What Pickett and Associates does

Pickett and Associates, LLC (operating as Pickett USA) is a privately held professional services firm founded around 1960 and headquartered in Tampa, Florida, that provides integrated engineering, surveying, and geospatial services to electric utilities, mining companies, land developers, and renewable energy developers across the United States and Caribbean. The company's core technical capabilities span transmission line engineering (69kV to 500kV), substation design (4kV to 500kV), civil and structural engineering, hydrographic and terrestrial surveying, aerial LiDAR mapping using Optech Galaxy and Optech G2 sensors with Phase One medium-format cameras, photogrammetry, UAS operations, and GIS platforms built on ESRI Enterprise. Its engineering workflows center on PLS-CADD finite element modeling, with more than 10,000 miles of transmission lines modeled for NERC FAC-008 and FAC-003 compliance and a proprietary LiDAR-based as-built verification process.

Pickett operates a professional-services business model, delivering customized project-based engineering and geospatial engagements under quote-driven pricing with no public rate cards. Revenue is generated through three integrated service lines — Engineering Services, Surveying and Mapping Services, and Aerial LiDAR and Mapping Services — sold primarily through direct enterprise field sales to electric utilities, supplemented by industry conference presence (SEE Conference, TSDOS, BigSky GeoCon), conference speaking, and earned-media recognition via ENR and POB rankings. Since its February 2022 combination with ESP Associates, Inc., Pickett has operated as a subsidiary within a ~650-employee, 30-office multi-discipline engineering platform; Pickett alone employs 150 or more people across at least 15 US offices spanning Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Michigan, Montana, and Colorado. Technology investment in NDAA-compliant UAS (SkyFish M4 RTK), advanced LiDAR hardware, 3D Gaussian Splatting visualization, and VR-based substation pre-visit tools supports differentiation in regulatory-sensitive and federally restricted utility engagements.

Name

Pickett and Associates

Legal name

Pickett and Associates, LLC

Website

https://pickettusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Pickett and Associates is a privately held Tampa-based engineering, surveying, and geospatial services firm serving electric utilities, mining companies, land developers, and renewable energy developers across the United States and Caribbean through integrated transmission line, substation, civil, aerial LiDAR, and GIS capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Utility Engineering and Geospatial Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

T&D project/program management & owner’s engineering (EPCM/PMC) (EUADAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Geospatial Asset Data Management & GIS/CMMS/EAM Integration (data capture, mobility, work management) (EUADAJAJ), Right-of-way access, foundations & civil works for T&D projects (EUADAKAJ), Substation EPC & construction (AIS/GIS, greenfield/brownfield) (EUADAKAC)

Keywords

• Utility engineering services
• Transmission line design
• Aerial LiDAR mapping
• Substation engineering
• Geospatial surveying

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Services: Pickett generates revenue through professional engineering services including transmission line design (69kV–500kV), substation design, structural analysis, civil engineering, and access road permitting for electric utilities, mining companies, and land developers.
2. Surveying and Mapping Services: Revenue from land surveying, hydrographic surveys, terrestrial LiDAR scanning, boundary surveys, construction staking, and subdivision platting for utility and infrastructure clients.
3. Aerial LiDAR and Mapping Services: Airborne LiDAR, aerial imaging, photogrammetry, UAS/drone services, and GIS data processing delivered as end products or complete map products using data fusion from ground surveys, hydrographic surveys, aerial LiDAR, and digital imagery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pickett and Associates provides integrated engineering, surveying, and geospatial services to electric utilities, mining companies, land developers, and government agencies. The firm delivers transmission line design (69kV to 500kV), substation design (4kV to 500kV), civil and structural engineering, distribution engineering, and renewables integration through its Engineering division. Its Surveying division provides hydrographic, terrestrial LiDAR, and field surveys, while its Geospatial division offers airborne LiDAR mapping, aerial imaging, UAS/drone operations, GIS platforms, and photogrammetry. The combination with ESP Associates in 2022 expanded the entity to nearly 650 team members across 30 offices.

