U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc.

What U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc. does

U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc. (UPEA) is a multi-disciplinary professional services firm delivering engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, and surveying services to municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential clients across Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin. The firm, which traces its origins to circa 1963, operates from five offices — Houghton (corporate headquarters), Iron Mountain, Ishpeming, Sault Ste. Marie (all in Michigan), and Marinette (Wisconsin) — and is structured as an employee-owned company with more than 60 staff, including licensed professional engineers across civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, and geological disciplines as well as LEED-accredited architects.

The firm's service portfolio spans the full project lifecycle — from conceptual planning, preliminary engineering reports, and design through construction plans, specifications, construction administration, and quality control — supported by technical services in GIS, AutoCAD, hydrology software, and contaminant fate and transport modeling. Representative work includes water and wastewater systems, transportation and bridge infrastructure (notably the 275-foot Grand Ravines Suspension Bridge in Jenison, Michigan, completed in 2023), historic preservation and adaptive re-use, brownfield remediation, and grant-funded municipal projects. Technology is industry-standard AEC software rather than proprietary platforms.

UPEA generates revenue primarily through project-based professional services fees, with public-sector work secured via competitive bidding and direct relationships with municipal clients. The firm also serves institutional clients including Michigan Technological University, Northern Michigan University, and Lake Superior State University, as well as commercial, industrial, and residential customers. Distribution is delivered through its regional office network, and the company does not disclose revenue, has no institutional investors or external capital, and has no publicly known M&A, funding, or product-launch activity beyond its core service delivery.

Name

U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc.

Legal name

U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc.

Website

https://upea.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

U.P. Engineers & Architects (UPEA) is an employee-owned, multi-disciplinary professional services firm providing engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, and surveying services to municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential clients across Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering and Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Engineering services
• Architecture design
• Environmental consulting
• Land surveying
• Municipal planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Houghton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Engineering: Project-based engineering services including civil, structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering. Services include conceptual planning, preliminary engineering reports, design, construction plans and specifications, construction administration and quality control.
2. Professional Services - Architecture: Architectural services including commercial, institutional and residential building design, historic preservation & restoration, renovation, adaptive re-use, building inspections, building code analysis, feasibility studies & needs assessments, energy studies, and interior design.
3. Professional Services - Planning: Planning services for local government, corporate and institutional clients including site planning, parks and recreation planning and design, waterfront redevelopment, streetscaping, historic redevelopment, grant applications and administration, and financial packaging for infrastructure.
4. Professional Services - Environmental: Environmental consulting and engineering services including water, air, solid waste management, remediation and restoration, permitting, wetland services, monitoring wells, storage tank services, indoor air quality, wellhead protection plans, hydrogeological investigations, and hazardous material surveying.
5. Professional Services - Surveying: Professional surveying services including property and boundary surveys, plats, construction surveys, topographic surveys, mapping services, GIS, ALTA/ACSM surveys, aerial photographic control, hydrographic surveys & mapping, and site condo surveys.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

UPEA is a multi-disciplinary professional services firm that delivers engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, and surveying services to municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential clients across Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin. Engagements span the full project lifecycle — from conceptual planning, preliminary engineering reports, and design through construction plans, specifications, construction administration, and quality control. The firm is supported by in-house technical services including GIS, AutoCAD, hydrology software, and contaminant fate and transport modeling.

Product overview

U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc. is a multi-disciplinary professional services firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of five core services: Engineering (civil, structural, electrical, mechanical), Architecture, Planning, Environmental, and Surveying. These services are supported by Technical Services that include GIS, AutoCAD, hydrology software, and contaminant fate and transport modeling. The firm serves municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential clients across Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin, providing conceptual planning, design, construction plans and specifications, construction administration, and quality control. The company has over 60 years of experience and operates from five offices with more than 60 employee-owners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Engineering Services Multi-disciplinary engineering services including civil, structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering with expertise in water, wastewater, transportation, dams, stormwater management, and construction administration. Provided for municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential clients.
• Architecture Services Building design services for commercial, institutional, and residential projects including historic preservation, renovation, adaptive re-use, interior design, and landscape architecture with LEED certification capabilities, delivered by LEED-accredited architects on staff.
• Planning Services Planning services for local government, corporate and institutional clients including site planning, parks and recreation planning, waterfront redevelopment, downtown revitalization, streetscaping, historic redevelopment, grant applications and administration, and financial packaging for infrastructure.
• Environmental Services Environmental consulting and engineering services covering water, air quality, solid waste management, remediation and restoration, brownfield redevelopment, environmental assessments, permits, wetland services, monitoring wells, storage tank services, indoor air quality, wellhead protection plans, hydrogeological investigations, and hazardous material surveying.
• Surveying Services Professional surveying services including property and boundary surveys, plats, construction surveys, topographic surveys, mapping services, GIS, ALTA/ACSM surveys, aerial photographic control, hydrographic surveys and mapping, and site condo surveys.
• Technical Services Technical support services including Geographic Information System (GIS), AutoCAD, hydrology software, contaminant fate and transport modeling, and statistical evaluation of water quality data that support the firm's core engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, and surveying service lines.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Anlaan CorporationnotableImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAnlaan Corporation, based out of Grand Haven, Michigan, served as the contractor for the Grand Ravines Suspension Bridge project. UPEA designed the bridge while Anlaan handled construction. Ottawa County Parks Director John Scholtz stated they were incredibly impressed with Anlaan's work and timeline. Construction took three months.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Fleis & VandenBrink: Michigan-based multi-disciplinary engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with offices throughout the state. Directly comparable to UPEA in service mix (civil, structural, environmental, surveying) and regional focus on Michigan municipal and institutional clients.
• ROWE Professional Services Company: Michigan-headquartered multi-disciplinary firm offering engineering, surveying, planning, and architectural services across the state. Closely comparable in scale (~150+ staff), service breadth, and customer base to UPEA.
• SME (now part of SLR Consulting): Michigan-based engineering consulting firm specializing in geotechnical, environmental, and construction services. Comparable to UPEA's environmental and civil engineering practices serving public and private clients.
• Abonmarche Consultants & Engineers: Regional multi-disciplinary engineering and architecture firm serving Michigan and Indiana with municipal, institutional, and private clients. Highly comparable in service offering, regional focus, and project types.
• Wightman & Associates: Michigan-based full-service architecture, engineering, and surveying firm. Comparable in multi-disciplinary offering, regional Midwest focus, and municipal/institutional customer mix.
• Ayres Associates: Wisconsin-headquartered consulting firm providing engineering, architecture, environmental, and planning services across the Upper Midwest. Directly comparable service mix to UPEA's five core disciplines.
• MSA Professional Services: Wisconsin-based multi-disciplinary engineering, architecture, and planning firm with offices across the Midwest. Comparable scale and service offering to UPEA, serving municipal and institutional clients.
• JT Engineering: Wisconsin-based multi-disciplinary engineering firm serving municipal, transportation, and structural clients. Smaller-scale direct peer comparable to UPEA's engineering practice in geography and customer type.

Broad incumbents

• Mead & Hunt: Larger multi-disciplinary engineering and architecture firm headquartered in Wisconsin with nationwide presence. Comparable service mix but operates at significantly greater scale than UPEA, often competing for the same regional municipal and aviation projects.
• Stantec: Global multi-disciplinary engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with offices throughout Michigan and the Midwest. Larger incumbent that competes with UPEA for regional infrastructure, environmental, and municipal projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/u.p.-engineers-and-architects

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc.