Hines
Hines Inc is a Fort Collins, Colorado-based water engineering firm providing irrigation system design, water resource planning, and infrastructure engineering under its proprietary Water First™ methodology, serving real estate developers, municipalities, landscape architects, and institutions across the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersFort Collins, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hines does
Hines Inc is a privately held water-focused engineering firm headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, founded by Nate Hines in the early 1990s. The firm specializes in irrigation system design, water resource planning, and infrastructure engineering for land development projects, operating under its proprietary Water First™ methodology that treats water as the primary cost driver and constraint. Its service portfolio spans five interconnected areas: Water Planning (feasibility analysis and water source development), Design Development & Master Planning (for projects up to 10,000 acres), Infrastructure Design (storage, treatment, pumping, and distribution), Construction Document Preparation, and Water Management (ongoing control systems and monitoring). Technical capabilities integrate civil, agricultural, and mechanical engineering, with proprietary offerings including a Water Planning Dashboard for client cost visibility, water budget studies for right-sized infrastructure, non-potable distribution systems, weather-based smart controllers, and on-site water capture/treatment systems exceeding 100,000 gallons.
The firm's primary customers are real estate developers, landscape architects, municipalities, and institutions (universities and healthcare systems) across the Western, Southwestern, Southeastern, Midwestern, and Eastern United States, served through offices in Fort Collins, Phoenix, Dallas, and Celebration (Florida). Revenue is generated through project-based fixed-fee professional services engagements rather than hourly billing, with documented outcomes including average 40% savings on upfront construction costs and 250,000 gallons of water saved per acre. Notable customers include Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, Arizona State University, Parkland Health, City of Fort Collins, Town of Castle Rock, City of Memphis, Actual Communities, Republic Property Group, DPZ CoDesign (Alys Beach), and EDSA (Evermore Resort), with several relationships spanning 20+ years.
Hines pursues growth through a rollup strategy, having acquired at least five smaller irrigation design firms (Design PSI, Clark Design & Consulting, FRS Design, Masuen Consulting, and Lynch & Associates), absorbing their founders as Principals and WaterFirst co-founders. The company operates exclusively through direct B2B engagement with no reseller or self-serve channels, relying on reputation, referrals from landscape architecture partners, and direct relationship building. Its 2024 ASLA Professional Award for General Design (Tom Lee Park, Memphis) and Colorado Lottery Starburst Award represent top-tier industry recognition of its design quality and water conservation outcomes.
Hines firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hines
- Legal name
- Hines Inc
- Website
- https://hinesinc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hines Inc is a Fort Collins, Colorado-based water engineering firm providing irrigation system design, water resource planning, and infrastructure engineering under its proprietary Water First™ methodology, serving real estate developers, municipalities, landscape architects, and institutions across the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hines industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Water Engineering & Irrigation Design Services
- NAICS
- Engineering Services (54133), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Irrigation System Design & Planning (HSAIAEAA), Irrigation Automation & Controls Services (SCADA, Sensors, Telemetry) (AFACAFAI), Irrigation System Design & Engineering (AFACAFAA)
Keywords
Where Hines is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fort Collins
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Hines business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Engineering and Design Services: Professional consulting services for irrigation system design, water resource planning, infrastructure engineering, and master planning for land development projects. Revenue is project-based, typically as fixed-fee engagements for specific design work rather than hourly billing.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Hines product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hines Inc is a water-focused engineering firm that delivers irrigation system design, water resource planning, infrastructure engineering, and long-term water management services for land development, municipal, and institutional projects. The company applies its proprietary Water First™ methodology to plan, engineer, and manage irrigation systems that reduce landscape water use by 40–60% and save clients an average of 40% on upfront construction costs. Its offering spans five interconnected service areas: Water Planning, Design Development & Master Planning, Infrastructure Design, Construction Document Preparation & Implementation, and Water Management.
Product overview
Hines is a water-focused engineering company offering a comprehensive suite of irrigation and water management services. The company's primary offering is the Water First™ methodology, which encompasses five interconnected service areas: Water Planning (feasibility and resource engineering), Design Development & Master Planning (for projects up to 10,000 acres), Infrastructure Design (storage, treatment, pumping, distribution), Construction Document Preparation & Implementation, and Water Management. Hines specializes in serving master planned communities, municipalities, institutions, and open spaces, providing end-to-end water engineering from initial planning through long-term management. The company claims to save clients an average of 40% on upfront construction costs and reduce landscape water use by 40-60%.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WaterFirst™: Proprietary water planning and engineering methodology emphasizing water conservation and sustainable water resource management
Products and services
- Water Planning
- Design Development & Master Planning
- Infrastructure Design
- Construction Document Preparation & Implementation
- Water Management Irrigation control system programming, repair and maintenance protocols, and monitoring tools for water conservation. For ongoing operations at campuses, communities, and municipal sites after construction.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average 40% reduction in upfront construction costs versus non-technical approaches
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Hines
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hines technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Hines partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Design WorkshopcoreLandscape architecture and planning firm listed among key collaborative partners for client projects. Design Workshop works with Hines on various development and municipal projects requiring integrated irrigation and landscape design.
- ConfluencecoreEngineering and design firm collaborating with Hines on projects including St Vrain & Dickens Farm Park. Confluence serves as landscape architect on projects where Hines provides irrigation engineering.
- CBREminorGlobal commercial real estate services firm listed as a collaborative partner, suggesting potential project collaboration on large-scale commercial developments.
- Actual CommunitiescoreActive adult community developer and client for the 240-acre Waters' Edge development in Fort Collins. Hines has an ongoing strategic relationship delivering Water First irrigation systems for their communities.
- DTJ DesignminorArchitecture and planning firm listed as collaborative partner for development projects requiring integrated water and design services.
- EDSAcoreLandscape architecture firm for the 1,100-acre Evermore Resort in Orlando, Florida. Hines collaborated on this luxury resort redevelopment ensuring sustainability was at the forefront of design.
- SWA GroupminorGlobal landscape architecture firm listed as collaborative partner for large-scale projects.
- SCAPEcoreLandscape architecture and urban planning firm collaborating on Tom Lee Park in Memphis (2024 ASLA award winner) and other projects. SCAPE leads design while Hines provides irrigation engineering.
- Kimley HornminorEngineering and consulting firm listed as collaborative partner for multidisciplinary development projects.
- StantecminorGlobal design and consulting firm listed as collaborative partner for infrastructure and development projects.
- Ten Eyck Landscape ArchitectscoreLandscape architecture firm whose principal Christy Ten Eyck has provided testimonial endorsement of Hines' expertise and professionalism. Long-term collaborative relationship on water conservation projects.
- Studio OutsidecoreLandscape architecture firm collaborated with Hines on Sea Star Base Galveston project, designing an environmentally sensitive urban sailing camp with innovative water capture systems.
- DPZ CoDesigncorePlanning and design firm for Alys Beach luxury residential community in Florida. Hines designed the rainwater harvesting and iron filtration irrigation system for this coastal development.
- Republic Property GroupcoreReal estate developer for the 1,070-acre Light Farms community in Celina, Texas. Hines engaged to develop engineered plans for water quality mitigation and non-potable irrigation system design.
- BrightviewminorNational commercial landscape services firm listed as collaborative partner. Brightview provides landscape maintenance services that work with Hines-designed irrigation systems for ongoing water management.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hines competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Stantec: Global design and consulting firm with a large Water practice delivering municipal water, wastewater, and water resources engineering. Comparable to Hines as a broad engineering services incumbent that also serves water infrastructure and master-planned development clients, though much larger and less specialized in landscape irrigation.
- Tetra Tech: Global consulting and engineering firm with leadership in water, environment, and sustainable infrastructure. Overlaps with Hines on water resource engineering for development and municipal clients, but operates globally with much broader service portfolio.
- Kimley-Horn: Top U.S. engineering consulting firm with significant Water Resources and Land Development practices serving private developers, municipalities, and institutions. Comparable to Hines in target market (developers, municipalities) and water resources expertise, but operates at much greater scale and across many engineering disciplines.
Others
- Rain Bird Corporation: Major manufacturer of irrigation products and smart controllers widely specified by irrigation designers including Hines. Adjacent as a product supplier whose irrigation systems Hines specifies, and whose commercial division competes indirectly with engineering-led water conservation approaches.
Direct peers
- SWA Group: Global landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm listed as a Hines collaborative partner for large-scale projects. Competes with and complements Hines for master-planned community and institutional projects, often delivering the landscape architecture while Hines delivers irrigation engineering.
- Design Workshop: Landscape architecture and planning firm listed as a key Hines partner, frequently collaborating on master-planned communities and municipal projects. Comparable in serving the same developer and municipality client base, with overlapping water-aware design expertise for arid and semi-arid U.S. regions.
- Brown and Caldwell: Specialty engineering firm focused exclusively on water and wastewater infrastructure for municipalities and utilities. Closely comparable to Hines in water-focused engineering consulting, though Hines targets landscape irrigation while Brown and Caldwell targets municipal water/wastewater treatment.
- Water Works Engineers: Water and wastewater infrastructure consulting firm serving municipal and private clients across the U.S. Closely comparable in scale and specialty, with overlapping water infrastructure design services though focused more on utility-scale water systems than landscape irrigation.
- Carollo Engineers: Specialty water engineering firm exclusively focused on water treatment, wastewater, and water reuse for utilities and public agencies. Comparable in water-only specialty focus but addresses municipal/utility clients rather than Hines' developer and institutional landscape irrigation niche.
Emerging players
- HydroPoint: Smart water management technology company offering weather-based irrigation controllers and water-use analytics. Comparable in addressing landscape water conservation through technology, but approaches the market through software/hardware products rather than engineering services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hines social profiles
Digital presenceHines financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hines leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Hines funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hines M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hines
What does Hines do?
Hines Inc is a water-focused engineering firm that delivers irrigation system design, water resource planning, infrastructure engineering, and long-term water management services for land development, municipal, and institutional projects. The company applies its proprietary Water First™ methodology to plan, engineer, and manage irrigation systems that reduce landscape water use by 40–60% and save clients an average of 40% on upfront construction costs. Its offering spans five interconnected service areas: Water Planning, Design Development & Master Planning, Infrastructure Design, Construction Document Preparation & Implementation, and Water Management.
Is Hines a public or private company?
Hines is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Hines founded?
Hines was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hines based?
Hines is headquartered in Fort Collins, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hines make money?
One revenue line is on record: engineering and Design Services.
Who are Hines's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Stantec, Tetra Tech and Kimley-Horn. Rain Bird Corporation is listed as an others. Direct peers are SWA Group, Design Workshop, Brown and Caldwell, Water Works Engineers and Carollo Engineers. HydroPoint is listed as an emerging player.
Does Hines have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hines.
What industry is Hines in?
Hines's product category is Water Engineering & Irrigation Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAD, Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of HSAIAEAA, Irrigation System Design & Planning. Its NAICS code is 54133 and its SIC code is 8711.