Product overview

Pickett and Associates is a professional services firm offering an integrated portfolio of engineering, surveying, and geospatial services primarily serving the electric utility industry. The company operates as a single-point provider combining in-house capabilities across three core divisions: Engineering Services (transmission line design from 69kV to 500kV, substation design, civil/structural engineering, distribution engineering, and renewables integration), Surveying Services (hydrographic, terrestrial LiDAR, and volume calculations), and Geospatial Services (aerial LiDAR mapping, aerial imaging, UAS/drone operations, and GIS platforms). Supporting these core services, the company offers Project Visualizations including 3D Gaussian Splatting, web-based GIS portals, photo/video simulations, and drone flight documentation. Services are delivered through 15+ office locations across Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Michigan, Montana, and Colorado.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transmission Line Engineering Full life-cycle engineering for transmission line design from 69kV to 500kV, including new builds, rebuilds, re-rates, and maintenance. Services include PLS-CADD finite element modeling, NERC FAC-008 and 003 compliance engineering, foundation design, and EMF analysis for electric utility clients.
• Substation Design Comprehensive substation engineering from conceptual development through detail design and as-builts at voltages from 4kV to 500kV. Includes electrical design, physical layout, structure detailing, 3D modeling, AC/DC Station Service, grounding, lightning protection, lighting, and trench and conduit fill studies.
• Civil Engineering and Field Services Access road design and permitting through wetlands, low water crossings, and unstable areas. Stormwater management, GIS-based field services, and construction management support. Pickett's engineers have designed, permitted, inspected, and assisted with construction management of over 1,000 miles of access roads and right-of-way improvements.
• Structural Engineering Analysis and design of concrete, steel, and wood structures including foundation design for monopole and lattice tower structures, retaining walls, sea walls, transformer blast walls, substation control houses, and structural forensics and inspections.
• Distribution Engineering Distribution design for electric utilities including overhead and underground lines, new lines, relocations, storm-hardening rebuilds, voltage conversions, recloser and switch installations, capacitor and transformer installations, surge protection, and grounding.
• Renewables Integration Services Grid connection services for solar arrays, wind farms, battery storage, inverter locations, substations, and breaker stations. Includes site survey, aerial LiDAR mapping, permitting support, site grading, foundation and structural design, GIS, and UAS-based inspections for renewable energy projects.
• Surveying Services Professional surveying services including boundary surveys, construction staking, subdivision platting, and topographic surveys for utility and infrastructure clients. Field crew personnel certified in OSHA, MSHA, MOT, TWIC, and utility safety training.
• Aerial LiDAR Mapping Airborne LiDAR services using Optech Galaxy sensor with point density of 50+ points per square meter. Corridor surveys from 1 mile to several hundred miles, mining surveys from 1-acre to several thousand acres, and land development projects from 20 acres to 100+ square miles. Data is fused with ground surveys and hydrographic surveys.
• Aerial Imaging Medium-format Phase One cameras providing image resolutions from 1 inch to 12 inches. Services include topographic mapping, orthorectified imagery, planimetric mapping, impervious surface mapping, and traditional photogrammetric mapping, integrated with LiDAR sensors for simultaneous data capture.
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Services Commercial UAS services under FAA Section 333 exemption and Part 107 compliance. Fleet includes SkyFish M4 RTK (61MP camera, AI-enabled) and DJ Phantom 4 Pro RTK. Services include topographic mapping, video inspection, utility documentation, construction site monitoring, and emergency/disaster response scouting.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Services GIS services using ESRI Enterprise and SQL Databases for project visualization and communication. Web Apps and Dashboards enable real-time field data collection and project tracking, with map portals providing spatial data management across all project phases and field-to-office data synchronization.
• Photogrammetry Services Aerial photogrammetry using overlapping frames from aircraft-mounted cameras processed through specialized software. Produces orthomosaics, Digital Surface Models (DSM), and Digital Terrain Models (DTM) for scaled mapping from aerial imagery.
• Hydrographic Surveying Bathymetric surveys in lakes, ponds, rivers, canals, and near-shore coastal areas using custom boats, airboats, and Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). Equipment includes Odum Hydrotrac Single beam Echosounder and R2Sonic Multibeam EchoSounder with motion sensor and RTK GPS Heading bundle. Data is processed with HyPack software.
• Terrestrial LiDAR Scanning High-detail terrestrial scanning using Riegl VZ400 terrestrial scanner and Nikon D810 digital camera. Over 50 electric generation substations scanned with horizontal control to State Plane Coordinate System NAD83 and vertical control to NGVD88. Typically 20+ scan positions registered to established control for complete project scenes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ miles of transmission lines modeled for NERC compliance
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Integration2 records

