://wadetrim.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Wade Trim is an employee-owned, 100-year-old civil engineering consultancy headquartered in Michigan that plans, designs, and manages infrastructure projects in water, wastewater, transportation, natural gas, power, and stormwater for municipal, utility, and select enterprise clients across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering consulting services including planning, design, construction administration, and inspection for infrastructure projects. Revenue is generated through professional service fees on project-based contracts with government agencies, utilities, and private sector clients. Projects range from small municipal engagements to large multi-year infrastructure programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wade Trim is a civil engineering consulting firm providing planning, design, construction administration, and inspection services for infrastructure projects. Its practice areas cover drinking water, wastewater and wet weather, stormwater, transportation, natural gas, power, site development, surveying, landscape architecture, and community planning for government agencies, utilities, and private industry clients. The firm also operates an Office of Applied Technology that integrates advanced tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), reality capture, drones, digital twins, AR/VR, and 3D hydraulic modeling into project delivery.

Product overview

Wade Trim is a consulting engineering firm that provides a comprehensive portfolio of infrastructure engineering services. The company offers specialized practice areas including Advanced Design Technology (encompassing Reality Capture, BIM, digital twins, and AR/VR), Construction Services, Drinking Water, Natural Gas, Power, Stormwater, Transportation, Wastewater/Wet Weather, Survey, Landscape Architecture, Site Development, Community Planning, and Collaborative Delivery. Supporting resources include FundingScout (a funding identification tool), the Hydraulic ToolKit App (a mobile application for hydraulic calculations), and the Innovation Alley Podcast. The firm utilizes advanced technologies such as drones, 3D hydraulic modeling, and visualization to deliver engineering solutions across water, wastewater, transportation, and energy infrastructure sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drinking Water Engineering

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminated 3.7 million gallons (36%) of annual sanitary sewer overflows for City of Cleveland Heights
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Blake Investment PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2026Wade Trim is part of Blake Investment Partners' development team for the $260 million Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment bid surrounding Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. The team includes Stadler Development, Gilbane Building Company, Skanska, KAST Construction, MODO, and Blue Sky Communities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HDR Inc. Employee-owned architecture, engineering, and consulting firm with leading water/wastewater, transportation, and utilities practices serving similar municipal and utility clients. Closely comparable business model (employee-ownership) and service mix to Wade Trim.
• Tetra Tech: Global consulting and engineering firm with a strong water, wastewater, and environmental infrastructure practice serving municipal, utility, and federal clients. Highly comparable to Wade Trim on water/wastewater design and program management, though at materially larger scale.
• Stantec: Global professional services firm with a sizable water infrastructure and community development practice serving municipal, utility, and private clients. Overlaps significantly with Wade Trim on water, wastewater, transportation, and site development.
• Kimley-Horn: Privately held planning and engineering design firm with strong transportation, water, and land development practices. Comparable on private-sector development work (Ford-style campus projects) and municipal infrastructure.
• Brown and Caldwell: Employee-owned environmental engineering and consulting firm focused on water, wastewater, and wet weather/stormwater for municipal and utility clients. Highly comparable niche focus, delivery model, and client base to Wade Trim's water practice.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with broad water, transportation, and energy practices that compete with Wade Trim for major municipal and utility programs. Significantly larger and broader scope, but overlapping services and clients.
• WSP Global: Global engineering professional services firm with strong water, transportation, and environment practices that increasingly bid on the same municipal infrastructure work Wade Trim targets.
• Black & Veatch: Global engineering, procurement, and construction firm with a substantial water and gas pipeline practice serving utilities and municipalities—directly comparable client overlap with Wade Trim's utility-facing business.
• Jacobs Solutions: Global professional services firm with extensive water, transportation, and advanced technology capabilities serving similar government and utility clients. Competes with Wade Trim on large multi-year program management engagements.

Regional players

• Fishbeck: Midwest-based (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana) engineering, architecture, and environmental sciences firm with comparable water, wastewater, transportation, and site development practices serving similar municipal and private clients in Wade Trim's core geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wadetrim
• Facebookfacebook.com/wade-trim-220962614609602
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wade-trim

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 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 Wade Trim