AI capability7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ESP Associates, Inc. (ESP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2022Pickett and Associates combined with ESP Associates, Inc. in February 2022. ESP, headquartered in Fort Mill, SC, is a multi-discipline engineering design and consulting firm specializing in civil engineering, surveying, planning/landscape architecture, geosciences, environmental, subsurface utility engineering, and construction engineering inspection. The combination created a combined entity of nearly 650 team members and 30 offices across the United States. ESP's services complement Pickett's power industry experience and unique service offerings.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves17 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• POWER Engineering / Qualus: POWER Engineering (now part of Qualus) is one of the most direct competitors to Pickett, providing T&D engineering, substation design, and owner's-engineering services to electric utilities across North America. It overlaps tightly with Pickett's core transmission and substation engineering business.
• TRC Companies: TRC is a national engineering, consulting, and construction management firm with a strong electric and gas utility practice spanning transmission, distribution, and substation design. It directly competes with Pickett for utility owner's-engineering and surveying/mapping work.
• SAM (Surveying And Mapping, LLC): SAM is a national provider of surveying, mapping, LiDAR, and geospatial services for infrastructure, including utility corridors and transmission lines. It is a direct peer in the aerial LiDAR, terrestrial scanning, and utility-surveying segments that anchor Pickett's geospatial business.
• Merrick & Company: Merrick is an employee-owned engineering, surveying, and geospatial firm serving utilities, mining, and infrastructure clients — directly comparable to Pickett's integrated surveying/aerial LiDAR/GIS-plus-engineering service model.
• Continental Mapping Consultants: Continental Mapping is a geospatial services firm specializing in aerial LiDAR, photogrammetry, and GIS for utility, transportation, and government clients. It directly competes with Pickett's aerial mapping and geospatial data fusion services.

Broad incumbents

• Burns & McDonnell: Burns & McDonnell is a 100% employee-owned, full-service engineering, architecture, construction, and consulting firm with a deep T&D practice serving IOUs, co-ops, and municipal utilities. It is a much larger incumbent competing with Pickett for utility engineering, substation design, and program management work.
• Quanta Services: Quanta Services is the largest specialty contractor serving the utility and infrastructure sector, with a sizable engineering arm (formerly including POWER Engineering and PAR). It represents a broader incumbent competing with Pickett on utility program delivery and renewable interconnection work.
• Stantec: Stantec is a global engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting firm with a North American utility practice spanning T&D, substation, and renewables. It competes with Pickett for utility engineering and surveying assignments, particularly on larger multi-disciplinary programs.
• AECOM: AECOM is one of the world's largest infrastructure consulting firms with a substantial T&D and power practice. It competes with Pickett for major utility program work and brings integrated engineering, environmental, and construction capabilities to the same clients.

Regional players

• Halff Associates: Halff is a Texas-based multi-discipline engineering and surveying firm with a growing presence in Southeast US power-delivery and renewable interconnection work. It is a regional competitor pursuing similar utility and developer clients to Pickett in the Southwest/Southeast.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pickett_usa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 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 Pickett and Associates